My First Brumation??

[RexysRaptor]

Hello again, y’all. I posted for the first time here not too long ago about my little girl Triss’s sleeping routine. She’s been doing fantastic lately and I was planning to post a couple beardie tales about her. But I ran into a little scare today when she wasn’t hungry for breakfast. She had woken up and climbed down her tree but seemed on the sleepy side, so I tried to wake her up or see if she needed a poop by giving her a warm bath and little massage (didn’t feel any abnormal mass in her belly). But she eventually crawled out, up on me, snuggled and started falling asleep. Then I remembered she had actually pooped twice in two days (back to back instead of her normal every-couple-days-routine, last poop was before yesterday ), last time was right after I gave her a treat of eggs, then she drank some water, ate good the next day, though not as much, and now we’re here, she is now asleep in her hide. It is storm season where I am so it is a little dark and fresh out. I’m thinking she was just emptying her bowels, then hydrating and eating for the week so she can start her brumation. I’ve only had her since early March so I’ve never directly witnessed her brumation, and considering she was a rescue, I calmed down a bit thinking that she has finally perhaps become comfortable with a natural routine. She seems in great health, shedding a couple spots, nicely plumped, and very vibrant. Keeping an eye on her, but does this sound like simple early brumating behavior?

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah that does sound like brumation. It looks a bit different between dragons but I would expect that she can sleep for several days at a time or will stay still and just be groggy. Occasionally she will wake up for a brief period. Give her a chance to poop and offer some water and record her weight when she does this. Let her go back to sleep when she wants to. If her weight stays stable that's a good sign. This may carry on for several months or take less time. Eventually she will wake back up and may have a ton of energy and run all over the place for a while. When she does this she may not want food and may lose a little weight. As long as she is energetic and alert this is normal. Eventually her energy level and appetite will return to normal and she will gain back the weight.

 

[RexysRaptor]

Yeah that does sound like brumation. It looks a bit different between dragons but I would expect that she can sleep for several days at a time or will stay still and just be groggy. Occasionally she will wake up for a brief period. Give her a chance to poop and offer some water and record her weight when she does this. Let her go back to sleep when she wants to. If her weight stays stable that's a good sign. This may carry on for several months or take less time. Eventually she will wake back up and may have a ton of energy and run all over the place for a while. When she does this she may not want food and may lose a little weight. As long as she is energetic and alert this is normal. Eventually her energy level and appetite will return to normal and she will gain back the weight.

Thanks for the response! She actually ended up crawling out of her hide to bask, so I offered food again in case and she ate, but looked real sluggish and so I gave her another bath with belly rubs and she pooped a bucket (Sorry! TMI. ?). I’m thinking maybe since there was a dramatic temperature change yesterday and we couldn’t get her usual sun time she might’ve mellowed to stay warm and couldn’t digest as well (a lot of the bowel movement looked undigested). So I’m gonna monitor her temps. But she’s still a little sleepy (-er, ‘cause she’s actually a potato and loves to burrow and sleep), so I will also watch in case she does brumate. Thanks again!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, I agree with Coopers advice, nothing to worry about. Just one thing to note, it is not good to constantly soak and especially rub their belly to prompt a poo. This often causes them stress on the bowels and the urge to poo before the food is properly digested and so nutrients are lost and a normal pattern of digestion is disrupted.

 

[RexysRaptor]

Hi there, I agree with Coopers advice, nothing to worry about. Just one thing to note, it is not good to constantly soak and especially rub their belly to prompt a poo. This often causes them stress on the bowels and the urge to poo before the food is properly digested and so nutrients are lost and a normal pattern of digestion is disrupted.

Ah, I see, gotcha. Thanks. Yeah, I’d never done it before, I’ll keep from panicking so hard next time I see her get a little sluggish around this time. She was pretty active today so I brought her out a bit, but she tired out eventually. She seems perfect now, so I’ll give her a lengthy break from soaks and just continue watching after her activity like always. Thanks again!