Questions about brumation

[Lokiza]

I am unsure if this is the right category to post this. My apologies if it isn't

I have a beardie who is about five or six years old (I've owned him for around six months) and I suspect he is going through brumation. I've read numerous articles about what brumation is, what the signs of brumation are, etc...but I still have some questions that I would prefer straight-forward answers to rather than a page-long explanation. I hope that some of you other beardie mommas and daddys can help a newbie out a bit


1. Should I keep his heat lamp on? / Should I continue to keep his tank warm, and if so, how warm?

2. Should I continue to switch his day and night bulbs as I normally do? (I'm unsure if the day and night bulbs are also UVB or heat-emitting....I was given the domes and the bulbs when I first got him, so I'm unsure if the bulbs serve any other purpose)

3. Would it be better if his tank was dark? Will he be more comfortable that way?

4. Other than baths, what other ways can I help/comfort him during brumation? (Should I mist him, increase the humidity in his tank, wrap him up in a t-shirt so he'll be cozy, etc.?)

5. Is it okay to take him out in the sunlight, or will that only irritate him? (I don't mean making him walk around outside or anything, but rather, holding him while he basks in the sun)

6. What should I do about food? Should I only feed him every few days, should I continue to offer food daily?

7. Do you have any other tidbits of information to offer about brumation? (For future brumations and whatnot)

Thankyou :wink:

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. He may not be brumating. You don't know what kind of lights you have and thats not good. Not having the right set up and cause them to act like he is. You need to read Newbies Guide to lighting help to the right and The Newbies Guide on What to buy.

 

[Lokiza]

Hi. He may not be brumating. You don't know what kind of lights you have and thats not good. Not having the right set up and cause them to act like he is. You need to read Newbies Guide to lighting help to the right and The Newbies Guide on What to buy.

The situation does frustrate me a bit. I assumed that because his previous owners (who'd had him for a long time) had the lights, that they were fine. I've done some research, though (including reading the article you suggested) and realized that I really need to save up some funds to invest in a UVB light (the only UVB light I have is a coil/compact bulb that some girl at the petstore sold us. I never even used it, but I was still peeved to discover that it was the worst kind of bulb for my beardie.)

The blue and red bulbs are most likely ZooMed Daylight Blue/Nightlight Red (and if not, they are just ol' colored bulbs :/) which are I guess just heat bulbs (and the blue is supposed to be a basking bulb I guess, but it's a pretty lame excuse for a basking bulb). And his "heat lamp" is a ceramic heat emitter.

After realizing that I didn't know as much as I thought I did, I've decided to not use the red bulb anymore, but instead just depend on the CHE to provide heat at night (because it's really cold where I live, and tends to be cold in my house, aswell). As for the blue bulb - I think that maybe I'll replace it with a spare bulb that I have (it's an "Incandescent Spot" basking bulb...it's only 50 watts but it has to be better than the blue...right?).

He's had this light setup ever since I got him (and even before then, when his previous owners had him) and he's been fine. Sometimes he is sluggish, but I assumed that that was because he is getting to be a lil' old man. But his lethargy has been worse within the past few weeks.

Based on all of this confusing mumbo-jumbo...what do you think I should do? Do you think I should replace the blue light with the low-wattage basking bulb or just keep it how it is? And should I stop using the red night bulb? I'm going to search around desperately for a UVB, but I can't afford one at the moment ;-;...and I'm not sure if he's going through brumation or if I've done something horribly wrong...

 

[destiny1998]

Those colored bulbs get rid of them. I use a 75 watt halogen flood light bought at target for 4$. The reptisun 10.0 Tube I have bought on petmountain.com way cheaper than the pet stores. I know its all confusing. As for heat at night if your house does not get below 65 he should be fine. Beardies need a cool down period. Are you using any calcium and vitamins?

 

[Lokiza]

Those colored bulbs get rid of them. I use a 75 watt halogen flood light bought at target for 4$. The reptisun 10.0 Tube I have bought on petmountain.com way cheaper than the pet stores. I know its all confusing. As for heat at night if your house does not get below 65 he should be fine. Beardies need a cool down period. Are you using any calcium and vitamins?

The halogen light would function as the basking bulb/UVA bulb, correct? (Would a 75 watt be enough for a 40 gallon tank, or would I need a higher wattage?) For the tube, what kind of fixture would I need for it?

My house does tend to get cold at night, so I'm going to leave the CHE on to keep his tank warm, atleast until the weather warms up (it's snowing in March...just when I thought that it would begin to warm up! Bleh!)

As for the calcium and vitamins - his previous owners gave me all of his food supplies, including the calcium powder (Rep-Cal Calcium w/ Vit. D3 - without phosphorus) and the multivitamin supplement (Herptivite). They told be to mix in a bit of each in with the commercial diet (the pellets - which he never ate and just blatantly ignored because he's so picky, so I stopped giving them to him. Same for my younger one - he never ate them.)

I do dust their buggers (either mealworms or superworms) in the calcium, and then I mix them in with their greens (the only way that I can trick the old man into eating healthy, haha) so the greens are dusted a bit, aswell. I'm not sure what to do with the Herptivite....should I dust the insects in both the calcium and the Herptivite, or just one or the other? What is the purpose of the Herptivite?

 

[destiny1998]

Yeah, the halogen is the basking bulb and I use the 75 watt for my 40 gallon breeders. As for the calcium he needs it 3x a week and the vitamins 2x a week. The reptisun 10.0 Tube needs to be mounted in the tank. I use a under the cabinet light fixture from Walmart and command hooks costs 15 to 20$. And yes sick of winter :!:

 

[Lokiza]

Is it wrong of me to coat all of their insects in calcium? Should I switch back and forth between dusted insects and non-dusted ones? Also - could I mix the powders, or do they have to remain separate?

(Also, thank-you for all of your help. I appreciate it very much )

 

[destiny1998]

Your suppose to dust with just the calcium and 2 days with vitamins. Like I do my vitamins on the weekends and calcium M, W and Friday.

 

[Lokiza]

Okay, I'll start doing that ~

 

[CaptainShanks]

I do dust their buggers (either mealworms or superworms) in the calcium, and then I mix them in with their greens

Stay away from feeding your beardies mealworms, they can cause imapction and even death.