Shadow brumating at 10 months??

[MrHM1020]

I posted a couple of days ago that Shadow, my male beardie has been acting very lethargic. He is going to be 10 months old in 10 days. This behavior started about a few weeks ago (maybe 2-3). I read on here that it is possible for a beardie to brumate if it is approaching 1 year old during the winter season... The weather here in New Jersey is around 40 even though it is the end of march... So could he possibly be brumating? I was worried about his lack of eating so i brought supers and he finally ate like 10. The biggest amount he ate in a while. Shadow is around 20 inches now (big ). So is it possible for him to brumate at such a young age? He goes under his log in the cool side alot. And literally sleeps there forever. I have to take him to bask in the morning. But whenever i get back, he is always back under his log sleeping or sometimes just awake in his log. Someone on this forum suggested that i take the log out so he wouldnt have a hide. Is that a good idea? I took the log out today but he still went to the cool side after eating... So i want to know if he is brumating. IF so should i leave him alone, because if he was i feel kind of bad forcing him to bask everyday and taking him out for baths constantly/trying to hand feed him daily. That could've been me just disturbing his brumation period... Should i return the hide log? Do you guys keep a hide log/cave in your beardie's enclosures? Finally i have a question. He is finally 10 months old so this is the age i switch to mostly veggies? If so how many dubias or how many supers should i feed him a day/week? Thanks for responding.

 

[MrHM1020]

No one can help me? he is still hiding... Any suggestions?

 

[MrBeans]

maybe its your lighting??? My baby tends to get a little lethargic if I dont get him a new light every 6 months or so... I wouldnt think it is brumation, Mr Beans has gone through three of them, like clockwork every year, he goes down in Nov and perks back up in Feb/March... Sorry I dont know more, hope someone else can give you a little more info.

 

[AHBD]

There are different reasons for them to act that way. At 10 months he is not too young to brumate , being as large as he is, but it's probably not an actual brumation. Beardies will do that for a variety of reasons....is there any change to his cage recently, or even to a different room ? Is there an animal, dog, cat that he's never seen ? Is his basking area too hot ? Another thing could be any frightening or new experience [ I have a young female who, after I take her out of her tank and do anything with her, hides for a while after she is put back in her tank , the others don't act that way] And last but not least, at times, they just feel like hiding for no real discernible reason [ to us ] and become active again for no apparent reason. The cold weather COULD be contributing though. I wouldn't drag him out of his spot except maybe once a week to offer water and a soak. Just be sure of your temps, too hot OR too cool will cause that behavior as well.