Turning in earlier and earlier (normal)?

[TheBeard9789]

Hey guys well I got my Amber's test results back and she is parasite free but my question is is that she is turning in earlier and earlier now.

She takes about 20-40 mins to come out of her hide and/or off her hide (she sleeps between her hide and hammock that I have a blanket placed so it's dark for her).

She also has turned into her hide just now and it's 11am Eastern Time after she ate some greens and squash and basked for a bit should I be concerned or is she shutting down for fall??

It is about 60 degrees and colder today than the past few days (been around 85+ degrees and sunny) she was out all day till 6pm last few days but not today.

NOTE: If I showed her her bugs she would in a heartbeat be out of her hide and eating bugs for sure

UPDATE: She is out of her hide basking and didn't stay in her hide long

 

[CooperDragon]

It's possible she is starting to go into brumation. Look out for decreased appetite and more sleepy behavior. I usually keep lighting etc the same and just let them do their thing. I suggest keeping a log of her weight so that you can track that over time. In brumation, her appetite will decrease quite a bit as her metabolism slows but her weight should remain fairly stable over time. My guy usually only dropped 4-5% body weight over the course of 3-4 month brumation cycles. If you note significant weight loss, then there could be something else at play.

 

[ChileanTaco]

@CooperDragon
Can agree on this, and the same was when my dragon Taco brumated.
(He's long done with brumation now, everything went fine.)
As I didn't take him out during brumation (he was in a cave which I would have needed to destroy for that), I at least checked if what I can see from his body looks like usual, i.e. he's not appearing dehydrated or getting thinner. If that would have looked off visually, then I had taken him out and put him on a scale and if necessary went to a vet, of course.

 

[TheBeard9789]

It's possible she is starting to go into brumation. Look out for decreased appetite and more sleepy behavior. I usually keep lighting etc the same and just let them do their thing. I suggest keeping a log of her weight so that you can track that over time. In brumation, her appetite will decrease quite a bit as her metabolism slows but her weight should remain fairly stable over time. My guy usually only dropped 4-5% body weight over the course of 3-4 month brumation cycles. If you note significant weight loss, then there could be something else at play.

Her appetite is going strong I just gave her bugs she came out after going in her hide she changed her mind I guess but she is DEFINITELY wanting to pack on weight before she brumates.

She's out basking at the moment under both lights generally in brumation I leave on her lights and still feed her like I would normally in case she wants to come out and eat a bit.

Last year she settled down in October about 2-3 weeks after she had her last clutch of eggs (4 clutches last year same as this year).

Definitely has more sleepy behavior this month than any other month this summer.

 

[TheBeard9789]

@CooperDragon
Can agree on this, and the same was when my dragon Taco brumated.
(He's long done with brumation now, everything went fine.)
As I didn't take him out during brumation (he was in a cave which I would have needed to destroy for that), I at least checked if what I can see from his body looks like usual, i.e. he's not appearing dehydrated or getting thinner. If that would have looked off visually, then I had taken him out and put him on a scale and if necessary went to a vet, of course.

Exactly I have two methods 1) I would let her brumate and let her do her thing and come out when she wants or 2) I would wake her every 2 weeks and give her a bath (for hydration) and offer food she sometimes would eat and sometimes not.

She is definitely trying to pack on weight before brumation comes and on top of that she just laid a clutch so she's replenishing herself.

The hide I have for her it has a opening so I can always check her out without taking her out of her hide

 

[ChileanTaco]

I personally would let her do her thing (and only get her out during brumation if that's possible relatively gentle, means, if no literally "waking up" is necessary, and if you don't need to dig her up and destroy a burrow). During brumation, my dragon always has access to food if he wants some, because I use edible live plants in his enclosure.

Generally, I'm (especially with pets that are not heavily domesticated) very much like "they know better what's good for them than I as a human know". Of course, this would be different in case of sickness, but for a healthy animal, I keep it like this.
So under normal circumstances (which we always had so far), I'm not getting him out during brumation ("waking up" hadn't been an issue as he was awake each day, but to get him out I would have had to literally destroy his burrow), I'm not taking him and putting him under the basking lamp, and such.

Means also: I don't bathe my dragon. I've never done so. A bath won't hydrate them (unless they actively drink from it). I would only bathe my dragon if he would get dirty from something, or issues with pooping, but it never happened (I often can see his underside and it's super-duper clean) - to which might contribute that his enclosure is large enough so he never has to walk through poop, and he's healthy enough to not have diarrhea/ parasites/ constipation (he also was not a rescue*).
For hydration, if necessary, I might drop some water on the snout - sometimes my dragon licks it up, sometimes not. (My dragon eats veggies very well and so likely gets enough water.) The water on his snout, I thus merely use it for some enrichment - something different on some day, and he might use it or not.

*As much as I love rescuing a pet, reptiles are so uncommon here that it was impossible for me to find a rescue. (But I also hope, them being rare plus expensive here also means that people who get one are better informed, if in doubt rather not get a reptile, and that the dragons are healthier than from some US pet stores. I don't really know, but I hope that's the case.)

 

[TheBeard9789]

I personally would let her do her thing (and only get her out during brumation if that's possible relatively gentle, means, if no literally "waking up" is necessary, and if you don't need to dig her up and destroy a burrow). During brumation, my dragon always has access to food if he wants some, because I use edible live plants in his enclosure.

Generally, I'm (especially with pets that are not heavily domesticated) very much like "they know better what's good for them than I as a human know". Of course, this would be different in case of sickness, but for a healthy animal, I keep it like this.
So under normal circumstances (which we always had so far), I'm not getting him out during brumation ("waking up" hadn't been an issue as he was awake each day, but to get him out I would have had to literally destroy his burrow), I'm not taking him and putting him under the basking lamp, and such.

Means also: I don't bathe my dragon. I've never done so. A bath won't hydrate them (unless they actively drink from it). I would only bathe my dragon if he would get dirty from something, or issues with pooping, but it never happened (I often can see his underside and it's super-duper clean) - to which might contribute that his enclosure is large enough so he never has to walk through poop, and he's healthy enough to not have diarrhea/ parasites/ constipation (he also was not a rescue*).
For hydration, if necessary, I might drop some water on the snout - sometimes my dragon licks it up, sometimes not. (My dragon eats veggies very well and so likely gets enough water.) The water on his snout, I thus merely use it for some enrichment - something different on some day, and he might use it or not.

*As much as I love rescuing a pet, reptiles are so uncommon here that it was impossible for me to find a rescue. (But I also hope, them being rare plus expensive here also means that people who get one are better informed, if in doubt rather not get a reptile, and that the dragons are healthier than from some US pet stores. I don't really know, but I hope that's the case.)

I'm so used to giving my girl a bathe she enjoys it quite a lot to be honest whether she's swimming dunking her head or getting a drink.

She drinks the water when she's nesting and getting ready to lay her clutch and after digging in her lay box I have found she prefers a nice long soak rather than me dripping water on her snout.

She was from a breeder and she was a surprise gift (had her since she was 6" long) I had everything for her all set up before I got her (she lives blissfully in a 4x2x2 Zen Habitat Enclosure now).

My vet said it'd be a good idea to bathe her every 3-4 days even if it's just a bit of water on her snout and body not a actual full on soak.

I'm happy today that she actually pooped and it was no extra water or loose stool so hopefully her body clock is getting back on track after laying her clutch (as the vet suggested may take time).

Note: This is a older pic I have removed and added a few things since this pic was taken and she has gained/loss weight (brumation less bugs more activity packing on weight for brumation and post clutch laying to replenish calcium vitamins etc)