Vet says "captive beardies don't burmate"???

[RhiannonJade]

Hi Everyone,

Ryu is 2 and a half years old now, and last year he definitely had a period where he slowed down, stopped eating, and basically hid all the time. His temps and diet were correct and a couple months later he snapped out of it.

Fast forward and he is doing it again, and just to be sure I knew what was going on, I took in a fecal to my new vet that I am seeing and got him a mini physical.

The fecal came back negative for parasites, so I said "oh OK great, he's probably just getting ready to burmate again," and my Vet was very concerned, wanted to do blood work and run tests, and she started asking me all these questions like "is his cage near a window, near a draft, is my house getting cold" because she said that his lethargy isn't due to burmation because unless there is a sudden change in temperature he should not be burmating, and that captive dragons have no reason to burmate... therefore captive dragons should never burmate.

Is this true?

My set up:

Ryu is 24 inches long head to tip,
Reptisun 10.0 UVB Tube Bulb, changed every 6 months.
I feed him Collard Greens, dandilion Greens, green beans, squash, occasionally kale,
bathe him 2 - 3 times a week.
Temp is 80ish on the cool side, 90-95 hot side, basking spot is 105.
Substrate is tile,

He has completely stopped eating, EXCEPT if I put in a super worm, then he goes crazy, he loves those. I have had a really tough time with trying to get him to eat his greens

He is not loosing weight.

Any help with what's going on would be appreciated, I can upload pictures if need be.

Thanks!!!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....in theory maybe it seems they have no need to brumate, but many [ most ] captive beardies do. For my 20+ years of ownership, the majority of mine brumated. It does usually coincide with the changing seasons....mine usually get sluggish around Oct. -Nov, and they will almost always sleep solid for 3-4 months. Some dragons do more of a " semi brumation" where they sleep for a few weeks at a time. Others just slow down + eat much less. But captive beardies absolutely DO brumate, and they are more inclined to want to breed afterwards, which makes it all part of a natural cycle. If your dragon is slowing down, there's no need for concern unless you noticed signs of illness and weight loss. Beardies are all different as they mature, some continue to eat tons of food [ which must then be reduced if beardie gets too heavy ] while others only want their faves, usually super or other worms. Yours is being picky right now , but just keep offering a variety of greens at least 1-2 times a week to give him the opportunity to develop an interest in them....hopefully so that he'll eventually eat greens every day or at least a few times a week. But he's probably just fine healthwise, his set up and diet sounds fine. By the way, it's always good to give your beardies stats. [ weight + length ] as well as the tank info. So what is his size ?

 

[Taterbug]

There is plenty of evidence that dragons know when it's winter and can't resist the urge to slow down. I both agree and disagree with your vet... Temps probably play a role in wild dragons' cues to brumate, it certainly does with snakes. However while we keep those pretty well controlled in captivity we can't control other weather variables like pressure. Reptiles can see colors we can't, and can even sense magnetic fields... Who know what they know about the weather outside their cage. Age old survival instincts aren't going to be swayed by a mere few decades of captivity. :study:

I have noticed a direct link between an early drop in atmospheric pressure, irrespective of the actual fall, and the start of concerns being expressed by keepers. Our reptiles in effect are becoming a very clever, long-range weather prediction service. It seems that they can sense the impending seasons, and perhaps the severity of the winter too, adjusting their behavior accordingly.
http://www.arcadia-reptile.com/changing-seasons/

Some keepers even notice small scale behavior changes. There have been a few times Pepper had spent all day in bed and the next day we got some brutal storms.

 

[dolcedragon]

I have to echo what was just said. My beardies have chosen to brumate sometimes despite captivity and even seem to behave differently on yucky rainy days. If you really feel like bloodwork needs to be done, go for it. Otherwise, it sounds like you're giving great care and an occasional weigh in on a scale will tell you if there's reason to worry.

 

[RhiannonJade]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the responses, it has made me feel better about everything. He seems fine so I wanted to check with you guys before I went and spent money to get needles poked in him

Also last time i checked he was 24 inches long and weighed .57kg - that was a while ago so I should weigh him again.

Here is a couple of pics of him just for fun!

 

[dolcedragon]

Handsome fellow with such expressive eyes! Thanks for sharing.

 

[AHBD]

Wow, that boy is massive ! He belongs to the exclusive " big boys club". You don't see many beardies in the 24" range. Ryu is one boss dragon !