Yet Another Brumation Question

[SuzukiRider]

My Houdini is currently in and out of brumation and I can't stand it. I miss him. And because of that, I keep taking him out of his viv and let him sleep on my chest as well as taking naps with him. As I move him, he does open his eyes but quickly falls back to sleep. Is it ok that I do this or should I leave him alone? Will taking him out to hold him prolong his brumation? Will it upset his "internal clock" and possibly make him ill? I do take him out every 3 or 4 days for a bath and he wakes up totally during that time as he does not enjoy having a bath. All advise is welcome.
Thanks.

 

[JessLC]

I have heard to leave them alone completely during brumation.. I don't know if it prolongs it or not.
I haven't experienced it personally.

 

[SuzukiRider]

I have heard to leave them alone completely during brumation.. I don't know if it prolongs it or not.
I haven't experienced it personally.

Thanks JessLC but that's not the answer that I wanted to hear but I'll leave him alone. Sigh. I wanted to take him shopping tomorrow and show him off at work.

I hope I do get more responses.

 

[RandyMarsh]

it's not like he's dead hibernating, that's why it's called Brumation not Hibernation. I'm willing to bet if you keep waking them up they won't be able to go under fully.
Could be wrong about that, but my boy is sorta semi brumating as far as I can tell: Super cold here Decreased appetite, sleeping all the time, slower pooping cycle- I could be wrong but these are all signs of winter in my mind.
I mean i don't think waking them up is going to really affect much. Love to hear some real opinions about it though

 

[dragonlover3]

My Moya has been in full brumation since the 2nd week in November. I miss her so much {but my other 3 are awake }
I read an article that said in the wild when they brumate they can absorb moisture thru their vent from the ground they burrow
into so they don't dehydrate. As ours can't absorb moisture from their blankies or beds, it recommended you wake them weekly for a 15 or 20 minute hydration bath and offer water, place them in their basking spot for about 15 minutes til their scales are all dry to prevent fungus from growing on wet scales, and let them go back to sleep. That made total sense to me so that is exactly what I do!
I wake Moya every Wednesday and check her weight, then give her a 15 or 20 minute soak. She gets dried off and place her in her basking spot for about 15 or 20 minutes til she is totally dry. I wrap her back up in her blankie and sit with her on my chest for a bit of a cuddle and she's right back to sleep in just a few minutes and I put her back in her sleeping house for another week. While she's awake I offer her drops of water from a dropper and she will usually take about 2-3 mls. She was 410 when she started to brumate and this past Wednesday she weighed 403 gms, she's weighed 403 gms for the past 3 weeks so she has only lost 7 gms since the second week of November even though she's eaten nothing.
So I guess waking them doesn't prevent full brumation.
Amanda

 

[sweetiepie9]

If you're going to be with your beardie while brumating, it won't do him any harm. I have a beardie that gets up every day, watches cartoons all day & goes to sleep early, he's not eating alot, so losing some weight, but he was fattened up before winter anyway (I always fatten them up as much as possible, as then they do wake up Spring Fever hits & they like to jump around. I have 4 boys, three are brumating right now. I tend to wake them up every 2 weeks to give them water as I have a gecko in the same room who needs the temp to be higher (76F during the day & 72F at night), so they might not sleep as much, but I've had brumating dragons for 4 winter's now & they all brumate differently. I know what you mean about missing them, so I'm glad I have one awake.

There is a brumation article on this site, which explains alot. Check it out. My dragons don't sleep for more than a couple of months, which is why I make sure they get water. They'll stay up a few hours under their UVB light, then back to sleep again.
Deb

 

[SuzukiRider]

Well, he woke up yesterday for the day. Went back to bed in the early evening and been asleep ever since. What worries me is he eats a lot of superworms with calcium powder on them but he won't eat any veggies with the suppliements to metabolize the calcium. He's under his lights to help to digest the worms but no vitamins. Is this bad? Should I stop feeding him supers and try to get him to eat just the veggies? I'll be waking him for a bath tomorrow so he may poop. He's been pooping every few days which is good.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Its the UVB bulb that helps beardies digest their food, the calcium has vit d3 which is what works with the UVB to digest their food thoroughly. The calcium is to make sure their bones stay strong. So as long as you have calcium on the worms & he's basking, he's digesting his food properlly. The only other supplements you give your beardie is the vitamin-mineral supplement & you only give them a bit once a week. There's a chart that gives the amount of dustings of calcium & vit/min supplement per age. Hope this helps.

 

[SuzukiRider]

Its the UVB bulb that helps beardies digest their food, the calcium has vit d3 which is what works with the UVB to digest their food thoroughly. The calcium is to make sure their bones stay strong. So as long as you have calcium on the worms & he's basking, he's digesting his food properlly. The only other supplements you give your beardie is the vitamin-mineral supplement & you only give them a bit once a week. There's a chart that gives the amount of dustings of calcium & vit/min supplement per age. Hope this helps.

Thanks, this helped a lot. I'm going to stop worrying. Houdini seems to know what he's doing so I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing as he's healthy as a horse and is awake today so he's coming shopping with me so I can freak out people in the mall. lol

Where is this list?

 

[sweetiepie9]

Check out www.beautifuldragons.com There is a Nutrition area, plus a great care sheet. There are also stories of some of the rescues they've done. The lady who owns the rescue is in Oregon, she also has a store that raises funds for the rescue. She & her husband run it & help rescue alot of types of animals. So check out the site. The nutrition list is long & covers every green,veggie,fruit,flower,stalks,leaves, etc. It's a great list & I've been using it since 2006 when I got my first dragon.

So check it all out and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. It's better you're informed of your dragon's needs so he stays healthy & lives a long life.
Deb

 

[SuzukiRider]

Check out http://www.beautifuldragons.com There is a Nutrition area, plus a great care sheet. There are also stories of some of the rescues they've done. The lady who owns the rescue is in Oregon, she also has a store that raises funds for the rescue. She & her husband run it & help rescue alot of types of animals. So check out the site. The nutrition list is long & covers every green,veggie,fruit,flower,stalks,leaves, etc. It's a great list & I've been using it since 2006 when I got my first dragon.

So check it all out and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. It's better you're informed of your dragon's needs so he stays healthy & lives a long life.
Deb

Thanks for the link Deb, it appears to be very informative.