Young dragon brumating

Status
Not open for further replies.

GojiBerry

Member
Beardie name(s)
Jeffrey
Jeff is 8 months old and is showing signs of brumation. He saw the vet in early November where he was diagnosed with parasites and given antibiotics. A recent stool test showed this is now clear. They have done a blood test and we are awaiting the results.

Jeff is not interested in food, doesn't get out of his hide in the morning but is happy to sit on his basking rock when I put him there. He'll stay there for a couple of hours and then mooch back to a hide or his favourite corner.

Food wise he will occasionally take a waxworm or two from me but he's not interested in any more than that and he won't entertain locusts, dubias or mealworms and he positively looks away from his veggies.

The vet said he is nice and alert and certainly put up a fight when she was taking blood. I asked whether this was brumation and she said it could be; that he's on the young end but it's not unheard of for a dragon of his age to go through this.

I should also mention that our UK weather changed from warm and bright to dull and cold at about the same time so I don't know if this is what has made him change or whether it's merely coincidence.

So my question is do I assume this could be in brumation and stop getting him out of his bed in the morning and just literally leave him to do whatever he wants? This has been ongoing since early November. He hasn't lost any weight. He's 17.5" long and weighed 354g last week.

We are first time beardy owners so haven't experienced this before.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
 
Last edited:

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 5
Jeff is 8 months old and is showing signs of brumation. He saw the vet in early November where he was diagnosed with parasites and given antibiotics. A recent stool test showed this is now clear. They have done a blood test and we are awaiting the results.

Jeff is not interested in food, doesn't get out of his hide in the morning but is happy to sit on his basking rock when I put him there. He'll stay there for a couple of hours and then mooch back to a hide or his favourite corner.

Food wise he will occasionally take a waxworm or two from me but he's not interested in any more than that and he won't entertain locusts, dubias or mealworms and he positively looks away from his veggies.

The vet said he is nice and alert and certainly put up a fight when she was taking blood. I asked whether this was brumation and she said it could be; that he's on the young end but it's not unheard of for a dragon of his age to go through this.

I should also mention that our UK weather changed from warm and bright to dull and cold at about the same time so I don't know if this is what has made him change or whether it's merely coincidence.

So my question is do I assume this could be in brumation and stop getting him out of his bed in the morning and just literally leave him to do whatever he wants? This has been ongoing since early November. He hasn't lost any weight. He's 17.5" long and weighed 354g last week.

We are first time beardy owners so haven't experienced this before.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Dragons slow down in the winter time - I would say its not brumation as that is when they go to sleep for months like 3 or they could semi brumate and sleep for a week or so and then come out - I have one that does that and one that is brumating now and is sleeping all the time - keep offering food but they will go off their food due to weather changes etc -- as long as your surface basking temps are 95-100 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer and your using a long tube UVB fixture NO coils please and its properly placed for the screen on the tank and distance he should be fine- also the UVB is not expired as well - watch his behavior and follow his lead -- parasites are not a issue so thats good -
 

GojiBerry

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Jeffrey
Dragons slow down in the winter time - I would say its not brumation as that is when they go to sleep for months like 3 or they could semi brumate and sleep for a week or so and then come out - I have one that does that and one that is brumating now and is sleeping all the time - keep offering food but they will go off their food due to weather changes etc -- as long as your surface basking temps are 95-100 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer and your using a long tube UVB fixture NO coils please and its properly placed for the screen on the tank and distance he should be fine- also the UVB is not expired as well - watch his behavior and follow his lead -- parasites are not a issue so thats good -
Thank you for your reply. Surface temps are taken with a handgun and we have digital probes in both sides. Hot side generally sits 40C and cool at 23C. We have a long UVB which was changed early November and is placed correctly. The top of our tank is wooden so it's mounted inside. I will watch and see what happens. Thanks once again.
 

GojiBerry

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Jeffrey
Thank you for your reply. Surface temps are taken with a handgun and we have digital probes in both sides. Hot side generally sits 40C and cool at 23C. We have a long UVB which was changed early November and is placed correctly. The top of our tank is wooden so it's mounted inside. I will watch and see what happens. Thanks once again.
Another quick question if you don’t mind. I have been lifting him onto his basking rock a couple of times a day. Should I stop doing that and just leave him to do his own thing? Thank you.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
He should be fine , you can put him on the basking spot at least a few times a week but either way Jeff should be O.K
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Still Needs Help

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

Mirage is feeling sPiCy
Does this look like a healthy beardie
LarryTheLizard wrote on ForLeonard!'s profile.
Aww your profile picture is precious ❤️‍🩹
Hey! I'm planning on ordering a 4x2x2 for my next beardie but I'm worried about lighting. I have a UVA and a UVB but they are small (the UVA just being a bulb and the UVB being 12 ish inches?) My house is drafty so I need a strong light that puts off quite a good amount of heat, any suggestions?

Forum statistics

Threads
157,652
Messages
1,277,084
Members
76,998
Latest member
Peterkamau
Top Bottom