Question about burmation

It is that time of year and I was wanting to get some input on how people here burmate their dragons. Everyone I have talked to seems to tell me something different. So I thought this would be a good place to get some info.

Thanks

Hello,

Is this your first brumation phase? How old is your dragon?
There are some people who completely turn off the lights, letting the dragon sleep in the dark.
Others will keep the lights on, possibly lowering the wattage of the basking, etc, & shorten the length of days from 12 hours to 7-8 daylight hours, letting the dragon get less light. Then, if he does happen to come out, he will have a bit of basking time if he chooses. Many dragons do come in & out of brumation.
During brumation no supplementation, or very very little should be used due to their metabolism being slown down & them not sitting under their UVB's very much.
Personally, I do not feel they should be fed much during this time, unless they come out & stay out for a couple of days, then, you can feed some greens or veggies, or maybe a couple of worms. Just something that is easy to digest in a relatively short amount of time, in case they go back to sleep soon thereafter.

I hope this helps. I do not feel there are any "set" ways to brumate them. Every dragon is slightly different so allowances must be made for their differences.

Tracie

Tracie summed up brumation pretty well, but I also wanted to add a few things. First of all - not ALL dragons will brumate. Some will go right through the winter going as strong as ever. Second, if you suspect that your dragon is entering brumation, please make sure that your dragon is REALLY in brumation, and not just sick. Weigh your dragon and make sure that he/she is not loosing a significant amount of weight. I have found that in true brumation the dragon will not loose very much weight. A sick, or parasite-infested dragon may ACT like a dragon that is trying to brumate, but it will show other signs of illness such as significant weight loss and dehydration. If in doubt, have your vet do a check-up and fecal.

Jamie

Last winter my female burmated and my male didnot. She did it all on her own. Last month she looked like she was. She slept for a week then got up for a day or 2 then went to sleep for a nother week. Now she is up and running around. She is going to sleep for the night earlier now but still active. She is 2 years old. My other girl is 10 months old. She was asleep for 2 weeks got up but didnot really move around. She just kind of poked her head out of her cave/rock. Then she will sleep for 2 or 3 days. and do the same again. She will eat some greens now and then, sit on top of her rock for a bit then go back to sleep. She has been doing this for about a month now. She looks good big and fat gave her a bath last week.

My 3 year old female is showing no sings of wanting to burmate yet. My 2 adult males have been kind of lounging around. Slowing down not as active still eating but not as much. They are both 2 years old. Then the baby male 2 months old he is active bouncing around doing good. He will not burmate this winter. The lights all come on at 7am and go off at 7pm. Should I change the time on the lights to help with the cycle?

I keep my lights on for 8 hours during the winter. You can cycle them back up to 12 hours in the spring. This is not neccesary, but I find that it helps with breeding.

Jamie