Sleeping Dragon

Has anyone had there dragons enter brumation during the summer? I know that typically this is brought on by seasonal changes, but it's August and high 80's to low 90's where we live.

I recently adopted a 2yr old male that is always sleeping on the cool side of the tank, never basking. The previous owner took him to the vet because he was doing this with her. A OK with the vet check. The vet told the previous owner that beardies just do this and it's normal.

The basking temp is 95-100 and cool side is 85. I am currently keeping the basking spot and offering food, but he doesn't seem interested in the food. My previous dragons never went into the sleepy fog.

I am wandering if I should keep the basking spot and the UV lights on or turn everything off for a couple of weeks and allow the cage to drop to room temp which is 72?

Any thoughts would greatly be appreciated.

Hello,

Hm, well, some adult dragons do start to slow down & start wanting to cool down in middle august to late august & september timeframe.
What is his size lengthwise & his weight? You have to take that into consideration regarding his fatpads, his hydration status, etc. So he had a clear fecal at the vets then? That is good news then, no problems there.
What are you measuring the temps with currently? A stick on thermometer, or a digital probe or a temp gun?
Really, you could increase the basking temps to 95-105, but no higher as adults normally don't like it as hot as babies do. The cool side could actually be a bit cooler, say 78-82 just to ensure the ambient temps don't get too much. They need a definite hot spot & a definite cool spot to thermoregulate. Do you have a bright white basking light such as a halogen or daytime bulb in there for basking? What about your UVB source, what type & brand is it? That can make a huge difference.
How do his eyes look sunk in or bright? How does his skin look, is it tight, or a bit wrinkly?
Do you know what type of living conditions he came from?
This may very well be a brumation phase, but let's go over your husbandry & setup just to make sure everything is all setup correctly for him to rule everything else out first. We don't want him to brumate if there are other reasons he is acting this way. If your setup seems to be in order, then, we will discuss putting him into brumation or letting him brumate. It is hard to fight nature, when they want to brumate, there usually isn't a whole lot that will stop them!! LOL

Tracie

Originally Posted by Drache613

Hello,

Hm, well, some adult dragons do start to slow down & start wanting to cool down in middle august to late august & september timeframe.
What is his size lengthwise & his weight? You have to take that into consideration regarding his fatpads, his hydration status, etc. So he had a clear fecal at the vets then? That is good news then, no problems there.
What are you measuring the temps with currently? A stick on thermometer, or a digital probe or a temp gun?
Really, you could increase the basking temps to 95-105, but no higher as adults normally don't like it as hot as babies do. The cool side could actually be a bit cooler, say 78-82 just to ensure the ambient temps don't get too much. They need a definite hot spot & a definite cool spot to thermoregulate. Do you have a bright white basking light such as a halogen or daytime bulb in there for basking? What about your UVB source, what type & brand is it? That can make a huge difference.
How do his eyes look sunk in or bright? How does his skin look, is it tight, or a bit wrinkly?
Do you know what type of living conditions he came from?
This may very well be a brumation phase, but let's go over your husbandry & setup just to make sure everything is all setup correctly for him to rule everything else out first. We don't want him to brumate if there are other reasons he is acting this way. If your setup seems to be in order, then, we will discuss putting him into brumation or letting him brumate. It is hard to fight nature, when they want to brumate, there usually isn't a whole lot that will stop them!! LOL

Tracie

Thanks for the reply. Temps are taken with a digital probe. Basking source is a Zoomed Repti Basking bulb. UVB not sure on the brand...2 small fluorescent tubes, looks like a Zoomed ReptiSun.

His eyes actually look good, bright and alert when they are open. Skin looks tight, his actual weight not sure, don't have a gram scale yet, length is 17".
Not sure on the type of living conditions he came from.

Actually today we woke up for a few and moved about his cage and was basking for 10mins or so. After that went back into the same old sleeping on the cool side...not active, not basking.

Don

Hello Don,

How is your sleepy dragon doing today?
Ok, so your basking temps, are the 95-105 on basking side, & 78-82 roughly, on the cool side?
The UVB lights, are they the compact type or coil lights? If so, then they are not putting much if anything out & they can hurt their eyes too. Can you please check for me & let me know if they are those types of lights, they will look like a mini spiral or a shortened version of a mini tubing type of thing. They are not as good as the long, tubed flourescent UVB's. Is the light new then? There are so many of the UVB's that just are not very good. The basking bulbs alot of times do not appear as bright as halogens do. Does it appear very bright? Just asking, because the brightness makes a huge difference in their behaviour. Just making sure of everything before just relenting to the fact it could be brumation. You don't want to let a dragon go in if he isn't heavy enough or have sufficient fat stores. Do you have a pic of him possibly? At 17 inches, he should weigh at least 300 or more grams by now.
Let me know what type of UVB you have.

Tracie

Originally Posted by Drache613

Hello Don,

How is your sleepy dragon doing today?
Ok, so your basking temps, are the 95-105 on basking side, & 78-82 roughly, on the cool side?
The UVB lights, are they the compact type or coil lights? If so, then they are not putting much if anything out & they can hurt their eyes too. Can you please check for me & let me know if they are those types of lights, they will look like a mini spiral or a shortened version of a mini tubing type of thing. They are not as good as the long, tubed flourescent UVB's. Is the light new then? There are so many of the UVB's that just are not very good. The basking bulbs alot of times do not appear as bright as halogens do. Does it appear very bright? Just asking, because the brightness makes a huge difference in their behaviour. Just making sure of everything before just relenting to the fact it could be brumation. You don't want to let a dragon go in if he isn't heavy enough or have sufficient fat stores. Do you have a pic of him possibly? At 17 inches, he should weigh at least 300 or more grams by now.
Let me know what type of UVB you have.

Tracie

Hi Tracie

Well he is still sleeping today...no activity, no basking. The UVB light is a fluorescent tube made by Exo-Terra it's the Repti Glo 8.0 I don't know how old it is, looks like new. The heat light is a Zoomed Basking bulb...non halogen.
But it appears to be bright, I have never had a problem using Zoomed bulbs in the past with other beardies. I don't have a picture of him yet, but I can take one tomorrow and post it.


Don

Hello Don,

Well, if you don't know how old it is, then it is probably time for a new one! Have you replaced it since you have gotten him, more than once or just bought it & haven't ever replaced it? They do decline over a period of 4-5 months. A good thing to do is to write the purchase date in magic marker on the base of the bulb so you remember when you bought it.
The zoomed basking bulbs are ok. I have to admit though, when compared with the halogens they aren't nearly as bright. However, if the temps are fine, that will do for now.
I would suggest at the moment, to get a new reptiglo, maybe upgrade to a 10, at 8-10 inches from him. See if that makes any difference. You should try everything before letting him brumate though, just to make sure.
Yes, I would like to see a pic of him. Thanks!

Tracie

sound like fussing over nothing but maybe try www.dachiu.com this is were i bought my dragons this people have been breeding for yrs there always nice and will help anyone with questions hope this helps

Hello,

Ah, quite the contrary. A dragon should not brumate during summer, so, if they exhibit that type of sluggish behavior during the wrong time of the year something is off whether it be health wise or husbandry wise, most of the time.
There have many people who have mistaken brumation for something else only to have their dragons pass away on them.

Tracie

Well he's still sleeping....I took a picture of him, but my batteries need recharging, I'll post a picture of him as soon as I can. I did find out that the UVB light is 2months old.

Don

Here is a picture of him.



Don