Beardie won't leave hide/ cool area..

[JAKO91]

Hey guys, quick question. My girl has been having a pretty tough shed for well over a month now, she's been going bit by bit: arms, legs, head, beard, neck, belly, tail and now finally her back is starting to come off. She's been a bit grumpy the whole time, but not awful, warm soaks tend to cheer her up and she's still eating a few superworms and locusts every day but hardly any greens. Anyway, for the past week since her back started going, she hasn't left her hide at all hardly, just layed up under it looking half asleep. I Don't think i've seen her in the warm half of the tank at all hardly...

Is this hiding normal for a tough shed? She will still eat a bit if i wiggle a worm under her nose, but wont leave the hide. Her poop seems fine, if a little bit longer between each poop as her diet has decreased a little. All temps are ok.

It's probably just down to the shedding but thought i'd make sure.

 

[JAKO91]

A little picture of the grumpy girl.

 

[ThDude]

there is a link in my post to a thread where brumation is being talked about right now.

here is a part of what Germ said in the thread on the signs of Brumation
Activity slows
Appetite dwindles
It spends the majority of it's time on the cooler areas of the enclosure
Sleeping the majority of the day
Eyes open but no other movement
Refuse to Bask for any length of time
Digging to find a place to hide
Spends it's daylight inside it's hide

Read more: http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/index.php?threads/brumation.5925/#ixzz1w6I8gVTj

 

[JAKO91]

Ahhh this could very well be the case. She is only 6 months old though, does anybody know if they have to be a certain age before they start brumating? Thanks for the link ThDude!

 

[Em Lynch]

I'm pretty sure Brumation is very unlikely this time of year, but i'm not entirely 100% until someone clarify's this. Do you have accurate temperature readings of your basking spot and warm side of the viv? and a picture of your set-up? if its too hot on the basking side she may be over-heating and trying to thermo-regulate by staying in a comfortable heat region

 

[Em Lynch]

* and the lack of appetite and attitude are common with large sheds as well as the gap between pooping

 

[Deac77]

They can start to Brumate at anytime of year as far as I can tell its from temp not season stubble himself tried to put himself back down for a brumation I just cranked his temps back up lol we had a week of rain an it stayed in the low 70a that's a drastic change from the 110-115 it was before also I've noticed if the temp of your house gets to cold at night it can trigger it that being said I'd assume it's a bad shed I'd just give warm baths daily till its over

 

[ThDude]

Ahhh this could very well be the case. She is only 6 months old though, does anybody know if they have to be a certain age before they start brumating? Thanks for the link ThDude!

im not sure, i would ask Germ or another higher up member that may know. that is if they dont see this thread and reply.

 

[Germ]

As Deac77 said & I agree, while it is possible at an earlier age, generally Brumation will only occur after they have reached 1+ years old, in captivity. EM it depends on what part of the world we are in for as to what the seasons are. In captivity, their seasons are created by their keepers. There could be several reasons for this activity, as also mentioned, shed could be one & it may be a good idea to post your husbandry specs along with a pic of your enclosure that shows the lighting placement etc, to be on the safer side & to rule out any issues there.

 

[Aleena]

Definitely sounds like an issue of a tough shed. Just keep bathing the poor girl an extra time/week. She'll make it through!

 

[Deac77]

The mention of lighting reminded me sometimes bad sheds can e attributed to the type of UVB and placement along with temp what are you using as a UVB bulb? I agree any pics of your set up would be awesome when it comes I my beardies especially young one I bathe daily during a shed

 

[JAKO91]

My air temp in the basking spot is around 41-43C, however the surface of the slate tile underneath the light often reaches 46C+ towards the end of the day ( is this too hot for the beardie too touch? Ive been curious about this also, if its a really hot day and i come home from being out for a while, sometimes the slate tile has soared up to about 48C but the air temp is fine at about 43C, if so i will open her door ajar and it will cool down fairly quickly. Is this ok? I imagine in the wild out in the baking summer sun the rock surface temp must soar well in to the 50's while the air temp remains much lower?) There is a log near the basking light which she could bask on anyway if the tiles were too hot, but like i say, she isnt using it at the minute.
Anyway..
The cool side sits between 29-30C. I'm using the reptiglo 5.0 uvb tube (3 months old), and a log underneath so she can get right up to it. I'm bathing her every other day while shes shedding, sometimes every day. After a bath she always perks up a lot and go's really bright and gets a bit more active, then after half hour she just goes back in her cave. Her staple at the minute is Superworms as she won't touch crickets anymore, and occasionally she'll eat a few locusts/ grasshoppers (always dusted). She doesn't eat greens at all, i offer every day but I figure she'll just eventually eat them when she wants to. I' use slate tiles as substrate and have two digi-thermometers to check my temps

She seems pretty healthy to me, shes not lost any weight and seems to be growing still, she doesn't look 'ill', she just wont leave that cave. (I have to dis-assemble the ledge around her to get her out for a bath).

-Another kind of related question- Looking back, its probably been closer to 2 months since she first started shedding, is it normal for a dragon to take this long to shed? - I should really start keeping a little diary of stuff like this, i imagine it will help to look back on in the future.

 

[Deac77]

Your set up seems nice only thing I would change is the UVB bulb these are high sunlight reptiles and need a 10.0 UVB bulb it set up is very similar to mine actually although I use fahrenheit so I am not sure what the temps are but sound just fine personally anytime they shed I give daily baths that being said looks healthy no sign that I can see of retained shed just keep up the warm baths and offer food after baths see what that does for you

 

[Germ]

You should be just fine with the 5.0 UVB in that low enclosure with it unfiltered.

 

[Josh]

Love seeing everyone come together to help a fellow BDF member!

 

[JAKO91]

So the skin finally came off in the bath today! She seemed real chirpy and fine, she drank and pooped, same as yesterday, then went and destroyed about 12 Superworms. She seemed quite happy and lively so i went out for about 15 mins, but when i came back she was straight back in that cave again...

She looks absolutely fine health-wise, is it possible she just loves the cave? Its strange how she's only just taken a shine to it in the past week or so. Even when she's in it her eyes are still bright and she looks around at stuff. Weird.

 

[Germ]

The reason I say that a 5.0 would be\is fine in that setup is that we have to take the setup into consideration. In that particular setup, the BD has close access to the UVB bulb with nothing blocking it. It is likely receiving as much or more effective UVB set up the way it is than most enclosures with a 10.0 mounted above a fine screen. 10.0s are the general recommendation, because that is the case more times than not.

 

[JAKO91]

Thats precisely why i got the 5.o Germ. My friend worked in a reptile shop for years and told me that a 10.0 might do more harm than good in such a low enclosure.

 

[Germ]

Your surface temps do seem to be quite hot, I would try a lower wattage bulb to see if that makes any difference. Mine will periodically behave similarly for short periods, days to a week or so. I may have missed it if you have already said, but how old is your BD?

 

[JAKO91]

I will try and sort the surface temp under the basking bulb, maybe a sheet of bark underneath, that should stop the heat absorbtion a bit, it wouldn't be so much like a hot-plate then. Will also try a lower watt bulb like you say.
-She's just reached 7 months, she's quite large for that age (over 16 inches) but i double checked with the breeder and he said that she just ate really really well as a baby and grew quickly.