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Is our Beardie sick or brumating?

MellowExo

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
10
Our bearded dragon is 14 months old. He has always been a picky eater but he would always eat something of what was offered. He is always offered greens which he doesn’t always eat but on his good days he ate them most of the time. He likes blueberries. He also eats discoid roaches, mealworms, soldier fly larvae, super worms and he’s had hornworms a few times. He used to love discoid roaches but now prefers worms although we keep it balanced and change it up all the time.

For a few months now we noticed he was not eating as much as he used to but we thought that it might be that he was getting older.

But for about two weeks now, he has eaten very little. Seven days ago he had two small discoids and a tiny piece of mustard greens. He had a poop about two days later when I put him in a bath. Yesterday he ate 3 mealworms and today we offered greens and blueberries and he didn’t eat either.

He is in 50 gal tank. His basking area is at 105 degrees but the top of the rock in the basking area is at 132 degrees (temp taken with probe gun). The warm side of the tank is at 91 degrees and the cool side is at 80 degrees. His UVB light is on for 12 hours a day every day and heat for the same amount of time. At night with everything off, the temp gets down to 73 degrees.

He has never been a super hyper dragon but he moved all around his tank all the time and loved to sit and watch us when we were around. He is in my son’s bedroom. Now he is either inside his cave or he will lay inside a log on the cool side of the tank and not move much at all. It seems he spends more time with his eyes open so he isn’t really sleeping all the time. He will at times lift his head and just look in our direction. If the lights are on in the tank, most of the time his eyes are open.

His weight is good, he has not lost any weight.

So here are our main concerns:

Is Exo brumating?

Could Exo be sick?

Do we reduce the amount of time the lights are on and remove heat?

Should we leave his lights off and leave or remove heat?

He is in a kid’s bedroom, should we cover his tank when the lights of the room are on?



I have attached a photo of our setup and you can see Exo peeking out of his cave.
 

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Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,692
Our bearded dragon is 14 months old. He has always been a picky eater but he would always eat something of what was offered. He is always offered greens which he doesn’t always eat but on his good days he ate them most of the time. He likes blueberries. He also eats discoid roaches, mealworms, soldier fly larvae, super worms and he’s had hornworms a few times. He used to love discoid roaches but now prefers worms although we keep it balanced and change it up all the time.

For a few months now we noticed he was not eating as much as he used to but we thought that it might be that he was getting older.

But for about two weeks now, he has eaten very little. Seven days ago he had two small discoids and a tiny piece of mustard greens. He had a poop about two days later when I put him in a bath. Yesterday he ate 3 mealworms and today we offered greens and blueberries and he didn’t eat either.

He is in 50 gal tank. His basking area is at 105 degrees but the top of the rock in the basking area is at 132 degrees (temp taken with probe gun). The warm side of the tank is at 91 degrees and the cool side is at 80 degrees. His UVB light is on for 12 hours a day every day and heat for the same amount of time. At night with everything off, the temp gets down to 73 degrees.

He has never been a super hyper dragon but he moved all around his tank all the time and loved to sit and watch us when we were around. He is in my son’s bedroom. Now he is either inside his cave or he will lay inside a log on the cool side of the tank and not move much at all. It seems he spends more time with his eyes open so he isn’t really sleeping all the time. He will at times lift his head and just look in our direction. If the lights are on in the tank, most of the time his eyes are open.

His weight is good, he has not lost any weight.

So here are our main concerns:

Is Exo brumating? Possibility but your surface basking temp should be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer and NEVER over 110- older dragons like basking temps 95-100 ---

Could Exo be sick? maybe

Do we reduce the amount of time the lights are on and remove heat? Lights should be on 12 hrs on 12 hrs off --

Should we leave his lights off and leave or remove heat? No adjust the heat

He is in a kid’s bedroom, should we cover his tank when the lights of the room are on? Dragons need 12 hrs on 12 hrs off and if the lights are on in kids room over 12 hrs I would put him in a different room or he will be up longer if they are staying up longer
Are you using a coil in one of the domes for a UVB? Coils are NO good --- they are inadequate and long term use will cause all kinds of health issues and possible death ---- we need to get those surface basking temps adjusted - please get 2 digital probe thermometers place the probe on the spot where he sits to bask get a actual surface basking temp please and if your using a coil UVB it needs to be replaced as soon as you can --- I can post links for good long tube UVB's
I have attached a photo of our setup and you can see Exo peeking out of his cave.
 

MellowExo

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
10
Thanks for the reply.
He has a 36” uvb light the spans the whole length of his tank. You can see the white line of the light on the top rear part of the tank in the picture I posted. The round light is a heat lamp.

Temps were taken with a temp probe gun and with digital thermometers and temp readings were within one degree between digital thermometer and probe gun readings.

His basking area is at 105 degrees but the top of the rock in the basking area is at 132 degrees (temp taken with probe gun). The warm side of the tank is at 91 degrees and the cool side is at 80 degrees.
 

MellowExo

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
10
Thanks for the reply.
He has a 36” uvb light the spans the whole length of his tank. You can see the white line of the light on the top rear part of the tank in the picture I posted. We change the uvb light every 6 months. The round light is a heat lamp.

Temps were taken with a temp probe gun and with digital thermometers and temp readings were within one degree between digital thermometer and probe gun readings.

His basking area is at 105 degrees but the top of the rock in the basking area is at 132 degrees (temp taken with probe gun). The warm side of the tank is at 91 degrees and the cool side is at 80 degrees.
 

Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
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10,692
Please lower the 132 degrees ------ it is way too hot---- adult dragons like 95-100 ---- the screen on the tank is a fine mesh or a wide hole type--- this will determine the placement of the UVB --- screens block out 30% of the rays --- we need to rule out surface basking temps and UVB to determine if he is going into brumation ---- incorrect temps in the tank and UVB will cause dragons to mimic brumation behavior --
 

MellowExo

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
10
Then asking area is at 105 degrees. It’s the actual rock that gets to 132 degrees in the same area. If I point he probe gun to the basking area it shows 105 but if I point in right on the rock, the rock itself is at 132 degrees which means that if I lower the temp to get the surface of rock to be cooler, the basking area would cool down way too much.
 

Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,692
Then asking area is at 105 degrees. It’s the actual rock that gets to 132 degrees in the same area. If I point he probe gun to the basking area it shows 105 but if I point in right on the rock, the rock itself is at 132 degrees which means that if I lower the temp to get the surface of rock to be cooler, the basking area would cool down way too much.
IR guns can be off please use your digital probe thermometer to get actual basking temps- IR guns can be off as much as 10 degrees depending on what the decor piece is made of --- digital probes are more accurate -- she could be hiding because its too hot in the tank -- or she could be just reacting toward the change of seasons too -- mine have slowed down on eating -- still basking and what not moving around but not eating as much - where is the dragon sitting for basking ?
 

MellowExo

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
10
We have the digital thermometer set right where the basking area is. And it is showing the same readings I have already posted. If you see the photo with the red circle, you can see the probe and also where I am pointing with a gun which is giving me the high reading on the actual rock. The second image shows the temperature the digital thermometer is showing in the basking area. The basking area is reading 104.7
 

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Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,692
We have the digital thermometer set right where the basking area is. And it is showing the same readings I have already posted. If you see the photo with the red circle, you can see the probe and also where I am pointing with a gun which is giving me the high reading on the actual rock. The second image shows the temperature the digital thermometer is showing in the basking area. The basking area is reading 104.7
I take it she never sits up there at that temp-- what is the temp she's basking at?
 

MellowExo

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
10
We have had the same readings, maybe one or two degrees off since we first got him. He would always bask on the rock. It is only now after 11.5 months of having him is he acting the way he is. We have not changed temps, tanks, room placement or diet at any point.
 

Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,692
We have had the same readings, maybe one or two degrees off since we first got him. He would always bask on the rock. It is only now after 11.5 months of having him is he acting the way he is. We have not changed temps, tanks, room placement or diet at any point.
Ok so the only thing that has changed is the age of the dragon- well I can only say try and get the temps to 95-100 and then watch the behavior --- if it doesnt phase him / her then I would say its probably the seasons changing --- older dragons do not like real hot temps--- start w/ that --
 

Earls MUM

Hatchling Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
56
If she is going in her hide, hanging out in the cool end, off her food and lethargic she is in brumation.She only needs the lights and heat on for 10hrs. It is a myth when people think they sleep all the time in brumation. Mine is currently in the same exact situation as yours. I offer water and don't force food on him. Hope this helps and I'm an experienced bearded dragon Mama!!
 

MellowExo

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
10
If she is going in her hide, hanging out in the cool end, off her food and lethargic she is in brumation.She only needs the lights and heat on for 10hrs. It is a myth when people think they sleep all the time in brumation. Mine is currently in the same exact situation as yours. I offer water and don't force food on him. Hope this helps and I'm an experienced bearded dragon Mama!!
Thank you for your response! I will reduce the light and heat to 10 hours. I think he (sorry I meant to mention it's a he) is definitely brumating. We have offered food on the days he moved a bit. 5 days ago he had 3 mealworms and 2 days ago he had a blueberry but he hasn't pooped so I'm watching out for that. We have offered water often and he has licked a bit but not much. He's been hiding in his log for 2 days now and I don't know if that is the reason he hasn't pooped yet (not moving much) When he was eating everyday, he would poop every other day. Any suggestions on helping him poop???
 

MellowExo

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
10
Thank you for your response! I will reduce the light and heat to 10 hours. I think he (sorry I meant to mention it's a he) is definitely brumating. We have offered food on the days he moved a bit. 5 days ago he had 3 mealworms and 2 days ago he had a blueberry but he hasn't pooped so I'm watching out for that. We have offered water often and he has licked a bit but not much. He's been hiding in his log for 2 days now and I don't know if that is the reason he hasn't pooped yet (not moving much) When he was eating everyday, he would poop every other day. Any suggestions on helping him poop???
Something else I was wondering.....The beardie is in my son's bedroom. We have been covering his tank whenever my son is in the room and the tank lights and heat are off but is that necessary or is it ok to just turn off the heat and lights in the tank while the room lights are still on?
 

Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,692
Something else I was wondering.....The beardie is in my son's bedroom. We have been covering his tank whenever my son is in the room and the tank lights and heat are off but is that necessary or is it ok to just turn off the heat and lights in the tank while the room lights are still on?
You can do that but dragons do like cool and dark to sleep - so he may not fully go to sleep till everything is off in the room
 

Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,692
Thank you for your response! I will reduce the light and heat to 10 hours. I think he (sorry I meant to mention it's a he) is definitely brumating. We have offered food on the days he moved a bit. 5 days ago he had 3 mealworms and 2 days ago he had a blueberry but he hasn't pooped so I'm watching out for that. We have offered water often and he has licked a bit but not much. He's been hiding in his log for 2 days now and I don't know if that is the reason he hasn't pooped yet (not moving much) When he was eating everyday, he would poop every other day. Any suggestions on helping him poop???
If the dragon is impacted then feed some baby food pumpkin w/ a drop of olive oil -- dragons do not poop every day and they can go long periods of time w/ out pooping --- if the surface basking temps and UVB are all correct the dragon will go ---
here is a link to info on brumation
 
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