reassurance please, and questions

[staylor]

You all know that I worry a lot. Tomorrow Piggy will be down to 8 hours of day so she is almost at lights out, after 5 hours I can just turn them off for a while correct? This is my first time dealing with this so I am worried. She is going to wake back up right? (I know nothing is a guarantee so should she not I will not hold anyone responsible for telling me she is) Going into this process she was healthy. I am going to give her a good soak on her 5 hour day to make sure she has good hydration going into her sleep.

What is the time range I should expect her to sleep for?
Should I check her daily, weekly, monthly to make sure she is still alive?
How much weight should I expect her to loose?
What should I feed her when she first wakes up?
How quickly will she wake up? Is it going to take her a few days, week, month to get back to normal?
When should she start pooping again?
Should I expect her to do this every year?
How can these little lizards stress me out so much? ok that one is not a real question be seriously she worries me as much as my human kids do.
Anything else I should know or be doing different?

 

[ladyknite]

What is the time range I should expect her to sleep for? anywhere from a few days to months. up to the dragon

Should I check her daily, weekly, monthly to make sure she is still alive? I check weekly. I make sure ambient temps are within range and she's cool to the touch.

How much weight should I expect her to loose? Most lose around 30-50 grams. If she's healthy going in, she may not lose. You'll notice a even plain if you weigh her weekly

What should I feed her when she first wakes up?veggies

How quickly will she wake up? Is it going to take her a few days, week, month to get back to normal? usually a few days to a week to get up, eating well and demanding food

When should she start pooping again? it takes a few days. hydration and moist salad help this out. 1 poop minimum before proteins

Should I expect her to do this every year? pretty much

How can these little lizards stress me out so much? ok that one is not a real question be seriously she worries me as much as my human kids do.it's ok...........we're there with you

Anything else I should know or be doing different? nope, sounds like you've got a handle on it. Although less coffee and a nice bubble bath might help ;D

 

[staylor]

Thank you. When will I know when to turn her lights back on? Will she come out on her own or should I turn them on every so often to see if she will come out?

 

[li]

Am I understanding right that you are shutting lights off completely?

 

[staylor]

yes I am.

 

[staylor]

here is one of the post that lead me to the choice of turning off all light. There were other threads too this one is just the most resent and easy to find.

Yes leave the lights on while they are still "semi-concious" and no longer basking. It won't hurt their eyes as that is the UV source to begin with, all you are doing then is using the UV lights to give them a day/night period (photo-period). If they are fully asleep then you can turn all the lights off if you wish to provide total darkness (my prefered method). The whole enclosure then acts like a giant burrow where they will sleep the winter off. In saying this the temps during brumation must still be maintained at around 15C no less than 10C. This can be done a number of ways either heat the whole house up so the enclosure stays at those levels or use a CHE in the enclosure (I have my CHEs wired to a thermostat to have maximum control) or a wall mounted heatcord/mat.

 

[Red Ink AUS]

I just want to add that a full shut down is my prefered method and by all means is not the be all and end all of doing things, as everybody pretty much knows by now I don't really do things the straight foward kinda way . If the lights are not disturbing the specimen they can be left on to mimic the natural photo period.

My reasoning in shutting the lights off is to mimic natural condtions of a burrow as I have not provided that in the micro-environment.

 

[staylor]

I just want to add that a full shut down is my prefered method and by all means is not the be all and end all of doing things, as everybody pretty much knows by now I don't really do things the straight foward kinda way . If the lights are not disturbing the specimen they can be left on to mimic the natural photo period.

My reasoning in shutting the lights off is to mimic natural condtions of a burrow as I have not provided that in the micro-environment.

She does seems to sleep better when they are off then when they are on. When they are on she sticks her head in the back of her hide in an uncomfortable looking position. When they turn off she readjust to a more comfortable position. She is still getting some light from what comes in the windows but not a lot since she is about 15 feet away from the window. I am doing it this way b/c you said you do so I know its safe for her but mostly b/c she seems to like it better with all the lights out so I am taking my ques from her. If she did not seem bothered by the lights then I would leave them on for a few hours a day but she is rather annoyed by them so they are off.

 

[Red Ink AUS]

I just want to add that a full shut down is my prefered method and by all means is not the be all and end all of doing things, as everybody pretty much knows by now I don't really do things the straight foward kinda way . If the lights are not disturbing the specimen they can be left on to mimic the natural photo period.

My reasoning in shutting the lights off is to mimic natural condtions of a burrow as I have not provided that in the micro-environment.

She does seems to sleep better when they are off then when they are on. When they are on she sticks her head in the back of her hide in an uncomfortable looking position. When they turn off she readjust to a more comfortable position. She is still getting some light from what comes in the windows but not a lot since she is about 15 feet away from the window. I am doing it this way b/c you said you do so I know its safe for her but mostly b/c she seems to like it better with all the lights out so I am taking my ques from her. If she did not seem bothered by the lights then I would leave them on for a few hours a day but she is rather annoyed by them so they are off.

Well that's exactly why I do the full shut down they seem to be more peaceful and comfortable with the lights off, as you said ques from the dragon

 

[staylor]

makes me feel better knowing I am not doing any harm to her. I like to treat do things different for each dragon. What one likes the other doesn't so I like to customize their care to their own likes and dislikes.

 

[Craiger]

I just want to add that a full shut down is my prefered method and by all means is not the be all and end all of doing things, as everybody pretty much knows by now I don't really do things the straight foward kinda way . If the lights are not disturbing the specimen they can be left on to mimic the natural photo period.

My reasoning in shutting the lights off is to mimic natural condtions of a burrow as I have not provided that in the micro-environment.

Quick question for you Francis. How do you know when they're ready to come out of brumation if the lights are off the entire time? Will they wake up and move around?

 

[Red Ink AUS]

I just want to add that a full shut down is my prefered method and by all means is not the be all and end all of doing things, as everybody pretty much knows by now I don't really do things the straight foward kinda way . If the lights are not disturbing the specimen they can be left on to mimic the natural photo period.

My reasoning in shutting the lights off is to mimic natural condtions of a burrow as I have not provided that in the micro-environment.

Quick question for you Francis. How do you know when they're ready to come out of brumation if the lights are off the entire time? Will they wake up and move around?

Late winter or first week of spring is when i turn the lights back on for short periods (5 hours per day) mate and monitor signs of activity for a week. If I don't get much activity then I shut them off for another two weeks. Then slowly bring them back up to copy the natural photo-period. This method hasn't failed me yet to bring them out of brumation. I usually get activity by the 2nd week of spring and two weeks later they are already displaying spring fever lol.

 

[li]

This is obviously a personal choice as to leave them on or off. I always kept the lights on, although shortened the "ON" time quite a bit. If you do decide to shut them off, then you have to be really on top of their habits/actions. Personally I feel that only a person who has many years of experience should go the route of shutting down the lights completely. Many of these people still don't turn the lights off. It absolutely doesn't hurt them to keep the lights on and if they are truly brumating, then the lights won't bother them at all.

 

[Craiger]

Thanks guys. I'm about to limit them to 5 hour intervals as they've been on 8 for a couple days. Is that about how long you left them on, Lisa? I'm still not 100% comfortable turning them completely off, but want to be open minded for what's best for them. Sam seems to keep her eyes open while lights are on. Frodo, on the other hand, couldn't care less. LOL!

 

[staylor]

I have to admit, I am not comfortable with shutting them off completely but the weeks leading up to lights out she was shoving her head in the back of her hide and digging. Once her lights went out she was more relaxed and comfortable. Since I stay home it gives me a lot of time to watch her very closely and I am able to see the smallest changes in her. If I worked then I don't think I would do a full shut off since I would be out of the house so many hours a day.

 

[li]

Kept them on for about an 8 hour day. Don't forget, in the wild when they brumate, the sun doesn't stop shining. Yes is not as powerful as in the summer and doesn't stay up as long...and we would assume that the beardie is in a hole somewhere...but they are still exposed to some light.
If you shut them off completely...how is the "average joe" going to tell when they are ready to stop brumating. ESPECIALLY if the owner isn't somebody who has been dealing with multiple beardies for years.

 

[Craiger]

Thanks Lisa. I think that's what I'm going to do with my lights. I've offered both of them hides, but they haven't used them. They'd just rather sleep in a corner. I think I might try to put a seperate hide in the corner of their choice to see if they use it. That way, at least the light won't bother them as much.

On a side note, evidently what I'm doing in husbandry is working well. The exotic vet I took them to last week was a new one recommended to me by a local exotic pet store (THE best in our area). The doctor was amazed at Sam....her color, appearance and overall health. Then, when I opened the box to reveal Frodo, he almost took a step back. Frodo was standing tall and very alert. There was a vet tech in the room with him and they both started going bananas over Frodo....calling in the other staff. They couldn't get over how much bigger he was than Sam. Granted, he's not nearly as big as some of Gina's dragons, but he's a good-sized dragon at almost 22 inches and 630 grams. They commented on his bone structure, muscularity (if that's a word...LOL!), and his attentiveness. After a complete exam of both, they just kept going on and on about them. I asked, "So you think they look okay?" The doctors response was, "They're gorgeous! Honestly, probably the two best looking dragons I've ever seen." It made me feel good. So I told them of Gandalf and showed them a video of him on my phone. When they saw his enclosure, they were like, "Is that his setup?" After I responded "yes" they wanted to know if the bearded dragons had similar enclosures. Of course! ;D I went home with a renewed confidence.

I guess I say all that to say this to Sandra. Try not to worry too much. Just being, here, on this forum puts us heads and shoulders above most bearded dragon keepers. We care enough to do whatever we can to provide the best for ours. And with the help of those, here, much more knoweldgeable than you and I, I'm confident our dragons will live very happy and healthy lives. At least, as healthy as possible.

 

[li]

Craig...I have always been a little partial to Frodo. He is such a cutie. You did such a good job with all your guys, they are wonderful looking.

 

[Craiger]

Craig...I have always been a little partial to Frodo. He is such a cutie. You did such a good job with all your guys, they are wonderful looking.

Thanks Lisa. Of course, I had the help of very good friends!

 

[li]

That just seems like forever ago!