Tired/Falling Asleep Dragon

[BobFullington]

My dragon has been slowly closing her eyes and seeming to fall asleep all throughout the day while resting on her perching branch. Her arm will also slide from gripping the branch to just laying by her side as though she was too tired to hold on. Her belly also appears slightly bloated although she has always been rather well-rounded. She eats well and defecates perhaps more often than normal (once a day, on occasion twice). I have just relocated her from my old house to my apartment and her light timer had to be adjusted about two hours, this was about two weeks ago. Is this something I should be concerned about or is it expected behavior?

Additionally, is it ok to store crickets for her food in the fridge for a long period of time (about a week) if I warm them up before feeding her and are fairly loud noises going to bother her (a TV set turned up to just above normal levels)?

 

[renich]

HI and welcome to our forum.

It could be relocation stress. I have to ask a couple of questions before I can make any assumptions -
1. How old is your beardie?
2. What are the temps in your viv - hot and cold?
3. What is your UV light?
4. What substrate do you have?
5. What are you feeding you beardie?
6. Is this behavior you have noticed since moving? Nothing prior to your move?
7. How long are lights on/off?

Personally, I don't like the idea of storing the crickets in the fridge. I think you loose some of the nutritional value. These are live crickets that you are putting in the fridge?

Not sure about the TV. We have our TV on when Bernie's lights would go off. He was not affected.

 

[BobFullington]

1. How old is your beardie?
About 5 years
2. What are the temps in your viv - hot and cold?
93ish under the light, 75 on the other side of the cage
3. What is your UV light?
Its a generic flourescent for reptiles, I don't have the box so I can't tell you for sure
4. What substrate do you have?
Play sand and thin walnut shells, she's been in this all her life
5. What are you feeding you beardie?
Kale, carrots, strawberries, occasionally peaches in the morning, 6-7 crickets at night
6. Is this behavior you have noticed since moving? Nothing prior to your move?
I didn't live in the same room as her before the move so I wasn't observing her very closely but yes it seems to have begun since the move
7. How long are lights on/off?
12am-10am the lights are off

The crickets in the fridge are live. She loves crickets and living in an apartment now I can't keep them in their own tank. I could switch to mealworms but I was hoping I could just buy 20 or so crickets and keep them in the fridge for a week.

I am more and more beginning to suspect that she's simply very tired (and a little fat) simply because she doesn't shut her eyes, even after the lights gone out, until the room is almost perfectly silent. I suspect she might be used to a much more subdued environment and we're simply keeping her awake too long.

 

[renich]

Hmm..have you ever taken your beardie to a herp vet? I'm not sure about your generic UV bulb. Beardies require a lot of UV and each UV bulb emits different levels of UV. Some bulbs do not give off enough. When was the last time you replaced it?

You can try throwing a blanket over her viv when it is bed time. This will ensure your lights don't interfere with her sleep.

A beardie that age doesn't need crickets daily. They should rely on the salad as their daily staple. Proteins can be offered every other day. Is there any way you can pick them up when it is protein day?

I would stay away from mealworms. They are difficult for beardies to break down.

When was the last time she pooped?

 

[BobFullington]

I can do crickets every other day no problem.

She pooped today, and yesterday. No real problems there.

I noticed today that when she eats crickets she'll usually down about 5-6 of them then make a very slight gagging motion, as if she was burping, and she'll open her mouth a bit. She then loses interest in eating for a minute or so. I don't know if that occurs with her salad as I'm usually gone before she eats it.

 

[renich]

Huh, sounds like she may be eating too many too quickly and not chewing them up enough. Does she do this gagging stuff any other time?

 

[BobFullington]

Sometimes when I give her bath although that may just be her getting a little upset about all the movement.

 

[renich]

Bernie would do that if he drank too much bath water.

How is she doing? Still lethargic? Still gagging?

 

[BobFullington]

She seems a little more alert now and I've been feeding her crickets less but yes, she seems to still be having that problem.
Also, her UV light is a repti-glo 8.0 20w bulb.

On another note, what can I get her, as a fairly large dragon, to bask on? She has a large stick but its still too small for her.

 

[renich]

The ReptiGlo doesn't produce enough UV that these guys need. I highly recommend the ReptiSun 10.0. It is the best on the market, right now.

You can find large pieces of wood at pet stores. I've found some nice large ones for our fat beardie at PetSmart.

 

[crypticdragons]

On another note, what can I get her, as a fairly large dragon, to bask on? She has a large stick but its still too small for her.

i prefer large smooth river stones
bake em for an hour in the oven at 300 degrees. than let em cool and its ready. I brought some blue stone back from Elk mountain when i visited the inlaws earlier this year. my babies love it

 

[corrine]

i happen to have slate sidewalks in front of my house that are all broken apart. i used a peice of that for Princess she loves it.