Is 70F the room temperature the cage is kept in or just the cool side of the tank temp during the day? Ideally you want night time temps to be below 70F during burmation. Sometimes moving the cage closer to the floor or into a cooler room will allow cooler temps to be reached.

There are a few different methods to induce brumation...many times doing nothing is all that is needed, the dragons will go into brumation on their own...seeking the coolest part of the cage and if possible, burrowing into sand etc.

Another way is to induce it manually. Stop feeding your dragon at least 24 hours before temps are lowered completely so he won't have food in his gut. Reduce temps gradually over the course of two weeks and reduce the amount of 'daylight' till you are down to about 8 hours of light a day. Usually dragons will go into a brumation state on their own. However if they don't show any inclination to brumate, bring temps and light back up to normal levels.

Once they are down I think its still a good idea to leave the heat light on but at the reduced temp/duration. The UVB bulb can be left off, and just turned on when your dragon comes out. There are times dragons will come out during brumation for a few hours before waking up completely. Offer water and a light meal but keep it light so it has a chance to digest before they go to sleep again.

Monitor weight as well as any significant weight loss could mean some health issue that will need to be addressed.


Brumation lasts anywhere between 2-4 months on average...but can be shorter or longer depending on the dragon. My dragon burmated for 5 months without any issues.
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PHLdyPayne

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