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Could someone help me understand something??

girliegirl Jul 30, 2003 11:11 AM

Brumating (not sure if I spelled it right). My beardie (Herbie) has been sleeping and not eating for two weeks now. She had a fecal done 6/12 and it was free and clear. Do you think that she could be brumating? She turned a year old last month and since it's high 90's here in FL, we have the air low. Could this cause it? My other female, Sunny, is up and about but she isn't a year old yet. Any ideas? Should I take Herbie back to the vet??

Thanks in advance!!

Replies (7)

veronicag Jul 30, 2003 11:20 AM

Having the air conditioning on can certainly cause it if her temps drop in her cage. What are her temps (basking spot and cool area)? Make sure the air cond. isn't blowing on her cage and if her cage is on the floor you might want to lift it up and put in on something. The floor can be a bit drafty. You may have to up the wattage of her bulbs or add another heat bulb to increase the temp of her enclosure.

Veronica
Beautiful Dragons

cheyenness Jul 30, 2003 11:20 AM

She turned a year old last month and since it's high 90's here in FL, we have the air low. Could this cause it? My other female, Sunny, is up and about but she isn't a year old yet. Any ideas? Should I take Herbie back to the vet??
>>

Hey... a fellow Floridian!
A vet check is always a good idea when you notice behaviour changes in your beardies, but your right about the AC. If you are keeping it quite low, she may have thought it was time for a long nap. Has the temps in her tank gotten lower and the basking site, etc? I can't afford to run my AC at a low temp... mine is on 82 degrees. What with 3 kids in and out the door all day long and all these basking lights and heat pads, etc. I would be fighting a losing battle with the AC anyway!
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www.BeginnersBasics.com

nathan23 Jul 30, 2003 12:20 PM

It is very possible that the air in your house is causing her to go into burmation. Even though she has a hot spot the air temps in her cage are probbably a lot lower then usuall. And if any of the cold air from the ac is getting in the cage , well thats not good either. So yeah she could be going into burmation from the ac.

peace,
nathan

girliegirl Jul 30, 2003 12:31 PM

I actually think the basking site is too high (115f) the cool side is around 82f. She is in a tank that is about 3 feet off the ground and I have half of it covered w/aluminum to hold heat in. We have the a/c set at 70f. She has 1 (I think it's 75 watt) basking bulb w/2 100 watt (regular) light bulbs along w/2 18" UVB bulbs. I'll take her back to the vet to make sure she is okay though. Thanks for your thoughts! I really appreciate it!

nathan23 Jul 30, 2003 12:45 PM

Hey now there was three who helped you, lol. Just kidding. I had this problem before too. Even if you have good basking spots if cold air is getting in the cage then the dragon will notice it. Mine went inactive untill i put a ceramic heater on them 24 hrs a day. If you can feel for cold air going in the tank and check the temps in a ll spots of the tank. Thos may help. Also some dragons just have a biological clock that tells them when to shut down. this may be happening to yours. I had two do it last summer.

peace,
nathan

girliegirl Jul 30, 2003 01:21 PM

Sorry about that. You must have posted while I was typing. Thanks to you too!!! Okay, so if the a/c is the culpurit, do I leave her alone? Raise the temps?

Thanks tons!!

>>Hey now there was three who helped you, lol. Just kidding. I had this problem before too. Even if you have good basking spots if cold air is getting in the cage then the dragon will notice it. Mine went inactive untill i put a ceramic heater on them 24 hrs a day. If you can feel for cold air going in the tank and check the temps in a ll spots of the tank. Thos may help. Also some dragons just have a biological clock that tells them when to shut down. this may be happening to yours. I had two do it last summer.
>>
>>peace,
>>nathan

nathan23 Jul 30, 2003 01:32 PM

possibly put her in a room that doesnt get the ac, unless its central air. What I did was added a ceramic heater to the cage. You would be supprised how warm it made the air. I love the thing! Try one of those and see if that helps. My cage is 4 feet by 39 inches by 2 feet tall. It has a ceramic heater, a basking light and a galvinixed heat pad, the kind snake breeders use on there large boids. It heats the cage extremly well. The cage is in the basement, where the air is always cold.

peace,
nate

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