Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My beardie has been hiding alot. He always goes behind his cave so that he is almost squished between the wall and the rock, he'll stay there for days, not comming out or even moving. I have to pull him out to offer him food or water, which he hardly ever accepts. His temps are about 100 hot and low 80s on the cool side. Where he hides it is probably even cooler, he is always cold when I take him out. Sometimes, after I've taken him out, he'll stay out for a couple days, but then he goes back.

Could he be trying to burmate? Should I leave him alone?
Or could he be sick?

Oh, and he's about 17 inches long, probably close to one year old and he wieghs al little less than one pound, I think thats about 370 grams, is this an okay weight?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Emily

Hi
it could be brumation.
but if you wanna play save then you can do a feal exame to rule parasite out.
byeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

See following thread:

forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1406976,1406976
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PHLdyPayne

There is 454 grams to a pound.

LdyPayne's link just brings you down to a thread that is listed as Brumation Questions and is a good place to start looking for info.

The best I can say is that I always narrow out all the other possibilities if I'm in doubt, so a fecal as B22 suggested is a good idea.

A good weight scale is the best tool to monitor a reptiles health. If the animal is not losing weight then in general it is healthy. Even during brumation, healthy dragons lose very little weight. More than 5% would be problematic in my eyes.

I would recommend you doing as I have in the past and wake him on a regular schedule and give water. Especially if you are in the cooler climates where humidity is very low in the winter. I did every 2 weeks last year for my smallest brumater (245g) and am doing every 5 weeks this year (475g) for the same dragon. Waking them seems to have no downside. They are lethargic at first when you put them in the light but remain there on their own. Once warm I give them water from a dropper and they drink a lot. Then in about 3 hours they dig back in until when I awaken them next.

Thanks for all the help! I had looked at the suggested post before I posted mine, but thanks for the reminder anyway!
So, as long as he's not loosing weight, he's probably fine?
How long can I expect him to continue with this behavior? In other words, how long do they usually burmate?
And, I'm thinking about doing a fecal, just to be safe.

Thanks for all your help!
Emily

burmation is typically 2-4 months.
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PHLdyPayne

Hard to say on time. Mine went down in August so I expect a long brumation this year. Hoping to see them in January for an early breeding season but who knows. Last year I woke them all up at once on March 17th and all but one stayed up. They went down in November last year.

Yas, if they're maintaining their weight you can be comfortable that they are fine.