Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so i have a female beardie and she is about 8 months old, 114 grams as of an hour ago, and 14 inches long (including tail) as of an hour ago. well she has always had a huge appetite eating everything offered within about 10 mins of getting it. but sunday she didnt touch any of it. monday she ate everything, and today she hasnt eaten at all, also she doesnt poop like she used to. i know about the brumation period, but would she do it on her own with no changes in her lighting/heating schedule? and she still sits under her basking light, shes not showing all the signs i've read about that go along with the brumation period...this is my first dragon so any help would be nice.

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coheed196

0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (e-yore, trixie)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, polly)
0.1 jackon's chameleon
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)

I'd have a vet check and fecal done by a retile vet just in case. They all slow down in the winter somwhat. I find it unlikely that she will brumate at 114 and it would not be a good idea for her to do so. I never change from a 14 hour day all year and my temps. are regulated by thermostat yet about 1/2 my dragons brumate while the other half don't.

I'd recheck and double check your temps. As the ambient temp. in your house changes it may well be changing in your dragons enclosure.

ok, cause i have her lights on a timer and they are on for 14 hours and have been since i got her in july. but i am lucky cause i do have a reptile vet near by. and is that a healthy weight (114g) for a beardie of her age?
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coheed196

0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (e-yore, trixie)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, polly)
0.1 jackon's chameleon
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)

I looked up the weights of some of my animals when they were 14" long. Mine were all about 150 grams and above at that length. In most but not all cases they exceeded 14" in a lot less than 8 months. I would just make sure that you are feeding her all the live food she can eat twice per day and that you leave a salad in between. Dust every live meal with Calcium w/D3, No Phosphorus. One meal a week dust with a multivitamin instead of the Calcium. Make sure she has good access to UVB. At 8 months it may be time to change out the bulb.

ok, i've been feeding her a salad mixture (consists of collard greens, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, and usually some type of fruit) in the mornings and crickets/phoenix worms in the afternoons. I knew it was about time to change the bulb cause its been about 6 months since i bought it. i use the t-rex mercury vapor and a 60w house bulb for some added heat/light. i have a digital therm. and the surface temp on her basking site is 106. She's in a 40 gallon breeder aquarium.
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coheed196

0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (e-yore, trixie)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, polly)
0.1 jackon's chameleon
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)

hi
i think the mercury vapour light wil stil give uvb after 6 months .
i would do a fecal exame .
byeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

I agree. The mercury vapor bulb should still be good. You should still be feeding live food twice a day though and offering salad in between the 2 meals. Here is a good site for salad recommendations.

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

ok, thank you for all your help
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coheed196

0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (e-yore, trixie)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, polly)
0.1 jackon's chameleon
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)