Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Over the last few days my beardies have gone into hiding. They go under their logs and dont come out and even if i get them out they just go straight back under. Any ideas what is causing this as its never happened before?? My male comes out sometimes but my females just hide all day and night. Dont know if thats any help?

Many times this can be temperature induced. If your temps get too low or just lower than what they are used to it can cause them to become lethargic and lose their appetites. They will tend to sleep more and depending on their age will even go into brumation. If your dragons are adults sometimes they will just let you know it is time for brumation and begin this behavior regardless of temps. If you have smaller dragons I would check the overall temps of the cage. Make sure your basking area is 105-115 and the cool side is in the 80's.

Mike
www.outbackdragons.com

-----
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

Its not the temps being too low as i live in england and the weather is hot at the moment. My temps are all as normall and as they have been for the past 2 years. This is what i cant understand as i am quite experienced but this one has got me puzzled.

If you have had these beardies for two years and the temps have been consistent then I would have to say that they are telling you it is time for them to go into brumation. I would do some reading up on it and begin to adjust your temps and light periods accordingly. It is natural for these animals to go into a brumation period every year and it will typically last any where from 6 weeks to as long as four months. Have they gone off feed? If it has been a while since they have eaten then I would begin to lower the temps in their cages. You need to make sure it is warm enough to help them digest anything they have eaten but you will want to lower your temps to highs in the upper 70's or lower 80's in their basking area and lower temps can go into the 60's. They will need a good place to hide and will sleep almost the entire time. I always offer drops of water on their noses a couple times a week but take them off food entirely. Your biggest difficulty is the keeping the temps during the hot season. If you're not planning on breeding them I don't think you would need to worry about the temps quite as much but should still try and accomodate their brumation needs as much as possible.

Mike
www.outbackdragons.com

-----
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

Yes i do breed them as i am waiting for a clutch to hatch now that is on 56 days and counting. They havent gone off their food and are eating as normal. Do you think it could be that the weather is that hot that they are just shading till it drops a little. Also we have had a couple of storms around these parts over the last few days and i heard that beardies can sense them coming and are not happy. I dont know but i will give them a little while till i consider brumation and see how they are

If they haven't reduced there eating habits then I wouldn't think it is brumation yet. It is possible they are looking for cooler areas. I have also noticed, especially with my females, that after laying season they get a bit lazy. Extra sleeping and a lot less active. They continue to eat but the activity is reduced (maybe to help gain pre-lay weights back?)If they are eating normal I would continue on as normal. I use a laser thermometer to track my cage temps. That way if I see one hanging out in the same spot (cool or hot) I can adjust my temps accordingly. A great tool to have as my main lizard room varies in temp from mid 50's to mid 80's depending on the time of year.

Mike
www.outbackdragons.com

-----
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

yeah thanx a lot mate. I think i will just plod along as normal until anything major changes. Probably just being lazy because of the hot weather and all that.

most of My BDs are in similar cages. so I have a pretty uniform setup. yet I have some cages where they are all less active and eating less, some have one or two awake and eating while one or two are starting brumation. my males that are all solitary are mostly active but there are a few that have already packed in for the year. they dug a hole and they are done. brumation is a funny thing and I dont think I can really do much about it although some people have had apparent success (like Rob & Vickie).
-----
Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

_____

Signature edited for TOS violation.

Edited on August 23, 2004 at 00:21:02 by phwyvern.