Bob help!!!

Ok guys.....you wouldn't think the beardie that has EVERYTHING would have problems....but we do.

Bob has not been acting himself lately. He has put on quite a bit of weight...(which is expected as he is still under a year). But lately he is not eating as much as he use to. He is still pooping almost everyday and there are NO signs of respitory infection or calcium def. He has been sleeping ALL the time. Doesn't really like to bask much and is either sleeping in his bed, in his toybox or behind his toybox. Not basking really at all. His temps are 95.5 to 97.3 in the basking area and 85.5 on the cool side. His cage is a 4x2x2

I am just worried about him....literally if I let him...he would sleep all day long and never get up outta bed. I would swear he is going into brumation...but it's August. Any help would be appreciated.

By the way...we did get a couple more reptiles...but they are about 2500 sq ft away from him on the bottom floor. He is upstairs in his lil estate.

Seriously as I type I took him out he just climbs down the couch and goes to a dark place to go to sleep.

I've been reading up on brumation lately actually and I've read a couple articles saying that beardies can go into brumation during any time of year and it's not uncommon for some to go into brumation during the summer here in the Northern Hemisphere since in the Southern Hemisphere it's the opposite season. BUT I also read it's uncommon for beardies under a year to go into brumation. I did a google search about brumation in the summer and found this post on beardeddragon.org and the last post on the page says that person's beardie was lethargic and lost it's appetite, and he/she thought it was brumation but it turned out to be internal parasites. They can cause lethargy and loss of appetite so it probably wouldn't hurt to get a fecal test done just in case.

Best of luck and I hope it's just early brumation!

he is about 8-9 months old

You said he was still pooping normally and if you have a exotic vet nearby it definitely couldn't hurt to get a fecal test done and maybe get an appointment. I'm sure they could definitely tell if it's harmless or not.

Also, I found this faq/caresheet that says the basking temps need to be between 105-110* or they can act lethargic and not very hungry. Try upping your basking temps. Though I will say the things on that caresheet mention not pooping at all or not pooping every 1-3 days. I don't know how often your beardie normally goes and how much he's going now though. Just thought I'd throw that one in just in case.

I second the vet visit, and upping your temps a little bit, maybe in the 105-110 zone for basking. I was typing that out before I read maverick's post :P

My beardie has a 100 watt spot light over a cement block, he is about 9 inches away from the lamp and it keeps the cement block nice and toasty.

What are you feeding him?

In the morning he gets his salad. It usually consists of collard greens, mustard greens, acorn squash, and (this changes a bit) broccoli, carrots, green beens and asparagus. Occasionally I will throw in a fruit or a hibiscus flower.

He is currently under a 100 watt power sun lamp...it is about 14 inches away. I will try changing it to a 160watt to up the temp.

As far as poo he will usually go everyday in the same spot. Well now it is about every other day still in the same spot. I do have an amazing herp vet out here so I will give him a call. He usually does fecals for free, which is regardless...but nice. How does he get the parasites?? Would that come from a bad batch of crickets? He is pretty sheltered from any elements. If he goes outside it is always with me holding him or on the bench with me.

Also I did think maybe it had something to do with him knowing that the others were here and just not seeing them. I took him around them ....I honestly think he has no clue he is a beardie. While they would puff up and bounce up and down....one got a black beard...Bob just looked at them like "what the heck are you suppose to be"??? It was really weird??

If he's pooping every day, I really see no big problem, just try upping the temps a little bit and call the vet. My beardie now that I'm feeding him more, sleeps pretty much all day and doesn't poop every day.

If he's been checked for parasites before, and didn't have them, he probably doesn't now, but many reptiles can live with parasites for their entire lives, while others, the parasites start to have an effect on them sometimes.

a 100 watt should be doing the trick, instead of getting a new bulb ( If yours is still under a year old) try raising his basking platform a couple inches.

Matt that is what I decided to try...he has a sand stone basking spot so I just brought in another. I will have to wait till tomorrow to temp gun it and see if it did the trick. (had to bake it as it was outside). So we will see and I will get his fecal done.

So at 8-9 months you don't think he could be deciding to go into brumation?

Mines a year plus and he never did that.

Isis is my first beardie and she's just a year old so everything I know about brumation is just from what I've gathered on various other sites.

That said, it sounds like they go into brumation either when temps drop or just when their instincts tell them they're supposed to go into it. Maybe since his basking temps are a little low it's triggered his brumation instinct a little early. The sites I've read said brumation in beardies under a year old is rare but it didn't sound like it was completely unheard of. It also said some beardies go through it every year and some never go through brumation in their lives.

I'd still get the fecal done. Hopefully it comes back negative and your beardie just decided to get his brumation done a little early.

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Originally Posted by maverickgtr

That said, it sounds like they go into brumation either when temps drop or just when their instincts tell them they're supposed to go into it. Maybe since his basking temps are a little low it's triggered his brumation instinct a little early. The sites I've read said brumation in beardies under a year old is rare but it didn't sound like it was completely unheard of. It also said some beardies go through it every year and some never go through brumation in their lives.

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Its not unheard of, and Honestly the same thing poped in my head about how the lower temps might have triggered it.

The reason they normally do not brumate young is because they are still growing, and need all of the food and time they can get to keep growing, and growing, and growing, so brumating is not triggered in them until they are their adult size.

I think thats what I read a long time ago anyways :oops: I makes since though.

So it's less of how old they are and more of how big they've gotten? That makes sense. Once they get a certain size they grow at a slower rate so brumation wouldn't effect how large they'd get but if they were still growing to full size the lack of nutrients from a suppressed appetite would stunt their growth. So would it be a fair assumption that the sites said it starts to happen around one year old because a beardie is supposed to be full grown around then?

I also read about dehydration and so right now he is getting daily baths just in case that is the situation as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by maverickgtr

So it's less of how old they are and more of how big they've gotten? That makes sense. Once they get a certain size they grow at a slower rate so brumation wouldn't effect how large they'd get but if they were still growing to full size the lack of nutrients from a suppressed appetite would stunt their growth. So would it be a fair assumption that the sites said it starts to happen around one year old because a beardie is supposed to be full grown around then?

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Typically yes, that and they have matured completely, have adult hormones, and have a better chance at reproducing after.