seeking advice on my bearded dragon

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millie turiccki

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hey, i’m new to this site and would really use some help for my one year old male bearded dragon. recently he has stopped basking completely, it started when he went into shed. he still is active and has an appetite for his bugs, but again he is now refusing veggies. he also hasn’t had a bowl movement in almost three weeks. i feel like i’ve tried everything. he will spend almost all of his time next to his basking spot but not actually on it, unless i physically put him there. could really do with some advice please.
 
Hi Millie, he has decided it is time for brumation .It's nothing to worry about, it is totally natural and happens to all reptiles at this time of year. If you can, try to get him to defecate by putting him in a warm bath.When he decides to sleep just turn off all his lights, don't panic he wont die. I know my first year I did and kept poking them to see if they were still alive.
He will sleep for anything from 3 to 5 months.
 
Keep the lights and heat on , he'll then be able to bask when he wants too.

I've nudged the photoperiod down since April to 14 hrs and wont be going down more .
My water skinks are wide awake and don't seem to care it's winter now , eating me out of house and home , as are my two old bluetongues ( who are a bit more dozy but still very interested in everything and make fast work of their food ).
Both my yearlings are still basking everyday ( but spending more time , usually all afternoon , napping now ) , no reduction in appetites. Pooing as per normal for mine.

I think it's best to try to keep a yearling bearded dragon out of full on brumation in it's first winter .

My two juveniles (yearlings) have been turning their noses up at the greens and vegs too, so I just give these in disguise by feeding the crickets and superworms the greens and vegs I'd like the dragons to eat, and the dragons are none the wiser.

So I give my dragons crickets, supers ( as treats ) and bsfl . Having a holiday from raising silkworms for a while , will get back into them by hatching some of eggs likely in September when the mulberry trees are leafy again ( if covid19 has been eradicated in Sydney by them - very unlikely IMO) . The eggs will remain viable for a few years in ziplock bags in the fridge , and I want to concerve my remaining packets of chow powder , as it might be hard to get in Australia for a while til international shipping returns to better levels ( I suspect the chow sold commercially originates in China or maybe in India ).
 
Last edited:
hey, i’m new to this site and would really use some help for my one year old male bearded dragon. recently he has stopped basking completely, it started when he went into shed. he still is active and has an appetite for his bugs, but again he is now refusing veggies. he also hasn’t had a bowl movement in almost three weeks. i feel like i’ve tried everything. he will spend almost all of his time next to his basking spot but not actually on it, unless i physically put him there. could really do with some advice please.

If I were you I'd take Dragonlover's advice. He really knows what he's talking about.
 
Hi Millie, he has decided it is time for brumation .It's nothing to worry about, it is totally natural and happens to all reptiles at this time of year. If you can, try to get him to defecate by putting him in a warm bath.When he decides to sleep just turn off all his lights, don't panic he wont die. I know my first year I did and kept poking them to see if they were still alive.
He will sleep for anything from 3 to 5 months.
Im researching BD before getting anything... so around June you turn off lights but keep heat on? Do they need heat and light 24/7 the rest of the year? Thank you

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
No , turn everything off. He doesn't need heat or light in winter. Also he doesn't need heat or light 24/7 in summer.Reptiles are like us, they live by a daylight cycle. Sun comes up and so do we and them. Sun goes down and it's bed time.They cannot sleep with the lights on,can you?
Remember they come from the desert where it is freezing cold at night so they don't need heat.
Set your UV lights for about 12-14 hours per day and your heat lamps for about 10-12 hours, but be careful of hot days and adjust your heat lamps to suit.
 

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