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How much baby food?
- Thread starter Blaze1996
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LOL, he looks nice & large in the tub. If it is not because he is inflated to swim or float, he does not look undernourished, is what I meant 
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- 4,493
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- North America
You should see what the Vet says, but I would put my odds on it's version of early Brumation. It is not a bad idea to have it checked before Brumation anyway.
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- 4,493
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There are many different methods of dealing with Brumation. I will describe what I do. This is one way, it may not even be the best way, but it is what I have done for many years & has worked very well for me & mine.
Not all BDs will Brumate in captivity, keeping heat & Day\Night schedules consistent will sometimes stave it off, but not all the time. Brumation generally does not happen with BDs less than a year old. Brumation is a survival sequence Hardwired into their system for when the weather turns cooler, days get shorter & food is scarce. While in captivity, it is not necessary, but still happens to many BDs and should not be attempted to stop it happening, once it starts, as it is a natural part of their life cycle & would be detrimental to their health if we try to keep them awake to stop it from happening. It is similar but different (If that makes sense) to Mammals hibernation. Different BDs will Brumate in different ways & for different lengths of time. Some will go right to sleep for days to Months, usually after finding a sheltered place, often on the cool side if they can find one, others will find a place to perch, again more times than not, on the cool side, eyes open during the day, aware of their surroundings but very little other movement & again this can last for days to months. Three times I have had Arrow climb into a hide & not come out for over 5 months. But this is longer than most BDs will brumate.
Once it is apparent that my BDs are trying to Brumate, (Not eating, sleeping or not moving for days) I give them a warm Bath, then let them choose their spot & leave them be. Once they have not moved for a week, I will shut off all the lights & timers, they are not needed during Brumation. Once they wake or become active on their own, I turn their lights & timers back on, I will give a warm soak & offer food, sometimes they will eat, other times not, if they intend to continue to Brumate. If they go back into Brumation, after 2 days I will shut down the lighting again. Repeat this until they wake on their own & stay awake or become active. Again, this can last for a few days to many months, they will not eat, drink, poop or move much. They expend no energy during this time, so nourishment is not needed with very, very little weight loss.
Check on them every week or so, without disturbing them if possible, for signs of drastic noticeable weight loss.
Once they wake for good, resume regular Light & Feeding schedules. It is common for them to go through a 'Frisky' time after Brumation, with a lot of glass dancing etc, it is like they forget that they are a caged animal & trying to escape. This is normal & should be let to run it's course also. I have had this run for as long as 2-3 weeks.
That is how I deal with Brumation, there are many different methods. Some people have been known to place their BD in a shoe box in a dresser drawer & check on them weekly while Brumating. I choose to leave them in their enclosure. They require no heat or UVB during brumation, providing the ambient temps do not drop below regular allowable night temps of the mid to low 60S F.
Anyway, that is how I have always handled Brumation for years & it has worked very well for me & mine. It is hard to leave them be for what can be a really long extended period of time, the average usually being 2-3 months, but needs to be done. If it runs longer, it is not a problem, providing that you do not visually see drastic weight loss. I repeat, Brumation needs to be allowed to run it's natural course.
Not all BDs will Brumate in captivity, keeping heat & Day\Night schedules consistent will sometimes stave it off, but not all the time. Brumation generally does not happen with BDs less than a year old. Brumation is a survival sequence Hardwired into their system for when the weather turns cooler, days get shorter & food is scarce. While in captivity, it is not necessary, but still happens to many BDs and should not be attempted to stop it happening, once it starts, as it is a natural part of their life cycle & would be detrimental to their health if we try to keep them awake to stop it from happening. It is similar but different (If that makes sense) to Mammals hibernation. Different BDs will Brumate in different ways & for different lengths of time. Some will go right to sleep for days to Months, usually after finding a sheltered place, often on the cool side if they can find one, others will find a place to perch, again more times than not, on the cool side, eyes open during the day, aware of their surroundings but very little other movement & again this can last for days to months. Three times I have had Arrow climb into a hide & not come out for over 5 months. But this is longer than most BDs will brumate.
Once it is apparent that my BDs are trying to Brumate, (Not eating, sleeping or not moving for days) I give them a warm Bath, then let them choose their spot & leave them be. Once they have not moved for a week, I will shut off all the lights & timers, they are not needed during Brumation. Once they wake or become active on their own, I turn their lights & timers back on, I will give a warm soak & offer food, sometimes they will eat, other times not, if they intend to continue to Brumate. If they go back into Brumation, after 2 days I will shut down the lighting again. Repeat this until they wake on their own & stay awake or become active. Again, this can last for a few days to many months, they will not eat, drink, poop or move much. They expend no energy during this time, so nourishment is not needed with very, very little weight loss.
Check on them every week or so, without disturbing them if possible, for signs of drastic noticeable weight loss.
Once they wake for good, resume regular Light & Feeding schedules. It is common for them to go through a 'Frisky' time after Brumation, with a lot of glass dancing etc, it is like they forget that they are a caged animal & trying to escape. This is normal & should be let to run it's course also. I have had this run for as long as 2-3 weeks.
That is how I deal with Brumation, there are many different methods. Some people have been known to place their BD in a shoe box in a dresser drawer & check on them weekly while Brumating. I choose to leave them in their enclosure. They require no heat or UVB during brumation, providing the ambient temps do not drop below regular allowable night temps of the mid to low 60S F.
Anyway, that is how I have always handled Brumation for years & it has worked very well for me & mine. It is hard to leave them be for what can be a really long extended period of time, the average usually being 2-3 months, but needs to be done. If it runs longer, it is not a problem, providing that you do not visually see drastic weight loss. I repeat, Brumation needs to be allowed to run it's natural course.
- Messages
- 4,493
- Location
- North America
If it is still moving around during the day periodically yes, but don't be alarmed if it doesn't eat it. If it doesn't move for a week, you can stop feeding & shut down all the lights until it starts to move around again on it's own, then resume the lighting, feed & soak as explained above.
- Messages
- 4,493
- Location
- North America
What do you mean by moving, is it back & forth from the hide on hot side to the cool side, is it basking at all, what is it doing? Could you post a pic of your enclosure please.
They don't need food or drink while in Brumation.
They don't need food or drink while in Brumation.
- Messages
- 4,493
- Location
- North America
What did he say that was wrong that he needed anti-biotics for? How must they be administered? Did he do any tests, if so what? What kind of Cat food? Really curious about this diagnosis & treatment? Is this a Herp Vet?
Hes an exotic vet. Guinea pigs hamsters all that. He said he sees bearded dragons all the time and usually theyre in bad care with wrong temps and stuff. He said that he probably just has an infection and to do the anti biotics for the 2 weeks and see if he will start eating on his own and if not he'll need blood tests and stuff. I have to give him injections with a needle. He did a stool sample and did a probing to make sure he wasnt a girl. He also looked him over real well and weighed him. He gave me prescription diet a/d critical care canine/feline vet exclusive. Its like a liquidy food.
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- 4,493
- Location
- North America
I am going to give my opinion on this. Exotic Vets are not necessarily Herp vets. Because he sees a few mistreated BDs, does not make him familiar with their specific care. Even very few actual Herp Vets, while they may have the knowledge & equipment for testing & such, are species specific familiar & knowledgeable in their proper husbandry & care. I have never been a believer in unnecessary or 'just in case' medicating with no testing done to find if their is a need for it, as it diminishes the ability of their immune system to fight things off naturally when needed. Antibiotics generally will diminish the appetite while they are on it, to me, defeating the purpose of correcting the problem, when not even knowing if there is a problem. Critical Care is a good product when needed, but force feeding should only be done when absolutely necessary because of the lack of appetite & nourishment accompanied by weight loss, from what I could see from the pics, your BD is Far from undernourished.
Seeing as how you have not posted a pic of your enclosure, I will have to go by what you have posted. It is quite common for a BD to go into Brumation at this time of the year, your BD is showing the signs of this happening. I feel the reason that it still moves from spot to spot is that your enclosure is not set up quite right. The hide should be on the cool side, not the hot side. From what you have told us, I believe your BD is trying to Brumate. It crawls into the hide for security, get out of the light so it can be peaceful & cool to brumate. As the lights & the day goes on, it being on the hot side, gets too hot for it to be comfortable, so it then moves to the cool side to the only place that it has to be cooler with a little shade from the light & heat, behind the driftwood. Preventing or trying to stop this natural process in their life is detrimental to their health. And this is what I believe you are doing.
I really question your Vet's expertise & knowledge of these guys, along with his diagnosis & treatment. My 10+ years hands on experience with these guys, tells me that, You may very well be doing more harm than good & severely adding to the stress factor unnecessarily.
Just my $.02 worth ...
Seeing as how you have not posted a pic of your enclosure, I will have to go by what you have posted. It is quite common for a BD to go into Brumation at this time of the year, your BD is showing the signs of this happening. I feel the reason that it still moves from spot to spot is that your enclosure is not set up quite right. The hide should be on the cool side, not the hot side. From what you have told us, I believe your BD is trying to Brumate. It crawls into the hide for security, get out of the light so it can be peaceful & cool to brumate. As the lights & the day goes on, it being on the hot side, gets too hot for it to be comfortable, so it then moves to the cool side to the only place that it has to be cooler with a little shade from the light & heat, behind the driftwood. Preventing or trying to stop this natural process in their life is detrimental to their health. And this is what I believe you are doing.
I really question your Vet's expertise & knowledge of these guys, along with his diagnosis & treatment. My 10+ years hands on experience with these guys, tells me that, You may very well be doing more harm than good & severely adding to the stress factor unnecessarily.
Just my $.02 worth ...
Well he had 3 bearded dragons in the back that they ceased from someone. I definently cant afford another vet. He doesnt only go into the cave at night he will going in it during the day bask for a small ammount of time and then go to the cool side. Sometimes climbing the driftwood to get closer to the day light. Ill take a pic of the enclosure in a sec. I read that bearded dragons dont need caves but he likes his.
- Messages
- 4,493
- Location
- North America
Both the UVB & Heat should be on the same side covering the basking spot. What are you using for a thermometer?
Clean the cage when you feel it necessary to clean it.
Clean the cage when you feel it necessary to clean it.
