Napping?

[Honchess]

Yesterday The General napped ALL DAY. she came out long enough to eat a handful of worms, then went back in to snooze some more. This morning, she opened one eye and looked at me when I put her salad in.
Is this normal? Do dragons take time out to snooze all day? Is it like a mini-hibernation or something?
I'm worried.

ASAP answers greatly appreciated!!

 

[Canicke]

She may be entering what's called "brumation". Please see the following link: https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/brumation

 

[Honchess]

Oh thank you! I just read the entire article. I'm SO relieved. I did think I was doing something wrong and I checked her light and heat over and over and made sure she was getting a good diet. But now I see! She had been behaving exactly this way!!. She has tapered off on her eating for the last week or so before deciding yesterday to go to bed!

I was wondering if I should give her her bath too. And the article says I should do that even if she is asleep.

Have I told y'all I LOVE YOU? Well I do. This little girl has become very important in my life. I kinda got her in a round about way, but now it is like I have always had her and wanted her!

 

[PatsyB]

You're so sweet! This really is a good place to get information.

How old is the General?

 

[Honchess]

I haven't been able to get a straight answer from anybody on her age. And believe me I've asked. I'm guessing she is at least a year plus. The woman whose son had her said she had gotten loose in their house for five or six months! And they found her hanging on to a curtain one day. (They must have had lots of bugs--roaches maybe or crickets?-- in their house is all I can figure. How did she stay alive that long with nothing to eat!!!)
So she is at lest six months plus. My son in law's mother said she had seen her lots of times--forever, she said. 'A couple years anyway'
Even allowing for exaggeration, she is still more than a year.

So I'm thinking at least a year, probably going on two. She is still small, but my daughter attributes that to the probability of poor nutrition as a baby. The woman who owned her said they fed her when they remembered!

All I know is that I've had her since the end of June and I'd be a nervous wreck with out this forum.

And this napping thing STILL makes me nervous. I peek at her every day and she opens one eye and looks at me, but doesn't offer to come out and socialize! I keep praying it is normal...... She is curled up in her hidey box with her nose to the front. Like she's keeping tabs on what's happening. That's her name "The General" Always in control even while she's napping!

 

[PatsyB]

She could be going into brummation then. I haven't experienced it yet so I can't help you I would be crushed if Dexter slept and wouldn't wake up to play with me.

This past spring, was a cold one here in Chicago, Dexter sorta did the same thing that The General is doing. She was sitting on the bottom of her tank sleeping most of the day but would wake up to peek at us or take a bath or eat a worm. I thought she was going to brumate but she eventually snapped out of it. The only thing I could think of was the changes in weather was making her depressed.

 

[julescoffman]

Si is doing same thing,I think they call it mid-summer brumation,he is up in mornings and eats and poos,by 2-3 in afternoon he is under his cave sleeping,he brumated for the 1st time right after Christmas and slept till mid April!! I was about nuts worrying,I still got him out and gave him a warm soak every 10 days,he never fully woke up,just open an eye..but didn't eat a single thing for 4 mnths and woke up like he had never been asleep! Quite scary,but he was fine,part of nature I guess..

 

[julescoffman]

As long as they don't lose much weight,they are normally ok,and most of the time,from what I've read they may sleep for 2 weeks to 3-4 mnths! Believe it or not even after 4 mnths he didn't lose much weight at all,looked the same

 

[Honchess]

I gave the General a bath yesterday and cleaned her tank! She was NOT happy that I moved her rocks and hidey hole. You should have seen her beard puff up! LOL She was so cute. But I hadn't yet cleaned her tank when she started napping and I didn't want her sleeping on that old flooring.

Anyway, I moved things and put clean paper down then gave her a bath. I fixed a basking area at the other end of her tank so she could be warm until I got everything put back. And believe me she wanted everything in exactly the right spot.

She is now sitting on her log thinking about going back to sleep. I offered her a salad yesterday after her bath. She ate a bit of it but not a lot. Maybe I'll see if I can get her to eat a couple worms... That usually tempts her.

AND I broke her UV bulb while I was cleaning, knocked it to the floor. Fortunately I have the old one but it is one of those curly ones and I don't think it has the UV power of the spotlight type. And it definitely has no heat. That was the bulb that came with her but when I read that those weren't very good I got the spotlight type and saved it for a spare. I do like the spotlight better. Now she has two lights--her heat bulb and the old UV until I can get a new one today.

Oh how I hope she doesn't do the three month nap. I'll be a nervous wreck.

 

[PatsyB]

I know how you feel, I would be so sad if mine went to sleep for months. On the positive side, it would give me a little more time to focus on other things

 

[Honchess]

LOL But we have a routine! I'd be lost! LOL
The good news is I got her a new UV bulb. And she's happy again... I even got her some 'gourmet' crickets, but she wasn't interested. Now what am I gonna do with ALL those crickets if she sleeps for weeks? Do they keep in the fridge?
Maybe my daughter's turtle would be interested......

 

[PatsyB]

I order 500 at a time and keep mine in a 10 gallon fish tank with a metal lid, I can go a month without having to order more. My frogs are older and eat every 3 days or so and Luci would prefer worms over crickets but will eat them if she's really hungry.

I make sure they have food (mostly dry cricket food and whatever Luci and Dexter don't eat) and cricket quencher and egg crate to hide in. I scoop out all the cricket poop and any dead bugs each week.

I think turtles only eat veggies.

 

[Honchess]

Well, apparently there is always room for blueberries! The General decided to come down off her perch and eat a couple mouthfuls along with a little salad.

These Crickets might have a very short 'shelf' life if The General doesn't decide to wake up and eat 'em. My daughter is NOT a cricket fan, not in tanks, not in her fridge or anyplace else! LOL I'm lucky to keep Worms in little containers in there!

 

[drzebra]

All the more reason to feed dubias instead of crickets. They'll keep fine while the beardie sleeps.

 

[julescoffman]

How's the general?still napping alot? Si is still sleeping most of the day he brumated so long I hate he's doing it again,but he does wake up to eat