My beardie, Enoch, goes in and out of brumation frequently..like he can be up for a day or two and then asleep for five or six. This has been going on for about two months and he is only ten months old. He is 18 inches long and weighs 430 grams. He has a basking area of 102 degrees on top of his hide and UVB and UVA lighting. His terrarium is 4 feet by 2 feet and I keep his lights on about 12 hours. day. The red heating light I keep on 24 hours a day. The lowest temperature in his tank away from the red heating light is about 80 degrees. He literally has not pooped in about three weeks although he has eaten some crickets (about 16) once in the last three weeks and some super worms once (about 6) and fresh collards when he wakes up. I sit him in water at least once a week for about fifteen minutes even if I have to arouse him to do so. I am very concerned about him not pooping. There is no substrate available that could cause impaction and when he does wake up I let him roam for at least fifteen minutes, sometimes more, but I always watch him...hoping for a poop. Please help.
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Brumation/Impaction Concern
- Thread starter dsatt
- Start date
Your tank sounds great w/ the exception of the red heat bulb ---------------- please get rid of it ---- if you need heat please get a Ceramic Heat Emitter --- colored bulbs disrupt sleep and can cause long term eye damage like cataracts --- please lay off the super worms too many can cause impaction --- he is a big boy at 430 grams - its is possible being that young hes doing the semi brumation thing but get rid of the red bulb please -- what are you using for a UVB NO coils they are inadequate
Thank you. He only needs the heat at night as I live in the Northeast. Do you think that I should be doing more to help him poop or should I be taking him to the vet? I do agree that he is heavy for eight months and it's been mostly crickets, always fresh greens and super worms as a treat..with him sleeping so much it has ben hard to keep the crickets alive and sometimes he's not even interested in them. For UVB I have long 18" zoo med light. I'm not sure what a coil is but I'm sure I don't have one. Attached is my tank. I think his weight may have something to do with the early brumation. Do they not poop for a long time in semi-brumation? Is this normal at all/. Is there a point that I should take him to a vet?
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I also will stop the red light and get the Ceramic heat emitter
He could be brumating but that red light needs to go-- it's very hard on his eyes and it disrupts their sleep - dragons like it dark and cool- nothing below 65 at nite--- nothing over 76 at nite--- please get a che if your tank is falling below 65-- dragons can go for long periods of time w/ out pooping-- if your concerned feed him some natural laxatives like unsweetened applesauce baby prunes canned pumpkin or raw shredded sweet potatoe-- that will make him go poop-- do not do a enema -- they are too dangerous and the vet could paralyze him-- it's best to feed laxatives- fresh squash will make them go too but too much can give watery stools or diarrhea
THANK YOU..this response was so important to me! I will get rid of the red light asap and keep a tight watch on the temp to make sure that it is between 65 and 75 to inform me on the che. It's really hard not having a friend with a bearded dragon to confer with. You have given me so much relief..
Ok so watch the behavior after you get rid of the red bulb and let me know- we are going to start there if he continues to sleep we will work on some other things but we need to start w/ that bulb first
