Tip of the Tongue and Brumation

[PastryDragon]

[Long]

Hello everyone, I've been stalking this forum for quite some time and I've decided to join it myself because I have a few questions.
Of course every dragon has that little spot at the end of their tongue. I've seen plenty of threads and reddit posts of owners freaking out thinking something is wrong. I understand that its sorta kinda split at the end? Or at least it looks like it is, to grab food like a pair of tweezers or something. Anyways, Ive looked at plenty of beardie tongues but none of them seem to be extremely dark like mine. The very tip seems so dark almost like a black spot and its very noticeable. Is it normal for some beardies to have a darker spot on their tongue?

Now for my Brumation question. My boy Samwise Gamgee has been sleeping a lot lately and going to bed early. He always paws the vivarium in my direction when hes ready for bed because I've ended up making it a bedtime routine of setting him in my lap or on my chest and petting him until he falls asleep and then gently putting him on a soft pad in his viv. (He's a very spoiled boy) I turn on the lights about 8:00am because thats when I leave for school every other day. I noticed that he will wake up but be super lazy and slow about climbing up to his basking light. He sits on his bed for at least another 30 or 40 minutes before crunching a few pieces of breakfast and then basking. During basking though he has started taking naps. He is only 5 months old so I'm wondering can he go into brumation that early in his life? I kinda thought that if they were still young then they wouldn't brumate because they still have growing to do and need the food. which by the way hes still eating as well.

If he is trying to go into brumation, what steps can I take to make it easier for him? How should I prepare his viv? How should I use the lights?
Thank you!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to posting! lol
As far as the tongue yes it has a split like deal that helps grab food it's more textured and sticky. A picture of your beardies tongue so we could see it..
He is too young to be brumating they don't start playing around with this until 18 months old.. So how old is your UVB bulb? what are you using as UVB? What are your temps? Now they will tend to slow down when the seasons change as their biology senses the changes..and fall/winter in nature resources dwindle. Have you had a fecal test done to see about parasites? All dragons have some but it is when the #s get out of hand that cause them to not feel well and get lethargic...

 

[PastryDragon]

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[PastryDragon]

Welcome to posting! lol
As far as the tongue yes it has a split like deal that helps grab food it's more textured and sticky. A picture of your beardies tongue so we could see it..
He is too young to be brumating they don't start playing around with this until 18 months old.. So how old is your UVB bulb? what are you using as UVB? What are your temps? Now they will tend to slow down when the seasons change as their biology senses the changes..and fall/winter in nature resources dwindle. Have you had a fecal test done to see about parasites? All dragons have some but it is when the #s get out of hand that cause them to not feel well and get lethargic...

I can attach a a few photos tomorrow. My UVB bulb is about 5ish months old. I got it at the same time I got him. I have no idea what kind of light it is or what brand or wattage or anything because I got it from a desert starter kit from Petco which had the white daytime light and the red night time light. I might be able to look on the website and find it and post a link to it at the bottom. I read that their lights can lose effectiveness as they age and generally having a lifespan of about 6 months so it could possibly be a lighting issue.
As for fecal testing, I don't have anywhere near me that could do that. I could try changing the bulb and if he doesn't perk up then I could try to find a vet for beardies somewhere.
He is still eating the foods I give him like greens and worms and his once-a-week banana which I fed him in order to get the picture of his tongue. Bananas seem to be his favorite because its the only food he will attack so violently haha. Which he still showed that same perkiness so at least hes not unwilling to eat like I thought he was. He's just being slow and super tired. However its only been like this for about 2 or 3 days and it wasn't very sudden that he stopped being active it was kinda gradual.
If I should buy a new light for him, what wattage should I get? Is there a brand that's really good? Sorry I honestly don't know too much about what the wattage means in their lights.

Thanks for your reply!

EDIT: So I looked on Petco's website and they don't sell the exact same desert kit in the store as they do on the site. I have to visit my local petco tomorrow for some fish food anyways so I will take a picture of the kit while I am there and try to find out what kind of light it is.

 

[Hdrydr31]

It could very well be the lighting..You would want to get Reptisun T5HO 10.0 (these are not typically sold in the stores) Some "mom/pop" petstores have them.. T5's only need changing every 10-12 months and can be placed on the wire screen top.. T8 bulbs need changing every 6 months and need to be mounted to the inside of the screen as it doesn't penetrate the mesh.
Now you don't want to use any type of light at night so get rid of the red light. They can see all spectrum of light and having any light on will cast shadows which will keep your dragon on guard keeping them from getting the restorative sleep they need...As long as your temps don't drop below 65F they will be fine. If they do then get a CHE that will give heat and is on a thermostat without light.

If you take a look at the links below several of our comments we've put together a ton of info for resource for new comers and for brush up info.. That contains gobs of info.