Update on Drake

Drake has decided his new life goal is to look dead while sleeping. 

I am NOT a fan of this goal. :( 

Everyday I gently poke him to make sure he is alive. 

It is not fun. 

Today I pulled him out. I cleaned his eyes good and gave him some warm Critical Care. Then I put him on his hammock in his basking spot. 

At least for awhile he looked alive. And "for awhile" I mean 8 minutes and then he found a cool spot on the opposite side of the tank and sprawled out into his "sleeping death" position. 

He's not one that I will let bruminate fully and since he's intent on doing that, I think I will wake him up every few days and give him a good dose of Critical Care or baby food. 

Bruminating Beardies

When the seasons change and the days grow shorter and colder, most beardies start to bruminate. Bruminating is a light version of hibernating. For a week to several months, adult beardies will sleep constantly. Some will open their eyes and raise their heads; some will not move at all.

Don't panic. This is normal-- BUT only for beardies over a year. Juvenile beardies who appear to bruminate are actually sick and need bet attention immediately. 

So what about food? I always keep pellet food and water in their tanks. I cut way back on the greens, offering them greens only every couple days and only when I see they are alert and moving around. Most of my boys will pop right up if they see the roach container in my hand still.

Ziggy hasn't moved for 4 days.

For the most part, just let your beardies be. Lights go on and lights go off at normal times. Just let them sleep. It's pretty boring for us, but necessary for them. If you want, you can make them a cozy little box to hide in or a blankie to sleep on. My guys tend to just plop down and nap. The older they get, the longer they bruminate too.

I've been a bit more assertive with Drake as he's starting to bruminate because he's been sickly. So I'll let him sleep, but I'll also check him daily to make sure he's alive and responsive. :) He hates it, but it makes me feel better.

If you notice sunk in eyes or no response at all when you touch them, this could be a problem. Wake them up and give them some water to drink to keep them hydrated.

Read more information HERE about bruminating from a past blog post.

Nubs Woke up..... Sorta

This is how Nubs has spent most of the past month & a half. This is his way of bruminating. 

On Monday, he decided to get up and be awake. This is how he looks now: 

I think it will be awhile before he's back to normal activity. 

The Faces of Brumination

It's winter here and all my guys have slowed down. Some are eating; some aren't. Some are active and run around; some lift their heads and that's it. 

Here are pics of the ones who are bruminating the most. 

Ziggy--he's been in this position for three weeks. He lifts his head and lowers it. That's about it. 

Nubs-- he crawled under his log and gives me the stink eye when I make eye contact or touch him. At least his eyes are open today. 

Max-- he's like Ziggy. He's in one spot and doesn't move much. He watches things, but doesn't get up. 

Dori-- she goes in her blankie and won't move for days. I have to check her at least once a week to make sure she's still alive. I've been waking her up more often to feed her since she doesn't look great. 

Milo, Tiger, Peanut, and Gen are all active and daily eating.