My first year with brumating Hugo..

[AneesasMuse]

This time last year, Hugo was still going strong and eating about 3 or 4 days a week and so on..

...but this year, he's already been sleeping through weeks without eating anything. And then today, he woke up and came over to the end of his viv where I was working with another lizard ..and he just stared at me. By the time I got ready to give him some roaches ...handfed, for him.. he was back in his corner and sleeping again. :loco:

Should I indulge him when he wakes up and looks at me ...or just leave him be and let him go back to sleep?

He's already looking thin to me, so my bleeding heart is screaming, "Feed the BABY!!!" :lol:

[Chandler Rep]

See none of mine never fully burmated...still would eat a few days a week...not alot but some....I would try...won't hurt anything....just keep a plate of greens in there incase he wakes and wants some...

[Cam5]

We have a Beardie that has always brumated (past 3 years).
And I was hoping our new 10 month old Beardie would stay awake but NOOOOOOOO! He has been down for a month already.

Here's what I have been told/observed.
Since they are not active they really should NOT loose much weight at all.
If they are truly not eating AND not moving their weight should not drop many grams at all.
IF they are loosing weight in brumation it might be due to parasites that are eating up their reserves. In which case you would need to try to get a poo sample to a vet...not easy from a brumating beardie.

We tend to soak our beardies once a week on warm water that covers their vent for about 20 minutes. Sometimes he perks up and takes a few waxworms basks on and off for a few days and goes back to sleep...
other times he sleeps through his soaks...we dry him off and put him back in his sleeping spot.

The other concern is that if they are brumating and you do get then to eat their digestion is slowed way down and therefore the food can rot and make them ill.

The soaks keep them hydrated...in the wild they tend to brumate in maoist earth patches and believe it or not that little bit of moisture that they are able to take in via their vent is all they need...
So while Brumation=Frustration for humans it is only natural for the Beardies.

FYI, organic matter...greens etc is harder to digest than proteins for them.

[AneesasMuse]

My animals don't have parasites :loco: Some of the rescues may come here with parasites, but they don't remain so ...and Hugo has been here for a year, at least. He just appears to his doting Momma that he's skinny cuz I'm used to him shoveling a handful of roaches and a salad 3 or 4 times the size of his head every day or so :madgrin: