Brumating Bearded Dragons

My bearded dragons are wrapping up the year by going into brumation, making this a perfect time to share our brumation routine.

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What Is Brumation?

In the simplest of terms, it’s hibernation for the cold-blooded.

It happens differently for every bearded dragon/owner. In my experience, the boys go down within days of each other and they wake similarly.

I usually notice the signs around October/November, but this year they’ve both gone down mid-August. The “signs” are really just some type of cave-dwelling laziness. Typically, they’re both pretty active so the unusually relaxed, napping midday, literally falling asleep in my hands or in other strange/awkward positions and places is a solid giveaway.

The signs might be similar for you, or they could be completely different. Take note of their behavior in the lead up so you can be prepared next year!

Should We Let Sleeping Beardie’s Lie? (Disrupting Brumation)

You can actually disrupt bearded dragons in captivity from brumating altogether without any consequences because they don’t need it.

During brumation, I leave them to it and only disrupt their sleep for these reasons:

• Administering medications
• I wake them every few weeks to give them a soak to absorb water.
• I weigh them whenever I do this ^
• Keeping an eye on any shedding that started before they went down.
• Sometimes I can’t tell if they’re breathing, so I panic and wake them up.

I don’t see the need to stop them from brumating except in special circumstances.

While They Are Sleeping…

…let them be.

Keep an eye on them—make sure their temperatures are steady and as I previously mentioned, that they stay hydrated. Make sure they’re maintaining their weight. You’re essentially playing nurse and monitoring them for changes.

If you like, take them to the vet for a check up around this time to make sure everything is in order.

How Do I Make Them Comfortable?

My boys have caves in their enclosures, Grimm never uses his until he’s ready to brumate while Norman uses his nearly every night. When they’re ready to go down, I put hand towels in with them. Or little blankets my mom makes for them, sometimes I wrap them up, sometimes they wrap themselves up.

A ceramic heat emitter keeps them warm, but not too warm. They don’t need extreme heat, or a bright light bothering them.

Additionally, I cover Grimm’s enclosure with a towel to block light, but still allow for air flow. Because Norman Sleeps buried in his cave, I don’t need to cover his enclosure.

Brumation Poop!

This one’s pretty obvious.

Make sure they poop before they go down in cold weather because undigested food can rot in their stomach.

Behavior During Brumation

Norman generally stays in his cave, but I hear him scratching occasionally. Grimm moves around quite a bit actually, each position looking more and more uncomfortable than the last.

It’s a strange feeling, examining their seemingly empty enclosures, no cocked heads or judgmental looks. As much as I miss them, I really do try to keep my meddling to a minimum. I stick to weighing and hydrating.

An Honest Word

This is where I make a confession, brumation is mostly sad and dull, but it can also be a reprieve.

It’s like we’re all getting a vacation from one another.

I love them to the edge of the universe and back, but I’m the kind of mom who gets overwhelmed and appreciates a break.

I look forward to seeing them again some unknown time between February and March. They normally wake up in Spring, albeit, they did go down earlier than usual, so maybe they’ll come back to me sooner!

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