# do water dragons hibernate



## smart275 (Oct 4, 2007)

sorry if i have used the wrong term but recently my water dragons have been hiding and io am having to force them out everyday for there food should i be doing this everyday not with it being winter or should i be cutting it down

should i also be cutting the food down for my leos 4 of them are adult 1 of them are not juvie 

should i do it for my beardie who is about 7-8 months old 


thankyou 

kim


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## basky (Dec 11, 2006)

yes water dragons do brumate, which isnt as deep as hibernating. they will slow down, sleep alot and rarely eat. mine tends to come out to go toilet and thats about it. if they want to eat they will, dont force feed.

leo- same really they will eat what they need to

beardie is still to young i think so he's prob just be the same. 

reps know what they need so listen to them


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## LUFC_SPACEMAN (Nov 8, 2007)

I asked the same question recently under the impression that due to them being tropical reptiles there wouldn't be much variation in temp throughout the year and consequently no need for winter shutdown. I have had a look at Anoles, Basilisks and Water Dragons by Bartlett & Bartlett and they say 

'Of all the species mentioned in these pages, hibernation (also called brumation). a period of winter dormancy, could be considered for only two; North American green anoles, Anolis carolinensis, from the northern-most populations, and the southern temperate Australian (or brown) water dragon, Physignathus lesueurii. from the southernmost populations.'

I think my CWD is 5/6 months old now. I am using a ceramic heater which keeps the general viv temp at 80 fahrenheit throughout day & night witha basking light during the day and he seems nonplussed. I caught him the other day looking a little dark and with his eyes closed but all the time before that and since he has been (visually) light and active.


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

ah, good book that.
yes brown water dragons, liek collard lizards..actually want putting in a cool box for deep sleep for a period but green water dragons, beardies, leos etc will be ok with a slight drop in temp and the rest theyll sort themselves if they want to hide away and not do much.

we ar ehwever going to cool one of our leos, as we want him to get his mojo back for breeding next year.
prolly just turn most of his heat off, only offer water daily and food once a week..only for about a month, gona wait till january to do it though.


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## smart275 (Oct 4, 2007)

so how long would a water dragon be ok for with out eating ?
mine loves hiding at the mo i keep popping my head in to make sure he is ok but i really am tempted to give him something to eat but he wont come out so how long is ok for them not to eat?


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

has he not eaten since you started this thread 4 weeks ago?

EDIT- was gettin confused with the other thread in which someone just rehomed one.
nobody asked you about set up sorry


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## scotty123 (Sep 16, 2007)

green water dragons do not brumate. they are from a tropical climate where it satys reletively the same all year round.

they don have a colder period of they year for a couple of months where they do slow down a* little* but this is nothing like brumation. in all honesty if the viv has constant temps/ light cycles they probably wont, mine havent and are just as active as they were in the summer.

if you want to breed them then it is advised that you do drop the temps slighlty for a couple of months.


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## scotty123 (Sep 16, 2007)

DeanThorpe said:


> has he not eaten since you started this thread 4 weeks ago?
> you never answered anyones quessies about your viv and stuff so as to advise you...


 
if he has eaten nothing for a month i would be VERY worried!


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## scotty123 (Sep 16, 2007)

LUFC_SPACEMAN said:


> I asked the same question recently under the impression that due to them being tropical reptiles there wouldn't be much variation in temp throughout the year and consequently no need for winter shutdown. I have had a look at Anoles, Basilisks and Water Dragons by Bartlett & Bartlett and they say
> 
> 'Of all the species mentioned in these pages, hibernation (also called brumation). a period of winter dormancy, could be considered for only two; North American green anoles, Anolis carolinensis, from the northern-most populations, and the southern temperate Australian (or brown) water dragon, Physignathus lesueurii. from the southernmost populations.'
> 
> I think my CWD is 5/6 months old now. I am using a ceramic heater which keeps the general viv temp at 80 fahrenheit throughout day & night witha basking light during the day and he seems nonplussed. I caught him the other day looking a little dark and with his eyes closed but all the time before that and since he has been (visually) light and active.


 
oh nick you are a clever sod! lol how is lenny??


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

The dropping the temps slightly for a couple of months....will cause them to do there cycles as you say... they will slow down due to it.
plus just with the ambient viv temps going down due to the drop in room temp they will know a difference.

They may not brumate, but the definition of brumation is rather rough.
Some ppls lizards are slowing down a bit on food but staying active, others are hiding away and not eating, theres a greeat variation there but all put down to the same thing.

SMART, has you water dragon not eaten in 4 weeks?


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## basky (Dec 11, 2006)

i dont adjust the temps in my viv but obviously the temps change because of the weather. so between november to march my water dragon slows down, some years more than others. ive had her before going about 4 months not eating much, however she still eats, just not as much as usual. when was the last time yours ate and is he/she losing weight?


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## smart275 (Oct 4, 2007)

i think im just gonna try give him some food then im getting confussed


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

out of our 50+ collection the only lizards that arent eating regularly still are our first 2 beardies, both 2 years old [just]
and our oplurus cylurus who has never eaten too regularly.


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## scotty123 (Sep 16, 2007)

smart275 said:


> i think im just gonna try give him some food then im getting confussed


 
thats the best thing to do mate. keep offering him food, maybe get a some different types, locust and crix and maybe offer him food, twice a day. keep doing it and eventually he will eat unless there is somethuing more serious wrong. if hes hungry, he will have to eat something.


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## smart275 (Oct 4, 2007)

i have just tempted him out of his hide with a juicy wax worm and now he has jumped in to the locust tub 

i feel so mean now people on here told me not to feed him till he comes out and i have let him starve because of people on here my WD could have died grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

im so angry now


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

wheres that thread?

nobody stops offerin food occasionally even if a lizard is brumating.
the only time you dont let a lizard eat is if your cooling it in a cool box for deep brumation liek with a collard lizard or brown water dragon or whatever other species.


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## grevo (Jul 31, 2007)

smart275 said:


> i have just tempted him out of his hide with a juicy wax worm and now he has jumped in to the locust tub
> 
> i feel so mean now people on here told me not to feed him till he comes out and i have let him starve because of people on here my WD could have died grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
> 
> im so angry now


Who told you that and on which thread? I find that hard to believe. Did they think you meant beardie?


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

even with a beardie, if its out and about and wanting food you give it to them, just make sure they bask afterwards and go to the loo before hiding away again for days on end.

have you really not even seen or checked over the wd in a month?

our male beardie gets pulled out and checked out once every 3 days and offered food and drink and he is the biggest brumator we have.


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## smart275 (Oct 4, 2007)

yeh i have seen him i kept poppoing my head in to make sure he was ok and he was still green and lifting his head right up hes livly he is now jumping all over his viv


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

has he lost weight?
you have more than one yes? or just one?


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## darkestjelly (Oct 29, 2011)

*any help please*

hi 

i have read the above, can i just ask for some clarification

i have been given an 18month female green water dragon from a friend.

shes been ok, a little subdued, but as shes just been moved, i thought that was normal.

shes not eaten a lot since i had her - only thing i know she has had were pinkies - shes had 2 now.

i have had her for 2 weeks.

i have been getting her out and letting her run around for a couple of hours, most days, but not the last couple as i havent been in much.

she has now stopped coming out of her bedroom. and when she is in there, she is digging or scratching around. i looked in yesterday and she had covered herself with dirt and was hiding so i couldnt see her.

i see that they can brumate - is this what she is doing?
is is normal for her not to eat much?
should i try and if so how often should i try feeding her?

any help would be great, thanks


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