bearded dragon less active and being a poop

[Guest]

The last 3-4 days I've noticed my beardie being less active and very grumpy. He's a year and a half, definitely male. He didn't brumate his first year, I'm wondering if this is what could be happening.
Usually I turn his lights on and he rushes to his basking spot to warm up, the last few days he hasn't been on his basking spot, hes been on the cooler end of the enclosure, hiding in a corner. He isn't eating as much and hes not pooping every day like he used to. He doesn't seem to be losing weight really either though.
This morning I turned on his lights and it was almost like he was in a catatonic state. I sprayed him with water and he didn't move, I put some yummy veggies in and he didn't move, I moved his furniture around and still nothing. I was pretty worried so I thought maybe a bath might get him moving... When I went to get him for his bath the only reaction I got was a puffed up beard and an open mouth, like he was going to bite me, I've never seen this from him before he usually loves being out of his home.
After fighting with me he finally ended up in the tub and even then it took 10 minutes before he would start moving around...
I don't think hes getting too cold at night, his enclosure is mid/upper 60's when I go out to turn on the lights.
Any ideas on what might be going on? I'm probably going to go to beardeddragon.org too. Should I take him to the vet or give it a few more days?

 

[Guest]

Well, my first guess would be that he's getting ready to go through his first brumation. The fact that you say he isn't losing any weight is a good thing. We've got one that's still going strong, but we just picked up another one who we were told is a HEAVY brumator (it's a word, I swear) and he's already doing the same things that yours is (minus the moodiness).

I noticed that you said you get up to turn his lights on... are you doing this manually every day? If so, I'd HIGHLY recommend purchasing a timer for all your lights. This is the one that we use for ALL of our reptiles, and we love it (we use the digital one):

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[brutus13]

I have 5 Beardies the youngest being 3 and the oldest is 5. They slow down alot this time of the year but I dont let my cage get under 70. I use ceramic heaters at night to keep them warm. They still get bathes 2-3 times a week. I'm not sure about the moodiness maybe he's too cold.

 

[Guest]

awesome that makes me feel better. maybe he was just being a crab. I knew that some brumate but I didn't have to deal with it his first winter so I wasn't completely sure what to look for. For the lights, yes for the time being I have to go manually turn on his lights. I have a timer I was using when my tanks were stacked but I moved the beardie and I probably should go get another. I thought it was a bit early for the temps to be dropping like that, I might have to go get a ceramic heater or something for night. Last year was fine but hes in a different enclosure now. Anyway, thank you both. I'll keep an eye on him to make sure there isn't something else that could be contributing but I'm greatly relieved that more than likely its brumation.