Taming red / possible brumation

[Tiamat]

8 I bought a hatchling Argentine red from a breeder in October . Breeder said he was born in late September .

My setup

1. 72 gallon aquarium with 3" coconut substrate
2. Two hides... One half hollow log at the cool end and an enclosed cave with a shirt in it on the basking end.
3. Both sides of the tank have a mercury vapor/ceramiv heater combo .
   1. The basking side is 114° day and 87°night .
   2. The cool side is 87° day 80° night
   3. The mercury vapor UVB bulbs are on a 12-12 on/off timer .
   4. Ceramic heaters are always on
4. I also have a zoo med 2 gallon terrarium fogger .

My problem deals with socialization and not eating .

Diogi (his name ) seems to spend almost ALL of his time in the substrate . I left him alone for the first 2 months, but then started to dig him up to handle / socializr (I read it was okay to dig them up during sunlight hours somewhere on here .

He's gotten better. He used to go bats**t crazy and freak out if you tried to pick him up . Now it's just something he "tolerates". He'll sit on my hand for a bit but then start walking down my arm as if looking for an escape.

 

[beardeddragon111]

Cool side of your enclosure is way to hot. Go for the mid 70's in the cool end. Warm side seems ok though. Even if he wasn't hibernating you'd see him under the dirt almost all the time.

 

[Walter1]

Cool side of your enclosure is way to hot. Go for the mid 70's in the cool end. Warm side seems ok though. Even if he wasn't hibernating you'd see him under the dirt almost all the time.

Yes, at very least he could be hiding to stay cool and avoid the heat.

 

[Zyn]

Yeah Sev hides like 90% of the time anyway unless he's hungry or basking lol

 

[Tessa Cadle]

Zwei burrows 90% of the time too. He comes out every so often to bask in the heat and in the sun. We've also got the cocoa husk substrate and it keeps in the moisture very well and does not mold

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