Bearded dragon hibernation is a period of dormancy and a vital aspect of a reptile’s life cycle. Hibernation is a natural process, often observed in cooler months, and involves significant changes in behavior and physiology.
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5 Insights as to What Happens During Bearded Dragon Hibernation
Hibernation for reptiles is also referred to as brumtion. The question of whether it is hibernation or brumation is easy, they are interchangeable.
Hibernation is a natural process where bearded dragons decrease their metabolism and enter a state of dormancy conserving energy and reducing their overall activity, usually during the cooler months. During this time, they may eat less, drink less, and sleep more to adjust to the changing temperatures and seasonal conditions.
Studies by Capraro et al. (2020) and Capraro et al. (2019) provide fascinating insights into what goes on inside your bearded dragon’s body during hibernation.
1. Metabolism Slows Down:
- During hibernation, your bearded dragon’s body slows down significantly, using much less energy. This allows them to go for extended periods without eating.
- Their body switches from using food (like glucose) for energy to stored fat. This explains why your bearded dragon may stop eating when hibernation begins—it is completely natural.
2. Their Brain Stays Protected:
- Bearded dragons have special ways to protect their brain cells during deep hibernation sleep. This ensures that their brain remains healthy even though they are not as active.
- During hibernation, their brain controls calcium levels to avoid nerve damage, ensuring they are well-protected throughout the dormancy period.
3. Different Parts of the Body React Differently:
- Each part of your bearded dragon’s body handles hibernation in its own way. For instance, their muscles have mechanisms that prevent them from weakening too much, so they can regain their strength quickly once hibernation ends.
- Their heart also grows stronger during hibernation, ensuring it can continue to function well despite their lowered activity levels. This is a natural process that helps keep your dragon healthy.
4. Helps Conserve Energy:
- Brumation is a natural response to environmental changes, like cooler temperatures and shorter days. It helps your bearded dragon conserve energy when food is scarce.
- While your bearded dragon may seem very still and less responsive, their body works efficiently to maintain their health.
5. Requires the Right Environment & Monitoring:
- Hibernation is entirely natural, but it is essential to provide your bearded dragon with an environment that mimics what they would experience in the wild. Gradually lowering the temperature in their habitat and adjusting the light cycle can help signal to your bearded dragon that it is time to hibernate.
- Without these environmental cues, hibernation might not happen properly, which can lead to stress or health problems.
- Keep an eye on their health before, during, and after hibernation. Regular vet visits, especially to a vet experienced with reptiles, can help ensure everything is going as it should.
What is the Difference Between a Bearded Dragon Sleeping and Hibernating?
The difference between a bearded dragon sleeping and hibernating lies primarily in the duration and behavioral patterns exhibited.
Sleeping: This is a daily activity in which the bearded dragon rests for a period, usually at night. When light and warmth return, they wake up and resume their normal activities like eating and basking.
Hibernating: Hibenating involves a prolonged period of dormancy that can last for months and occurs in cooler seasons. During hibernation, bearded dragons become very lethargic, eat little or nothing, and may bury themselves in their substrate. Unlike regular sleep, hibernation significantly reduces metabolic activity and is a response to environmental changes, not just a daily need for rest.
Why Do Bearded Dragons Hibernate?
Bearded dragon hibernation is a natural process that allows these reptiles to conserve energy during the colder months when food and resources become scarce. In the wild, a bearded dragon’s instinct prompts it to find a safe, secluded spot to hibernate during the winter.
Hibernation is a survival strategy in response to environmental changes, particularly fluctuations in temperature and daylight. As ectothermic creatures, bearded dragons rely on external heat sources to regulate their body temperature. When ambient temperatures drop, their bodies respond by entering a state of reduced activity and slowed metabolic processes (Zimmerman et al., 2010).
How Hibernating Works
As temperatures fall and food becomes scarce in the wild, bearded dragons significantly reduce their metabolic rate. This decrease in metabolic activity is crucial for surviving extended periods when food is unavailable, and temperatures are too low for their regular physiological processes. Their energy needs drop, and they stop eating as their bodies conserve resources for survival (Zimmerman et al., 2010).
The primary purpose of hibernation is to conserve energy during times when the natural habitat of bearded dragons becomes inhospitable. Colder temperatures, diminished food availability, and shorter daylight hours—detected by the bearded dragon’s parietal eye (or third eye)—are natural signals that trigger hibernation.
Impact on Reproductive Health
Another significant aspect of hibernating is its role in regulating reproductive cycles. Hibernation prepares bearded dragons for the breeding season, allowing them to conserve energy and emerge from dormancy ready to reproduce. However, while hibernation can benefit reproductive health, bearded dragons can breed without undergoing hibernation first.
When Will My Bearded Dragon Hibernate?
In captivity, bearded dragons still feel the instinct to hibernate. However, hibernation can only occur properly when they are given an environment that, to some degree, replicates the natural environmental temperatures that they would typically experience in winter. This can be done by gradually adjusting the temperature and lighting conditions in the enclosure to mimic the change of seasons.
What Happens if I Do not Provide Proper Conditions for Hibernating?
Bearded dragons may still pick up on environmental cues even if not provided the right conditions to hibernate. They may detect the days shortening in winter, especially if their enclosure gives them access to light from a window. They may also detect a change in the temperature, especially if they are let out of their enclosure where temperatures and lighting are set.
Without the right conditions, bearded dragon hibernation will not occur properly. This could result in the reptile acting completely normal or entering short periods of dormancy, being sluggish, not overly interested in eating, and never really going into a deep sleep.
Insufficient temperature changes or hiding spots may make the bearded dragon stressed and ill.
Conclusion
Hibernation is a natural and essential part of your bearded dragon’s life. By understanding how its body works during this time, you can help support it and ensure it stays healthy and happy.
If your bearded dragon starts showing signs of going into dormancy—like sleeping more, eating less, or hiding—do not worry! These behaviors are part of a well-coordinated process that helps your bearded dragon conserve energy and protect their body until warmer days return.
References
Capraro, A., O‘Meally, D., Waters, S. A., Patel, H. R., Georges, A., & Waters, P. D. (2020). MicroRNA dynamics during hibernation of the Australian central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps). Scientific Reports, 10(1).
Capraro, A., O’Meally, D., Waters, S. A., Patel, H. R., Georges, A., & Waters, P. D. (2019). Waking the sleeping dragon: gene expression profiling reveals adaptive strategies of the hibernating reptile Pogona vitticeps. BMC Genomics, 20(1).
Zimmerman, L. M., Vogel, L. A., & Bowden, R. M. (2010). Understanding the vertebrate immune system: insights from the reptilian perspective. Journal of Experimental Biology, 213(5), 661–671.
