rocky...

Question
hey...my boyfriend and i bought an Egyptian euromastyx around thanksgiving time. rocky..(euro)was doing rally well up until this past week...he will wake up about every other day and then he will sleep for a whole day...i turn the lights on in the morning and leave food for him but he does not wake up...my boyfriend and i are unsure if maybe he/she (were not sure what gender it is) is hibernating or if he may be sick....we have two rocks in his basking area and a hideaway on his cooler side...he likes to sleep under his rocks...he actually slept there all day today and i am beginning to worry...he has not acted differently since before this week...he likes to dig alot too...so we do find it kind of odd that he is sleeping so much...i am also wondering if we should give him bathes or sprits warm water on him...i know they have to have a basking area of atleast 100 degrees and we do keep it at that temperature or higher no more than 120 degrees...we are just unsure if he should be sleeping so much and not having bowl movements too often...can you tell me if you may know what is wrong with him?...

thanks so much...
Jamie

Answer
Hello Jamie,  

Well, it could be possible that he is or has been partially brumating.  However, his basking temps are too low, they should stay up around 120-130.  There should be a gradient of course, to where the temps are a bit lower around the basking area.  The cooler side should be around 80 or so.  
What type of basking light are you using?  Do you use a UVB light at all?  If so, what type & brand do you use, is it a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light?

What type of food do you feed him?  
They do not normally need baths though, as they need it pretty dry.  
He should not be sleeping so much now since it is spring & Rocky should be out of any brumation that he was in previously.  

What substrate do you use for him?  
He wont go to the bathroom very often if he is not eating much.  

What do you use to measure the temps though, a stick on thermometer, a digital probe or a temp gun?

Tracie