Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Help! My BD is mentally retarded! I should have everything right by now in my recently adopted 2-3 yr old BD aquarium. I've tried everything since his arrival about 6 weeks ago. He has Lots of light and boulders (to him) on the right side and coolness on the left with a Repti-sun 5.0 UVB across the back. But, unless I put him outside he remains "deflated" in the center of the tank. I put him there last night around 7pm. The lights went out at 8 pm and the tank cooled to about 78 by morning with under tank heaters on either end (remember he's in the middle). Lights came on at 6am and by 10am I couldn't take it anymore...he would not eat...poop...nothing (although he actually moved his head around quite a bit this morning and he actually ate a super meal worm that I placed among his salad. Then, I put him in a screend in area on the lawn with his wooden saw horse (lying on its side), concrete paver block, and bricks. Almost immediately, he alivened...climing down the saw horse leg into the lawn where he began eating the grass which I promptly obscured with his salad bowl. After he finished his salad and several white clover flowers I picked for him (his absolute favorite), he cruised around a bit until he finally pooped and climed up into a standing position on his little fence where he stayed for about 30-45 minutes, until I took him down. Sometimes he'll hide in a bottom-less cardboard box I made for him where he will lie in the shade and cool grass until he's frigid and stiff. I don't know what I am going to do with him in the winter. Either I'm going to have to watch him melt into the bottom of the cage or figure out how to get him outside without turning him into a popsickle...once November hits we will be in frost until March? What am I going to do? Help!

overheat like a regular household bulb? Dragons perfer overheat light and heat, the 5.0 will not provide the light intensity they need. the "third eye" on the top of their head is what they sense light intensity for seeking heat, not their underbelly like some lizard species.

Also, sounds like you have made him a nice home enviroment but are also spoiling him some

Consider too that since he is the age he is and inside, he may be noticing that it is dimmer than outside so his bio clock is telling him winter is coming and its time to slow down and brumate. This is very normal for them, below is a link on brumation in bearded dragons. as long as you know he is parasite and worm free, has light intensity overhead, I woudl think this is what is going on with him and when you get him outside in intense light he is saying "Oh.. Sun, winter over, lets get active and eat"
Brumating Dragons

Were talking a 150 watt "agro" spot lamp and a 60 watt Halogen flood directed to the same point on his 20 pound granite boulder rock at about 18" inches!

whats the temp on that boulder? he may not go over there cause its to hot

I don't know, but, i know it was cold when the "agro" light first came on this morning but after 1 1/2 hours there was no response so I added the Halogen until, I finally gave up and took him outside. by the way, what is the best way to measure the temperature of the rock's surface?

yeah scott go to home depot and get you a digital thermometer and just tape the probe down on the rock get it up to 100-105 and find out what happens then.

Mat

You can find the ones with a prob at Walmarts for $10. Surface temp should be 95-110 is what I think, ambient temp shoud be less, NEVER higher

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No response regardless