Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I don't mean to sound mean, but, do bearded dragons have the ability to remember stuff? Our beardie has an UTH heater under a piece of slate to keep him warm at night. Yet, in the morning, I always find him on his climbing log, cold as can be. I pick him up and put him on the slate and he stays there until it is time for him to eat. Should he know better or am I expecting too much?

Love him to pieces by the way!!!

Yes, they can. If you hand feed your dragons you will notice them looking expectantly and tracking your hand when you put it in their cage. They have learned to associate hand with food. Luckily they eat things initially by capturing it with their tongue, not their teeth so it is not dangerous. Also, if one finds a way out once you can be assured he will find that way out again if you do not fix it. I had a cage that was set up the same way for months and never had my dragon escape. Then one day she (Lava) jumped out. I figured maybe it was just a fluke occurance so I shifted her basking log away from the opening a bit and put her back. Well, an hour later she had jumped out again.

Undertank heaters are very counterintuitive for Dragons. Since they are diurnal, heating up general means going to a high point to catch the rays of the sun. Her instincts may just be stronger than her memory.

Peter

would you suggest that we use a night lamp then so he can get some heat from the top of his basking spot?

how cool does it get at night? i wouldnt bother with anything unless its super necessary. you can get colored bulbs ( i had a purple one, i believe blue are also good at night) that provide some warmth (it was 60 watts) but the light doesnt bother them. you can see them, they still sleep but they do need some temperature difference between night and day
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

id imagine their instincts also tell them to sleep in a branch rather than on the ground. seems safer
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

i would say that it gets between 65-70 degrees right now. i haven't turned the furnace on. I worry that he gets too cold...do they make little jackets that small?

He does occasionally sleep on the substrate in very weird positions.

Would it be ok to leave the UVB light on all night or just during the day?

Sorry for all of the questions!!

Dawn

Get a night heat bulb to run during the night or a ceramic bulb with a cover to protect the lizards. As far as sleeping in weird positions i have a juvinile beardie that likes to sleep haning on a cord going out the top of the cage. He thinks he is a monkey or tarzan, as i have seen some one else has named one of their dragons! Scott

i *think* thats warm enough for overnight, but yup you can use a nighttime bulb or ceramic heat emitter (no light). but defientely dont use teh uvb bulb overnight! having lights on all the time will stress them out. the reason the night bulbs work is that they emit very low levels of light, and the particular colors they come in mimic moonlight.
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

Get rid of the undertank heater. They really are useless with dragons can pose a serious health hazard for him. The pet store ones can short out and cook your dragon or worse, cause a house fire.

Use a regular household bulb and hooded fixture you can get a home hardware or home depot or any similar store. Set this up over your dragon's basking spot and with a digital thermometer with probe, adjust the bulb size or height of the light so the basking temperature is between 95-110 F.

Nighttime temperatures between 65-70 F is alright. If it tends to get colder than this at night, a lightless heat bulb can be used. (either blue bulb, or ceramic heater bulb). Don't leave teh UVB light (or the regular household bulb) on 24 hours as this will cause stress and other problems for your dragon, as was already mentioned. Best to set them on a timer, leaving between 10-14 hours of daylight (or just match the length of day to your area, so less daylight in winter, more in summer).

I guess that this is another case of who should I listen to....I bought the UTH from a small local pet store owner who belongs to kingsnake. He assured me that it was needed and that he wouldn't recommend it if I didn't, unlike other chain stores. UGH!!! Now I have this $30 UTH that i can't do anything with now that it has been attached to the tank. I make sure that there is about an inch of sand then the piece of slate which is about 3/4 inch thick. So, Velcro could possibly still be injured by the heat of this pad? HELP!!! Calgon, take me away!!! Is there any "one true, safe source" out there?!?!?!?!

its quite possible that the owner thought he was giving you good info. i know that im learning more and more everyday, and beardie keeping in general is always changing.
im not expert, but i wouldnt expect that the uth could cause damage unless there was nothing between it and the beardie...its mostly just useless for beardie purposes
but hey, that uth isnt totally useless....time to add some snakes or leopard geckos to your collection
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

surely you jest!!! it took some major prodding for me to convince my hubby to let me get this little guy....but of course, i catch him in my son's room watching him all of the time!!

my parents are the same way about my dog...my dad adores her, and my stepmom pretends not to care about her....unless nobody is looking

but really, leopard geckos are awfully cute too, and less maintenance than beardies
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)