Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone I was just thinking I bought my beardie around month ago and it was still worm when I got him and now its summer. I know it will turn into bad winnter down here in michigan well below 60 what sould i do ? I heard of people useing black lights but heard it can hurt there eyes is this true ? if so what else can I use I was thinking of geting a heat mat for under the tank but I use sand I know eveyone hates it but I use it yes and heat wont go thorw it so what else can I do ? thx for any comments

It is true that beardies can see red and black lights. It bothers some more than others.

A ceramic heat emitter is what you want. It screws into a standard light fixture, but it puts off no light, only heat.
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Amanda
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

Do u know anyone that uses the ceramic light ? Just wondering if it works good and dose it come in diff wattages cause im useing it for night and a 10 gallon dont want it to hot for my little guy thx. steve

Yeah they do come in different wattages, and I see people recommend them all the time but I can't remember one person specifically who uses them.
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Amanda
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

If you get one of those thermostats then a 60 watt bulb wouldn't burn up the 10 gallon. But if you have the beardie now, he won't be in a 10 gallon by the time winter hits hard.
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ETChipotle

I live in Minneapolis, and it gets cold here. I have a house built in 1920 with poor insulation. My basement ambient temperature drops to 50 degrees, but won't go any lower.

1. Insulate your cage if it's an aquarium. I used the 4 foot political yard signs, as they were a close fit for my 90 gallon aquarium.

2. Reduce ventilation out the top of the tank, because you'll lose a lot of heat that way. You probably don't need any ventilation in your tank at night. Its not like the lizards are gonna steam up the windows.

Consider using a solid panel for the aquarium top (if that's what you have) and putting in a computer fan that runs on a timer, and only during the day. Then you can have all the ventilation you want, when you want it, but reduced ventilation at night when you want to retain heat.

3. Add a night time heater such as the ceramic heater that takes the place of a light bulb.

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ETChipotle