Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently got 2 babies, and the enclosure was given to me by a friend of mine who has beardies himself, the enclosure is a 36.5" wide x 18.5" deep x 25" tall. It has a brand new ceramic on the baskig side and a uv bulb on the cool side. We also got an electronic thermostat to regulate the temps, but for some reason I cannot for my life get the basking area over 95 degrees, I think it is because the heat from the ceramic isn't close enough to the bottom of the tank, but i can't find a way to mount it lower. Does anyone have any ideas on how to heat better?
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Cheryl

2 beardies
1 turtle
6 goldfish
1 snail
1 dog

this is a pitucre of the tank before we added some branches to get them a little closer to the ceramic

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Cheryl

2 beardies
1 turtle
6 goldfish
1 snail
1 dog

Generally speaking Beardies like to climb to their basking spots so you don't necessarily need 100 deg temps all the way to the bottom, as long as its warm enough within about 12 inches of the basking light (and a branch so they can get up there)it shoudl be fine.

How big are your beardies?
As i'm sure someone else on here has mentioned maybe once or twice in the past they shouldn't be kept together once they start to become sexually mature (unless they're both females AND they get along)

They are 10 and 12 weeks old, and from what I can tell they are both females and so far they get along great, they're actuallt in that picture with the tank. I do have sticks in the tank that are not in that picture but i was just afraid that the temp at that point was not high enough.
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Cheryl

2 beardies
1 turtle
6 goldfish
1 snail
1 dog

n/p[
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Joel R

Coming Soon!
www.SpikesAndScales.com

yes, theres a light on the right side and a ceramic on the left.
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Cheryl

2 beardies
1 turtle
6 goldfish
1 snail
1 dog

Ditch the CHE & add a flourecent UVB and up the wattage of the basking bulb.

Or, loose them all and go for a Merc. Vap.
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Joel R

Coming Soon!
www.SpikesAndScales.com

I suggest getting rid of the ceramic heater altogether, replace it with a regular household bulb or flood light from your nearest hardware or department store. Try a 75 W bulb first and while buying the bulb, pick up a couple digital thermometers withi probes. Once you set up the new bulb, put the probe directly on top of the basking spot, to measure the temperature. It should range between 95-115 F, closer to the high end for babies. If the temp is 95 or lower, try getting a higher watt bulb. If the temps are really close, just raise the height of the basking spot.

Not sure what substrate you are using but I would get rid of it and use paper towel at least till your dragons are older. (10" or bigger). If it's calci-sand, don't use it at all. Non stick shelf liner or plastic table cloth make good substrates as well.