Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay im having this problem with temps, i have two heat bulbs and for some reason its still not getting hot enough...only like 95...or maybe the thermometer is in the wrong spot? i have heat bulb by t-rex and then just a regular 60 watt house bulb (clear) idk...maybe its not that big of a deal? its like 95 on the hot side and 75 on the cool...is that enough difference.

Enough of a difference? Yes. But hot enough? NO. You need to raise the temps up on both ends by about 10*.
Someone else may disagree, but beardies need the heat to properly digest their food. All kinds of health problems may occur if the temps are too cool. 75* would be okay for the nighttime lows.
Cricket

well it might be where my thermometers are too, they are at the top of the cage...and its a mesh screen, and the cool side is about 80 now

You need to be checking surface temps. Pick up an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer from walmart for about $10 and try that. An IR thermometer would be even better, you can get those from ProExotics.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

Very well put, Sean. Looks like I'm not the only one with time on their hands.LOL
Cricket

Ya, prepping 160 images for publication. They're so large though that photoshop is taking about 3 minutes to apply each correction lol.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

what the indoor/outdoor thing do exactly? i guess i dont understand...

It's a digital thermometer with a probe on a cord. You put the base unit on your cool side and the probe right in the middle of your basking spot. It'll give you both readings at once and also record high/low so you can check your night temps also.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

oh cool, do you think it will be okay that way for a couple days? ( the dragon and all the set up kinda drained me) lol

Probably, but I can't say for sure. The problem with those ones that stick to the glass is they read air temp at that level, even then they can be 10-20 degrees off. What you're looking for are surface temps at the basking spot itself. The cool side one is probably more accurate on that side because it's closer to ambient temp. If you're getting a reading of 95 with that on the basking side I would guess your basking spot is closer to 110-130 but can't say for sure.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

What is your dragon doing? Is he hiding in his hide or hanging out in the cool end of his tank? Is he always on the basking spot and looking very dark all day long? If he is running around and alert, basking and moving about at intervals? His behaviour could indicate if it is too hot or too cold. If he is hiding all the time, or basking on the floor of the tank, then his basking spot is too hot. If he is on the basking spot all the time or very lathargic, he is too cold and/or going into brumation, then it's too cold.

Both extremes can be dangerous, too hot could kill your dragon, if his cool end is too warm (over 90F), if the entire tank is too cold, or his basking spot doesn't get above 90F he can't digest his food properly, causing it to rot in his stomach and affecting his health.
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PHLdyPayne

he is all over his cage but in his basking spot more i guess, he is active and jumping around and stuff jumping at the top of the cage and trying to hold on so idk.

well yesterday before i put them on the sides i laid it on the basking spot and the cool side was same temp but the other one never got above 105-110....

but here is another question...

he keeps jumping at the top of the screen and trying to grab it, he is jumping right at the lights...im afraid he is going to hurt himself...is that kinda normal, jen said he was in a rubbermaid contanier with just a rock and hanging lights before, and now he is in a glass 20 long, i put paper around 3 sides so he would stop thinking he could get out those sides...also

the skin on his back is like wrinkled a bit...any idea what that could be? or is it normal? and i think hes a little stressed bc his beard is dark... just letting you know whats going on

Running and jumping around is very normal behavior. The loose wrinkly skin on the back could be a couple things. He may be getting ready to shed or a little dehydrated, remember you should mist babies 3 times a day.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

he just shed, bc when igot him his tail and legs are still shedding (and jen said he shed) and i let him sit in the water and sprayed him 2 times already

Patrcik

Hi Patrick,

I think that's the name I saw at the bottom of your post but wasn't sure because of the spelling. If that's incorrect I apologize.

First, I would just like to emphasize that my comments are based on my experience with reptiles. This is my opinion.

I think that the post made by PHLdyPayne was important because that person is making mention of reading the animal as a gauge of your husbandry. That is important. Generally speaking, a healthy animal has a strong appetite is active and alert (their behaviors and needs do change though as they are living creatures). But those things are contingent upon your husbandry. Your beardie will use different temperatures (a range) at different times as he/she needs them. The animal is depending on you to provide those temperatures/that range.

You read one care sheet and it says 105 is the max temp in the hot spot and that the cage can never get cooler than 73 degrees and then you read another that says 115 is good and they can get down to 60 degrees at night. Clearly these numbers are numbers that people made up (based on their experiences or the experiences of others and what they have seen/allowed their animals to experience) and not necessarily the upper and lower limits of the animal or not even the limits of the temps the animal will use given the chance. You need to give them the chance and let the animal tell you what temps they will use. What range of temps produces a healthy, active and alert animal for you? If you average the advice of some of the beardie folks you will obviously get a pretty good idea of the temps needed for your beardie to do well. I am just trying to give a more holistic view point because I feel there is no shortage of very specific advice (ie hot spot must be 105, no cooler than 73 at night and fed 22.5 crickets per day).

Your animal will tell you how it is doing and what it needs in many ways. It is important to be sensitive to that and that is a large part of the fun of keeping reptiles and the skill of some of the most successful keepers.

So by all means consider and use the advice of the people on the forum but remember that your animal will show you the range of temperatures it needs/will use if you give it the chance.

Good luck to you,

Ian

ian,

yeah my name is Patrick or Pat or whatever i swear i use Wake on so many forums that if someone called me that on the street i wouldnt notice :S,

i will say this, that is one of the best posts i have read on here so far, your not pushing or whatever just helping, i think if everyone posted like that this forums would be saved topics like a couple that are taking up the first page

ill keep an eye on him, but today he ate good lots of greens and about 35 crics, when i get the digital thermometer ill see for sure, but he was very active (as a beardie new to his home, i guess should be?) and all that yet let me pick him up and hold him and all that

ill keep ya posted ;D

pat

Patrick,

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to hear myself talk. Definitely keep us posted. I am sure you will do well. The whole process never ends. The animals are always changing, you are always changing (your interests, motivations, knowledge base etc...) Everyday something is different (and things are the same). I think you really get your answers/new questions over time. How many animals you keep and the length of time you keep them is important too I think.

Take care,

Ian

okay got it figured out got a digital thermometer (indoor outdoor) and then got a bigger bulb (150 watt) so now my temps are:

110-113 hot spot

80-85 on cool...

and the digital thermometer with the cord thing is working great i just ran the cord downt side and then up the "probe" lol
on the bottom of his hammock (his basking spot) he seems to be doing fine though

Actually night time lows can get down to 65 without ill effects.