Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 1 year old Sandfire red Bearded dragon, when I purchased him at 7 inches he was a bright orange color with the white stripes. As time went on,(as in Months) he began to dull and turn brown during the day. HIs color seemed to have faded. He seems to turn to his orange coloration in his sleep, and he is pretty colorful. Is there a way that I can maintain his colors in the daytime? He is kept in a 40 breeder, with a incandescent spot light and a mercury vapor bulb, which both are focused on the main basking point. I own the bearded dragon manual, and it talked about coloration, it said dragons kept under incandascent spot light and mercury vapor bulb developed coloration. Is it his diet? Do I need more Beta Carotene in his diet?

what are you feeding your BD? Many Veggies and Pellets can help with color, also some breeder will put their BD on a high color diet and supplements to brighten them up, which can be real expensive for a hobby owner to keep up with.

my BD lost some color and I switch bulbs from one company to another and it helped a lot with color try a UV tube so that your BD will get more UV without basking, sometimes due to temp your BD might not bask for more than an hour or two a day so if your BD is not in the basking area than it is not getting the UV it needs for color.

Just my 2cents

Ohh, what are the color foods, cause he is a nice looking dragon when he is sleep. He lives in a forty gallon breeder, he is 16 inches in length, has a basking site made of slate and bricks with a Powersun UVB bulb over it and a incandescent spot light next to it, both are on the main basking site, as in one fixture placed into the other. He has sand as a substrate, and eats leafy greens like romaine, collard, and mustard. Does he need more Beta Carotene perhaps, like found in Herpivite?
or am i not producing enough heat, im not really sure of the overall temperature in the tank , but it seems right, i should probly invest in a thermometer

thermometer is a good investment!!!

I use the same Hg vapor and have found wonderful effect on color, why the extra spot light the Hg bulb should be throwing enough heat for a 40 gallon, your basking area might be too hot, does your dragon use it? You might want to try a repti-sun 10 bulb, this way your dragon gets the UV even when they are not in the basking area.

Test the temp, you might do better with the other spot light off if the basking area is over 100 degrees.

Color foods Carrots, squash (not too much can cause loose stool), red cabbage, supplement help too I use a Vitamins dust on crix once a week plus calcium dust a few times a week. There is also solar drops while I don't use them there are many on the board that do and claim they are wonderful. The is also a product by Nature zone called "Amazing Liquid Color Enhancers" I have not tried them but my second BD was on them when I bought her a color droped in a few weeks so I called the pet store I got her from thinking she was sick and a bit pissed that I paid good money for a red dragon that now was more orange and they said to put them on these but they are not cheap and I do not know how good they are for BDs but it is an option.