Just checking in to see if my husbandry is up to snuff :)

I've had my babe for 3 weeks now. He's almost 3 months old. He's in a 20 gallon tank (will be moving to a 55 soon). He has reptile carpet. He has the day basking lamp and CHE on from 700am to 830pm, and the CHE only from 830pm to 7am. His UVB is on from 9a to 5p. He currently has the 10.0 compact, but we're working on getting the tube. His temps are as follows
Ambient in cool side floor is-80
Warm high log is- 89
Ambient in warm side floor is- 91
Basking rock is- 115
Basking log is- 116

Night time temp on the basking rock (that's where the temp sensor is most of the time) is between 75 and 85 throughout the night.

I'm curious how these temps sound to everyone. Thanks in advanced.

I would modify those temperatures a bit. It's difficult to regulate a small enclosure so I strongly suggest moving forward with upgrading the tank and replacing the coil UVB light soon as you mentioned. I would stop using the CHE during the day to lower the basking site temperatures down to about 100. The cool side of the tank should be in the 70s, no higher than 85 during the day. If the tank stays above 65 at night, you can leave the CHE off at night too.

Thanks for the reply! I think moving to the larger tank would be a good idea. If I turn off the CHE during the day, the basking side doesn't reach 100. So I'm forced to pick too warm or too cold kinda thing. He rarely goes in the cool side, he's mostly either on the warm side floor or the warm side log and basks for an hour or so multiple times daily.
I checked lastnight at 2am and with the CHE on it was 72 in his tank. And that's not even the coldest part of the morning, so I fear hell get below 65. I'll move along the bigger tank swap as soon as it's feesible.

CooperDragon":22vyo5tb said:

I would modify those temperatures a bit. It's difficult to regulate a small enclosure so I strongly suggest moving forward with upgrading the tank and replacing the coil UVB light soon as you mentioned. I would stop using the CHE during the day to lower the basking site temperatures down to about 100. The cool side of the tank should be in the 70s, no higher than 85 during the day. If the tank stays above 65 at night, you can leave the CHE off at night too.

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What is your dome rated for? You may want to try a different wattage bulb. You could try a higher wattage and raise it up, or put it on a dimmer to fine tune the temps a bit for now. I misread the original post thinking he is 3 YEARS old rather than 3 MONTHS. The 20g tank should still be OK for now but still do try to upgrade when you can. Also the temperatures can be a bit higher for a young one like that without a problem but I'd try lowering the basking spot 5-10 degrees if you can (if it costs 5-10 degrees on the cool side, that should be fine). 72 overnight is a pretty good temperature but do monitor it as the seasons change. I've found that I only need the CHE overnight during the winter.

We only have wood heat, and haven't made a fire in a while lol. It's cold at night and in the morning (30s outside) but it's warm during the day so we just stay in blankets at night. I'll look into the dome. Thanks again!

quote="CooperDragon"]What is your dome rated for? You may want to try a different wattage bulb. You could try a higher wattage and raise it up, or put it on a dimmer to fine tune the temps a bit for now. I misread the original post thinking he is 3 YEARS old rather than 3 MONTHS. The 20g tank should still be OK for now but still do try to upgrade when you can. Also the temperatures can be a bit higher for a young one like that without a problem but I'd try lowering the basking spot 5-10 degrees if you can (if it costs 5-10 degrees on the cool side, that should be fine). 72 overnight is a pretty good temperature but do monitor it as the seasons change. I've found that I only need the CHE overnight during the winter.[/quote]

As long as you are maintaining a gradient, with a cool side and a few options those temps shouldn't be a problem. Dragons can happily use higher temps (my guy uses his 115-120 spot for short periods) and as long as they also have intermediate options (say around 100) it's safe to offer them.

Cage size and UVB provision would be a bigger concern to me but it sounds like you've got plans in the works

Thank you. He (I think it's a he, haha) hangs out in the warm side all the time. He only uses the cool side when he wants to scrape his skin off on the hide log or play in his water dish, lol.


quote="Taterbug"]As long as you are maintaining a gradient, with a cool side and a few options those temps shouldn't be a problem. Dragons can happily use higher temps (my guy uses his 115-120 spot for short periods) and as long as they also have intermediate options (say around 100) it's safe to offer them.

Cage size and UVB provision would be a bigger concern to me but it sounds like you've got plans in the works [/quote]