Lighting and Temperature

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CFraley59

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I have a few questions regarding lighting and enclosure setup. I have a 20 gallon tank (30x12x12) and am struggling to to get temperatures correct. My dragon is about 6" long and weighs about 5-6 grams. He is not eating great (7-8 1/4" crickets a day) and I'm concerned my lighting may be at fault. I have a 75w heat bulb in a 5.5" dome fixture, and an 18" ReptiSun 10.0 T8 UVB. I also have a second 5.5" dome fixture with a 60w incandescent bulb that is positioned over the cool end. Both dome fixtures are hanging about an inch above the mesh top on chains. The UVB Is positioned where it is more on the warm side over the the climbing log where he basks. The UVB sits on the mesh lid but I have cut out the mesh under the light so it is not blocked by mesh. The UVB is about 6-8 inches from his usual basking spots. I am using digital thermometers for air temps, the leads are placed about the height of his basking spot on the warm side, and about 2-3 inches from the floor on the cool side. Warm side is showing about 80 and the cool side stays about 75. The floor on the hot side stays about 110-120 and the floor on the cool side is about 85, these are being checked with an infrared heat gun. The temperatures on the tree where he basks range from about 85-110. I had previously used a 100w ceramic heat emitter over the cool side instead of the 60 watt incandescent bulb. When this was in place the air temperatures in the hot side stayed about 90 and 85 on the cool side, but the floor on the cool side was much too hot (120 or more), so I removed it. I have an under tank heater in the hot side that I use at night to maintain temps. We keep the house about 65 during the day and 62 at night. Humidity stays about 30%, and I have a small water dish located about the middle of the enclosure. I will attempt to upload some photos of the setup. Is there anything I can change to get my temperatures more correct or improve the inclosure?

Thanks in advance for your help.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Floor temp is too hot if anything it should be cooler- --- also hes not going to be in that tank long so w/ that in mind I would start looking for a tank that is 75-120 gallon tank --- one w/ front doors -- you can check FB marketplace or craigslist if you find one make sure you sanitize real good -- you can put him in that tank any time - Blaze went from a 20 gallon long to a 120 gallon -- as far as eating how long have you had him? Hes going to go thru relocation stress --- its when they stop eating all together that you need to be concerned -- and you need to start feeding him greens now or he wont eat them when he gets older --- here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html-- are you feeding a salad every day and is he eating it? If not I can give you some tips on how to get him to that bowl to eat them-- other wise the tank looks great --- but I am trying to figure out why that floor temp is so high --
Karrie
 

CFraley59

New member
Original Poster
I am feeding him salad every day. I've tried kale, cilantro, collared greens, mustard greens. He's eaten a few pieces of cilantro, as well as some mango and apple. I've had him for a little over two weeks. He has never stopped eating, he just doesn't seem particularly interested in food. I have to coax him to come down off his log and hunt, and he gives up if a cricket gets more than 3-4 inches away from him. Would raising the heat lamp up help the floor temps? I've wondered if that is why he spends so much time on his tree? I've been feeding him twice a day, and he usually eats 3-4 crickets each time. I dust the first feeding in calcium. I've offered him some very small dubias but he hasn't eaten any.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Try it and see what kind of temp you get also keep in mind basking temps- they don't spend alot of time on the floor unless basking spot is too hot for them-- sometimes that happens and they will sit on floor mine does- relocation stress is effecting his appetite- as long as he's eating something - give him some time-- try adding some bsfl to his salads - put them in a glass bowl w/ 1-3 super worms the size he can eat like small possibly medium add them to his salad and let him see you do this- it will get his attention and lure him to the bowl-- you can also try a lower wattage bulb - see if that will work - trial and error
Karrie
 
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