Hi, I'm new and need some help!

I have a 7-8 month old bearded dragon named Jarvis! He is about 12 inches long, and weighs around 102g. He really loves crickets dusted in calcium and will eat calcium like powdered sugar!
This is my first beardie, and I'm a little worried I may not be taking care of him correctly. I have a heat light and uv bulb on that runs from 7am-7pm. His heat light is in the far right while his uv bulb is right beside of it (it is a conjoined light fixture). At night, both of those turn off, and his heat lamp turns on at night. I have a heat lamp because the room I have him in gets cold.
It gets around 90-100 on the hot side of his tank and around 80-85 on the cool side, (during the day). At night his heat lamp is on another side of his tank than his heat light during the day (since the uv bulb and heat light are in the same thing). Is it okay that his heat lamp is on the opposite side? or should i try moving things around? He hasn't been coming out of his rock hide recently, and rarely eats. I thought maybe he was brumating, but I wasn't for sure.
* edit: He also has stress marks a lot unless he is under his rock sleeping

Welcome to the forum! I can help you get the lighting straightened out. Which UVB bulb are you using and how far is it above the basking area? What are the dimensions of your tank? It's important to use a UVB light that is appropriate for the distance you're trying to reach as they all have different effective ranges. My guess is that the UVB exposure isn't quite right or the temps are off a bit so fine tuning that should help him regain his appetite and feel better.

What is the temperature in the tank overnight? It's normal for them to have a cool down period overnight so if it stays above about 65 or so, no additional heat is needed. Even on cold nights I only boost my tank up to between 70-73.

CooperDragon":se2m1acr said:

Welcome to the forum! I can help you get the lighting straightened out. Which UVB bulb are you using and how far is it above the basking area? What are the dimensions of your tank? It's important to use a UVB light that is appropriate for the distance you're trying to reach as they all have different effective ranges. My guess is that the UVB exposure isn't quite right or the temps are off a bit so fine tuning that should help him regain his appetite and feel better.

What is the temperature in the tank overnight? It's normal for them to have a cool down period overnight so if it stays above about 65 or so, no additional heat is needed. Even on cold nights I only boost my tank up to between 70-73.

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The bulb is around 8 inches from the basking area. The UVB bulb is a Reptisun 10.0. He has a 50.5 gal tank, 36×18×18.

It gets around 75-80 in his tank at night with the lamp, but without it'd probably be around 60-65

That's a T8 ReptiSun 10? Is there anything between the bulb and the basking area like clear plastic on the fixture or mesh that could intercept some of the UVB? 8 inches OK for a T8 but it's better at about 6''. For a 36x18x18 enclosure I would (and do) use a T5 UVB light that sits on top of the tank. It will produce much higher levels of UVB closer to natural sunlight.

What are you using to measure the temperatures? Do you have an IR temp gun or digital thermometer with a probe? Your overnight temps sound OK. Does your heat lamp give off any visible light that could disturb his sleep? Or is it a ceramic heat emitter with heat and no visible light?

CooperDragon":3mqc0v24 said:

That's a T8 ReptiSun 10? Is there anything between the bulb and the basking area like clear plastic on the fixture or mesh that could intercept some of the UVB? 8 inches OK for a T8 but it's better at about 6''. For a 36x18x18 enclosure I would (and do) use a T5 UVB light that sits on top of the tank. It will produce much higher levels of UVB closer to natural sunlight.

What are you using to measure the temperatures? Do you have an IR temp gun or digital thermometer with a probe? Your overnight temps sound OK. Does your heat lamp give off any visible light that could disturb his sleep? Or is it a ceramic heat emitter with heat and no visible light?

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There is a screen ( the tank lid ) between the bulb and the basking area. It's a single bulb and not a strip light. I was wondering if I should get a strip light instead as well.

I use a digital thermometer, I have 3 placed in his tank ( right, middle, left ). The lamp is a heat emitter and doesn't produce any light. I also turn the light off in the room when his lights turn off.

OK that sounds good aside from the UVB light. I isn't likely producing adequate UVB. I would invest in an upgrade to a T5 and set that over the basking area. The increased UVB should make quite a difference. This is the one I use in the same sized tank and it's fantastic http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

CooperDragon":i9lduqzi said:

OK that sounds good aside from the UVB light. I isn't likely producing adequate UVB. I would invest in an upgrade to a T5 and set that over the basking area. The increased UVB should make quite a difference. This is the one I use in the same sized tank and it's fantastic http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

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Thank you very much! This helped me out a lot. I appreciate this, thank you!! <3