The Basics Of Shedding

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Selkie1993

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Drogon <3 RIP 2019- March 11, 2024 Lily: new girl in the house/ 5 months old
Hi Everyone!
I am a new beardie owner, but have done my research. Unfortunately, my beardie's previous owner wasn't super attentive. (see before and after changes here for basking temp, UVB, feeding, etc.)
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=251767


With shedding, is it normal for a dragon to shed by body parts? For example, his nose is peeling, but the rest of his head isn't. The previous owner told me when Drogon looks a bit grey, this is when he's about to shed.

Also, I am reading that having him too close to the basking and UVB isn't good. What I did was include a higher up spot with varying degrees for him to bask, get his UVB etc.

Because I am a new owner, please don't be overly critical. I am looking for constructive criticism and advice. A previous user told me I'm doing everything wrong apparently when a moderator told me everything is fine.

See a pic below of basking area.

Thank you :)
Selkie
106408-4131823322.jpg
 

Claudiusx

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Hi again :D

Yes completely normal for them to shed area by area. Sometimes when they go through growth spurts, the whole body will shed. But most times it's one part and then the next.

In regards to your uvb -

To help you understand the reasoning, the goal is to provide a basking area UVI level of around 3-5. This can be accomplished in many ways and with many different types of bulbs. Just like temperatures can be achieved with tons of different setups.

Anyways, you have a reptisun 10.0 t5 bulb in a fixture that has a reflector in it.
This combo achieves a uvi level of around 3-5 at a distance of 12-15 inches or so. It's a strong bulb.
Now, since your bulb is placed ontop of the screen, the output of the bulb is a slightly decreased since the screen blocks some. This means that the bulb needs to be a bit closer than the first recommendation since it's slightly less. 9 or so inches is the proper distance to the basking surface for your setup.

If you were to mount your bulb inside the tank like the other user suggested, youd need to significantly lower your basking surface as you will need it to be a minimum of 12 inches away. UV is important, but it can also be dangerous and damaging. That's why we have numbers and distances we go by.

The only thing mounting it on the screen does is cuts down on the effective distance of the bulb. But in your case, this is an advantage as it works best for your enclosure.

Remember, t5 in a fixture with a reflector unobstructed achieves a UVI level of 3-5 at 12 or so inches.
A t5 in a fixture with a reflector ontop of the average mesh screen achieves a UVI level of 3-5 at around 9 inches.

The UVI level is what you want, so you use the method that achieves that for you :)

Sorry I dragged that out but I figured that the conflicting advice was confusing you so I'm sure you'd appreciate the reasoning behind the advice.

:)

-Brandon
 

Selkie1993

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Drogon <3 RIP 2019- March 11, 2024 Lily: new girl in the house/ 5 months old
Hi Brandon,

I really appreciate all your help! So, do you think it's fine to have the UVB fixture on top? Sorry if I missed the point of your explanation as this is all new to me :) I keep seeing some people place it within the tank, but I'm not super comfortable with my beardie being close to it since he likes to climb EVERYTHING!

Also, the reason I placed the hammock closer to the basking spot is because when I had it lower, he tried to climb the digital thermometer and stood up to get closer :lol: Now after he eats, he's a lazy pancake xD
 

BeardedDragonSteve

Juvie Member
Its different for all bearded dragons during shedding. To help them shed you can mist them and their cage and give them some baths with warm water.
 

Selkie1993

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Drogon <3 RIP 2019- March 11, 2024 Lily: new girl in the house/ 5 months old
Hi there :)

My beardie is a skittish juvenile right now who just moved into his forever home on saturday. I actually tried a bath yesterday and he was like: :blob8: :blob8: get me out!!

How often do you recommend misting? Also, is it bad to do it in his face because I'm scared of a respiratory infection X_X
 

Claudiusx

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Since yours is on the screen, have your basking site 9 inches from the bulb.

If you mounted it inside, it would be much too close and dangerous. So for your setup, on the screen is the best solution :)

-Brandon
 

Selkie1993

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Drogon <3 RIP 2019- March 11, 2024 Lily: new girl in the house/ 5 months old

Claudiusx

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I'm sorry I could have sworn in your other thread you said you had the 22" version which would have been the t5 HO bulb. The 24" is the t8 regular bulb. Do you have the box in came in to just verify?

Sorry to confuse you.
While what I said does remain true for the stronger t5 bulb, the t8 isnt as strong and therefore has different distance requirements to meet the 3-5 UVI basking level.

For the t8 bulb, 6-8 inches unobstructed is what you want. So it typically is best for the t8 to be mounted inside. Unless your dragon can get within 4 or so inches of it when its ontop of the mesh.

-Brandon
 

Selkie1993

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Drogon <3 RIP 2019- March 11, 2024 Lily: new girl in the house/ 5 months old
Hi there!

Sorry for the confusion :( Unfortunately I don't have the box but the Reptisun 10.0 24 inch is definitely the one I use.

I just measured his basking hammock, and he can go anywhere from 4.5 to 7 inches away from the top of the screen for heat and UVB.

I hope this is good for him :) Like I said, he's a climber, so I'd rather have him closer to the top of the mesh than climb on the UVB bulb and potentially hurt himself
 
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