Beating the Heat

Ok so i have 2 beardies, 1 is 8 1/2 inches long the other is 9 1/2 inches long. There is this crazy heat wave in California (going to look into it after i post) and I'm trying to keep them as cooled off as possible because they are not agreeing with this heat. I try to bath them as often as possible in semi cool water but they only like bath time once or sometimes twice a day. Currently they are in a backup aquarium with terrarium mat down which is slightly cooler than their 40 gallon tank (which yesterday hit about 95 degrees with the lights off). They usually like the temp anywhere from 65-80, 85 is pushing it for them (at least till they get bigger) so any suggestions would be welcome as i'd rather they not fry. Also another thing to mention they are currently shedding, not sure if this affects anything but I get the strong impression this is a double whammy (uncomfortable heat doubled with itchy skin coming off slowly).

Both of them must be junveniles then at those lengths. When you mentioned they like temps anywhere from 65 to 80, did you mean the actual tank temps? What are the basking SURFACE temps? They need a basking temp of at least 95 in order to be able to digest properly.

Can you fill us in on the type of thermometer you're using?

diamc":sfmo5y87 said:

What are the basking SURFACE temps? They need a basking temp of at least 95 in order to be able to digest properly.

Can you fill us in on the type of thermometer you're using?

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Currently i only have the thermometer that came with the 40 gallon tank so as for differences in temperature i am unsure. as for basking temp needing to be 95, they want out of the tank when it hits 95.

Is it one of those stick on ones? Those can be VERY wrong, by as much as 10-20º! You will immediately want to get a thermometer with a probe or a temp gun like this one: https://www.amazon.com/FOSHAN-MINGZE-Thermometer-Non-contact-Temperature/dp/B01AJLWXYA/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1468098568&sr=1-2&keywords=temperature+gun&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011

JessPets":pcd7iqxt said:

Is it one of those stick on ones?

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Yes it is a stick on one, and i wouldn't be able to get one till next month. right now i'm just trying to find a way to keep them cool because of this heat wave that decided to hit california.

Okay, but the 95º it is showing could be 115º, so make sure they aren't going too hot.

Amazon has some very reasonably priced temp guns and digital probe thermometers. What wattage heat bulb(s) are you using in the 40 gallon tank?

I have to agree with JessPets that the temps are MUCH higher than the reading you are getting on the round gauge dial thermometer. If a beardie can't handle 95 degrees (the reading that you mentioned they don't want), something is not right.

Please fill us in on the wattage of the heat bulbs so we can help advise you if it is too much heat or not for that sized tank.

Do you have AC running in your house?

What is done in really hot areas of Australia is the basking lights are simply switched off for 3 or 4 hours in the hottest part of the day, often these are on a timer and the timer does this automatically. So only the UV source (if not a MVB) is left on.

yea this was a stupid question, sorta panicked because it got really hot in their aquarium. Thanks for the info though guys.

As you probably realize, it's very important that you find out what the real temps are in their tanks as the round gauges are very inaccurate. Would highly recommend getting one as soon as possible because without proper temps, it will affect their totaly health.

got an infrared thermometer and it is working great, hot end is about 90 degrees and cool end is around 80.

Did you mean that you have a temperature gun? If so, what is the basking SURFACE temp? If it's only 90 then that won't allow for proper digestion which can make a beardie very sick.

As the above poster said, you will want to raise your temps. 100-105º will suffice.

At 100 they try to get out of the cage they like it around 95 tops and 75 lowest but i try to keep it around 80 on the low end which isn't easy because as the heat in the apartment rises so too does the heat in the aquarium.

Can you post a picture of what you're using to check the temps? If it is indeed a temperature gun, how many inches away are you holding it to check the basking surface temp?

Sounds like one of your beardies has an upper respiratory infection which can actually go into pneumonia. Something doesn't seem right with the temp readings you're getting and if it is too cool, that can cause a URI.

What size is the tank and what wattage is the basking bulb? Can you post some pics of the setup? This will help you with that: https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then post the XIMG links here.