Shedding and Color changes

I have a new beardie about a month now names Toothless. Toothless is about 9 inches long, eats well, and is shedding at the moment. I take him outside with me 20 mins a day for real sunshine which there is an abundance of in Arizona where I live. Today he looks abnormally dark in the sun and I just wanted to check if his coloring is normal. Just new beardie worries. I have an appt with a herb vet next week. She specializes in reptiles.

I included my tank set up too which houses a T8 reptisun bulb. no coil!

Thanks,
Jennifer

Getting dark in the sun is very normal. Outside UVB is quite strong, so they typically get darker when exposed to direct sunlight in order to protect themselves from too much UVB. It can also be a sign of stress as the outside is full of different smells and can be quite frightening for them to be exposed like that. Nothing to worry about!

As for your UVB, is it a 5.0 or 10.0? For dragons, the T5 is recommended over the T8 as T5's are High Output bulbs and produce stronger UVB at the same wattage as T8's. The only other thing I would say about your setup is I would remove the green plastic hammock. Members on here have had there dragons toes get caught in the holes and when they go to jump off, they pull or break their wrists or legs. They can be very dangerous! If you want a hammock, you can get solid ones from Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/search?q=bearded+dragon+hammock&spelling_correction_accept_no_results=bearded+drahgon+hammock&spelling_correction_accept=bearded+drahgon+hammock

By the way, is that the National Geographic tank?

Yes it is the National Geographic tank. It's that safe?

Oh yeah, as far as I know! I think they're really nice tanks. Love the cross-section air flow!

Your homemade basking spot looks great in your tank. Are you going to put the hide in?

Yes he is in there now. Lol. He's still so anxious in his new tank. I keep changing things around and I've had to line the inside with paper because he was attacking his reflection.