Baby BD Temps newbie owner (thermostat help)

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Giddz

Member
Hi all

I am struggling getting the Temps right and for how long. Basically I have my thermostat settings as below.

08:00am - 30degrees c
11:00am - 35 degrees c
14:00pm - 32 degrees c
20:00pm - 25 degrees c (the room he's in can get quite cold at night)

Basically the reptile shop I got the setup from gave me a microclimate evo lite thermostat and they told me to set it as if sunrise and sunset hence the rise and drop in Temps at these times however they are also suited for me for when I get up and get home etc. They are set for 12 hours a day. So lights come on at 8 and go off at 8.

I'm just wondering if these Temps look okay for the times they are set also how long should the basking light be on for at its hottest the shop said 2-3 hours is this correct as he is still a baby.

Thanks in advance

Joe
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
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The thermostat is a good way to go. I use one as well and love it. I suggest making your basking temps a bit higher, especially in the middle of the day. Shoot for maybe 40 or 41c at peak with low to mid 30s in the morning and evening. The temps can peak fairly quickly. I have my sunrise/sunset mode set at about an hour at each end. I set the UVB light to turn on about an hour after the sunrise mode ends and about an hour before sunset kicks in. Overnight, I like to keep the tank at around 23c.
 

Giddz

Member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":1g5bd3wl said:
The thermostat is a good way to go. I use one as well and love it. I suggest making your basking temps a bit higher, especially in the middle of the day. Shoot for maybe 40 or 41c at peak with low to mid 30s in the morning and evening. The temps can peak fairly quickly. I have my sunrise/sunset mode set at about an hour at each end. I set the UVB light to turn on about an hour after the sunrise mode ends and about an hour before sunset kicks in. Overnight, I like to keep the tank at around 23c.

That's a great Ideal I will deffo do that and need to buy some timers this weekend for his UV lights. The only worrying thing is that the night temp drops I have seen on the stat graph at like 17.9 at the lowest is this too lowest as if so I will be getting a CHE for night time. Also 1 other worrying thing is he hasn't pooped in a couple of days is this normal he is about 10-15cm from head to bum so not sure if this is normal for baby's? Just want the best for the little guy.

Thanks again
 
i just read up on the microclimate evo lite thermostat and i would like to get one but i live in canada and i am unsure if this is even available here since i have not seen it. if anyone knows of where i can get one of these please let me know. this seems like quite the handy little gadget takes the guess work out of heating my beardie and will simulate the proper temperatures for the time of day which i think is very cool.
 

Giddz

Member
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NewBeardieOwner421":1ucmj90y said:
i just read up on the microclimate evo lite thermostat and i would like to get one but i live in canada and i am unsure if this is even available here since i have not seen it. if anyone knows of where i can get one of these please let me know. this seems like quite the handy little gadget takes the guess work out of heating my beardie and will simulate the proper temperatures for the time of day which i think is very cool.

Hey there in most shops here in UK. They might ship?


https://www.bluelizardreptiles.co.uk/reptileheating/thermostats/608641997163

This is a UK online shop that sells them might be worth contacting them?

:)
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Giddz":id8zs18e said:
Hi all

I am struggling getting the Temps right and for how long. Basically I have my thermostat settings as below.

08:00am - 30degrees c
11:00am - 35 degrees c
14:00pm - 32 degrees c
20:00pm - 25 degrees c (the room he's in can get quite cold at night) <<<< where in the tank is the probe located ? (ie is this the WARM ZONE temperatures ?)

Do you have a handle on your current BASKING SPOT temperature ? (recommend about 40oC for a baby/hatchling.)

25oC for the o/night tank temp is good .... the hatching needs a nice warm tank.

I also provide a heatpad (set up as follows viewtopic.php?f=75&t=224976 ) and located under the dragons' hide which I control to stay 36oC 24/7.)

Basically the reptile shop I got the setup from gave me a microclimate evo lite thermostat and they told me to set it as if sunrise and sunset hence the rise and drop in Temps at these times however they are also suited for me for when I get up and get home etc. They are set for 12 hours a day. So lights come on at 8 and go off at 8. <<<< 12 hr daycycle is TOO short, I recommend 14 - 16hr daycycle for beardies ie I run my lights so they automatically turn on at 6am and off at 10pm, this gives the beardies (and my bluetongues) plenty time to wake uo and warm up before I get and give them their feeds and stacks of UV and basking time, and a lot of time to bask and digest their food. Is also very similar to the daylight hours in summer in the natural range of beardied dragons.
I've lived and worked in their natural range and know from personal experience the conditions they live in.

I'm just wondering if these Temps look okay for the times they are set also how long should the basking light be on for at its hottest the shop said 2-3 hours is this correct as he is still a baby. <<< V-bad advice , the practice here (in Australia) is the UV and basking lights are on 14-16 hr per day , only exceptions are
--- in very hot / heatwave weather conditions ( over 40oC and can be over 45oC in inland areas ) the basking light is turned off in the hottest part of the day for a few hours so the beardies aren't cooked
--- breeders will ramp down towards 12 hrs day cycle as winter approaches to encourage their adult beardies (breeding stock) to bromate (it's believed this helps with their fertility).

Thanks in advance

Joe
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Giddz":1nbv2l7b said:
CooperDragon":1nbv2l7b said:
The thermostat is a good way to go. I use one as well and love it. I suggest making your basking temps a bit higher, especially in the middle of the day. Shoot for maybe 40 or 41c at peak with low to mid 30s in the morning and evening. The temps can peak fairly quickly. I have my sunrise/sunset mode set at about an hour at each end. I set the UVB light to turn on about an hour after the sunrise mode ends and about an hour before sunset kicks in. Overnight, I like to keep the tank at around 23c.

That's a great Ideal I will deffo do that and need to buy some timers this weekend for his UV lights. >>> don't need anything fancy or pricey to turn the UVB lights on/off, a household programmable 24hr digital timer like this http://hpm.com.au/products/slimline-digital-timer is more than adequate , and essentially in my case I run all my lights off the same timer via powerboards , and it's just set and forget.
The only worrying thing is that the night temp drops I have seen on the stat graph at like 17.9 at the lowest is this too lowest as if so I will be getting a CHE for night time.<<< if it's getting that chilly in the room, a CHE on its own simple timer and separate digital thermostat is the way to go ....again you don't need to spend a pile of money .
I have been using this style of thermostat http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Digital-Thermostat-for-Reptile-Snake-Lizard-Aquarium-Incubator-Heat-Mat-Lamp-AU-/281418169471, trouble free for over 8 years , some have been in continuous use for 6 years (for the Bluetongues) .
Also 1 other worrying thing is he hasn't pooped in a couple of days is this normal he is about 10-15cm from head to bum so not sure if this is normal for baby's? Just want the best for the little guy.

>>> hatchings can go a couple of days between poos, but usually if the husbandry is good , you can expect at least one poo per day , usually about the same time each day .
Essentially the more he eats the more he'll poo, a "baby" should be on THREE live insect meals per day, as many insects per meal (give a few at a time so it's not overwhelmed) as it wants .
>>> Chances are he's not pooing daily because he's not being feed enough , and he's too cold (so his metabolic rate is only ticking over rather than running properly for a hatchling.

DON"T give him mealworms, waxworms or superworms.
Best feeders are as follows
>> BSF maggots
>> silkworms ( a hatching about 1 month old can handle 1.5" long silkworms)
>> small (1/4 - 1/3 size) gutloaded (with calcium rich greens) and dusted with calcium powder crickets
>> similar sized roaches , gutloaded and dusted
>> similar sized locusts , gutloaded and dusted.

If he's on sand or other particulate bedding, get rid of the bedding , and replace with simple loose laid ceramic tiles or newsprint sheets or kitchen grade paper towelling.

Thanks again

Also just making sure : is his UVB rated at least 10%UVB ? how far is it from his basking spot ?

Good idea to start weighing him weekly and to keep a chart of his "growth".
Also very good policy to keep a log book (I do mine via an excel spreadsheet) to record feeding (how many of what size bugs are eaten each meal and if he's eaten any greens or veg), poos, behaviours, and other aspects that may be indicative ie outside weather. Updated daily , if he develops an issue or gets sick the vet will find this info very helpful and better than relying on your vague memory.
I have detailed records including photos for all my pet lizards going back to my first rescue Lucky the Water Skink.
 

Giddz

Member
Original Poster
Hey thanks for your advice that's great and you clearly know what your talking about haha. Well the thermostat probe is in the warm end at the same level of his basking stone on the wall closest to it. And it's set for 40dc for 6 hours during then starts slowly dropping back down towards night if this needs to be 40 all day please let me know. Also the overnight temp can drop quite a bit and as I am UK and it's winter it is cold. I turned his UV and heat lamp of at night and checked at couple of hours later and it was reading 19 is this too cold? If so I will be getting a CHE. And he is on loose substrate as this is what I got with the set up and the reptile shop I got him from all there reptiles were on the same. He is about 2-3 months. I would post pictures but I don't know how to on here from phone. Also his UV is rated at 10%.

Thanks again for your advice man.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I suggest putting the probes right on the basking surfaces to get the best readings. You can zip tie them down depending on your setup. Temps above about 18c overnight shouldn't be harmful. It's nice to have a heat projector or CHE either way. You can hook that up to one of the ports on the thermostat and program it to keep the temps within a range overnight or keep temps from going below a certain point.
 

Giddz

Member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":2tfdrbuf said:
I suggest putting the probes right on the basking surfaces to get the best readings. You can zip tie them down depending on your setup. Temps above about 18c overnight shouldn't be harmful. It's nice to have a heat projector or CHE either way. You can hook that up to one of the ports on the thermostat and program it to keep the temps within a range overnight or keep temps from going below a certain point.

Thanks for your advice I will deffo move it closer to his basking spot and I have ordered a probe temp to be on the safe side. I think my stat only has 1 output so I'll have to get a timer.

Thanks again
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
With 1 output you'll need to save that for the basking lamp which is fine. CHE on a timer will work too. You may want to put it on an adjustable lamp stand or get a dimmer for it so you can fine tune the output based on what your probe thermometer reads. They can get quite hot and you don't want to warm the tank too much overnight.
 

Giddz

Member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":3f6kt88p said:
With 1 output you'll need to save that for the basking lamp which is fine. CHE on a timer will work too. You may want to put it on an adjustable lamp stand or get a dimmer for it so you can fine tune the output based on what your probe thermometer reads. They can get quite hot and you don't want to warm the tank too much overnight.

I will be doing how can you set the temp for a CHE and what Temps should I be going for overnight?
 
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