Help me! Advice plz

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Jax1984

Member
Hi everyone. I need help! Ive inherited an uncared for dragon whose 3.5 yrs old. He is massive, was in a 2ft vivarium with a u v strip and a ceramic heater. No basking bulb.

We adore him and want to make him happy. We've bought him a 4ft viv that came with uv strip, 100w basking bulb and dimming thermostat. Great.

Thing is now ive put him in be cant sit under the basking bulb for more than 2 mins as hes obviously uncomfortably hot and mouth gaping. Im presuming its just because he hasn't been used to the higher temperature but my biggest question is what temperature should i have selected on my dimming thermostat to get him comfortable? Pics attached
 

Jax1984

Member
Original Poster
Sorry can't work out how to post pictures.

The dimming thermostat is a microclimate b1 dimming thermostat
 

fuchsiaSkies

Hatchling Member
Hi there, welcome!

To post pictures> https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/
Then add them to your post with the XIMG button at the top of the text box.

First of all, good on you for rescuing a dragon! Really sad to see how many are getting bought and then neglected. :(
Next, run us through your set up, if you wouldn't mind.

What type and brand of lights are you using, and is there a screen top between the dragon and the lights? (be as specific as possible, please)
What are the temperatures in the 'warm side', 'cool side', and right in the basking spot, and what are you using to take the temperatures?
What substrate is in the bottom of the tank?
What are you feeding and what supplements are you using and how often? (calcium, vitamins, etc.)

There are lots of wonderful, experienced, and helpful people around here, you came to the right place! :)
 

Jax1984

Member
Original Poster
Ive turned the temp on the thermostat right down so it has dimmed the bulb and he seems more comfort but is it ok to have a bulb thats dimmed alot?
 

JessPets

Gray-bearded Member
He seems to be quite close to the bulb. I would be REALLY careful until you can get that fixed, because he can be burned. You will want it roughly 1ft away. Repti-Glos are better than nothing, but ReptiSuns are better, so if you can, get one of those. Next, I see you have some sort of stick on thermometers, I am I correct? Those things are junk, replace them with a IR temp gun, you can get them from Amazon for about $15
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
That's a nice big viv, only problem is [ as already mentioned ] that the basking bulb is much too close. That's a problem because it creates heat in only one spot, can actually burn the dragon [ there's been threads with burned beardies ] and the rest of the tank is too cool. If you could angle it out from a corner so it could beam out further in to the viv that would work much better.

The Reptiglo 10.0 is fine, I've used them as well as the Reptisun at a distance like that. Tamara from Rainbow bearded dragons [ one of the top breeders in the U.S. ] uses them exclusively as you can read on her care sheet. She produces fast growing huge beardies.
 

Jax1984

Member
Original Poster
Thank you for your replies. I actually said to my husband earlier i think hes too close to the bulb so we shall sort that tomorrow as it's off and hes asleep now.
But, maybe silly question, why are the vivariums so low in height, making it almost impossible to add any distance between the bulb and dragon. ? Im in the UK and the vivarium style i have is basically the only available. I haven't seen any with mesh tops etc. The bulbs and fittings came as part of the set up
 

JoshD

Member
I'm not sure if thats a bowl of water on the right side, but if it is I would advise taking it out. Bearded dragons don't need constant standing water, it will just make his humidity very high which will cause problems in the future! Giving a shower a few times a week, or misting will give him plenty of water
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Too short or too tall are both a bad design for a beardie tank. I've seen similar designs [ short ] in the U.S, and it doesn't allow for a basking log or platform. Just not a good design. If you or your husband are handy you could re-drill the mounting for the light fixture, possibly mount it in the corner at an angle or make a hole in the top and place the bulb on top of the tank.

Water bowl is O.K to put in about 1-2X a week if he drinks from it, but be awarethat he may just use it as a toilet. It may raise humidity, but if your house has low humidity it will be fine. Actual hydration can be from a light spraying in the tank [ my dragons drink as I gently spray on their snout ] or if the dragon enjoys having a lukewarm 10 minute bath [ not a shower :) ] 2-3X a week as a young dragon, once a week for an adult.
 
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