My beardie is staying on the cool side. I recently just changed his cage about a week ago but I don't know if that's why he is staying on the cool side. I haven't seen him come out once so I take home out once a day to bask but he just go right back in 5 minutes later and never comes out. He mostly just sleeps in his hide. I have tried using a 75 wat basking light,100 wat, and even a 150 neither of witch actually work. I keep my beardie on 50%topsoil and 50% sand with some coco fiber. It's gets about 105 degrees with the 150 wat basking light but I could degrees it if needed. Plz help I am getting worried.
My beardie is staying on the cool side
- Thread starter Bandit21
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traildrifterphalanx
Sub-Adult Member
You will want to remove/change his substrate ASAP.
That mixture you have for him is a recipe for impaction, which can lead to death.
It is always recommended by experienced keepers to never use a loose substrate, like sand, dirt, etc, unless creating an external egg laying area for females.
You will want paper towel, non-adhesive shelf liner, ceramic tile, or repticarpet. Nothing that can accidentally be ingested.
Now on to the main issue - do you have a way to confirm the basking spot temperature? Are you using a temperature laser gun or a stick on thermometer, or digital thermometer?
How big is the enclosure? My tanks are both 40g, 36x18x18 and each use 1 65w basking bulbs for a basking temp of 105 in each enclosure.
To me it sounds like you might be cooking him, depending on the size of the tank.
The other suggestion is how long you've had him. If he's new, he may be scared, or afraid of the changes you made and wants to hide.
What UVB light are you using? Is it coil? Is it possibly hurting his eyes?
That mixture you have for him is a recipe for impaction, which can lead to death.
It is always recommended by experienced keepers to never use a loose substrate, like sand, dirt, etc, unless creating an external egg laying area for females.
You will want paper towel, non-adhesive shelf liner, ceramic tile, or repticarpet. Nothing that can accidentally be ingested.
Now on to the main issue - do you have a way to confirm the basking spot temperature? Are you using a temperature laser gun or a stick on thermometer, or digital thermometer?
How big is the enclosure? My tanks are both 40g, 36x18x18 and each use 1 65w basking bulbs for a basking temp of 105 in each enclosure.
To me it sounds like you might be cooking him, depending on the size of the tank.
The other suggestion is how long you've had him. If he's new, he may be scared, or afraid of the changes you made and wants to hide.
What UVB light are you using? Is it coil? Is it possibly hurting his eyes?
traildrifterphalanx
Sub-Adult Member
Thank you for the clarification.
I will still highly recommend that substrate be changed out.
It's possible the tank changes may have thrown him off, otherwise, with no further information or photos, it's possible he's trying to brumate.
Otherwise they do tend to have mood swings and he just wants to be there and be grumpy.
I will still highly recommend that substrate be changed out.
It's possible the tank changes may have thrown him off, otherwise, with no further information or photos, it's possible he's trying to brumate.
Otherwise they do tend to have mood swings and he just wants to be there and be grumpy.
kingofnobbys
BD.org Sicko
Bandit21":sgwy60eb said:
kingofnobbys
BD.org Sicko
Bandit21":2ptxeb2q said:
No.
No soil is safe as it is will still cause impactions WHEN ingested accidentially.
Forget the nonsense about using bioactive substrates for bearded dragons, not only are they high risk of impaction, but also perfect media for fungi, viruses, bachelor and parasites (ie coccodia) ,so not worth the bother setting them up and in no way even remotely similar to the soils in their natural range.
Well if you add isopodds and invertebrates it eliminates the problem of fungi and bacteria I have seen people do it it but true on the impaction so I will switch ASAP. They also live in the arid woodlands and deserts of central Australia so it doesn't match it exactly but it's quite close
traildrifterphalanx
Sub-Adult Member
Bandit, I'm gonna save you the trouble before King's response, lol. He's from Australia and will likely give you a long explanation on their native lands.
Basically, bio active enclosures have been done, successfully may I add, and I know at least one person on this forum that does one, but from my understanding it's a lot more effort to pull off, and done incorrectly could cause more harm than good. If your enclosure is just a basic 75gallon rectangle, it may be even more tricky to pull off. Those that do bio active tend to give their beardies mansions with lots of height.
I haven't personally looked into it, myself, I just use tile, so I may not have all of my facts straight
Basically, bio active enclosures have been done, successfully may I add, and I know at least one person on this forum that does one, but from my understanding it's a lot more effort to pull off, and done incorrectly could cause more harm than good. If your enclosure is just a basic 75gallon rectangle, it may be even more tricky to pull off. Those that do bio active tend to give their beardies mansions with lots of height.
I haven't personally looked into it, myself, I just use tile, so I may not have all of my facts straight
There are some pretty epic tank setups that include tile floors. I use tile floors for my setup and my beardie was hanging out on the cool side or in his hide for a while. I got him a new basking platform that appears to hold more heat than the old one I was using. So I lowered the platform about an inch and now my beardie is back to basking regularly.
A few months ago my beardie was also spending a large amount of time on the cool side and turning dark as a result. I was checking my temperatures like crazy, all were correct. Then I remembered I had a fake plant that used to be in his basking spot I moved to the cool side. I moved it back the the basking spot and he followed it right over and camped out in it for a good hour before going to bask making sure to keep one claw on the plant at all times. :lol: my weirdo dragon has an attachment issue with this fake plant I bought him :lol:
oh well it makes it pretty easy for me to travel with him because all I need is his MVB and this fake plant and I can go anywhere, put him in any container and he's chill 8)
A few months ago my beardie was also spending a large amount of time on the cool side and turning dark as a result. I was checking my temperatures like crazy, all were correct. Then I remembered I had a fake plant that used to be in his basking spot I moved to the cool side. I moved it back the the basking spot and he followed it right over and camped out in it for a good hour before going to bask making sure to keep one claw on the plant at all times. :lol: my weirdo dragon has an attachment issue with this fake plant I bought him :lol:
oh well it makes it pretty easy for me to travel with him because all I need is his MVB and this fake plant and I can go anywhere, put him in any container and he's chill 8)
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