8 month old sensitive to heat

Hey all,

Have a very happy beardie normally.. And even today likes to explore outside viv.. Especially upstairs in bathtub....

However she seems to be unhappy with temps even though they seem spot on as they are. Pics are all below.

The last basking bulb broke, so put a new one in same day about a week ago. And redid temps.. The hot side is 36deg air and 42deg surface on rock and the cool side is 28deg.. T5 12% reptisun.. And 30-35% humidity on cool side. All measures from probes and lazer gun.

Strange thing is she is under basking rock in her hide mosr of the last 3 days since bulb change.... She's had a long shed where her sides went a. Month back but only now came off.. Bathed every other day.... Feeding is normal but heavily on locusts and the odd dubia... She won't touch calci annoyingly... So am just wondering if this is consequence of a bad she'd and is normal behaviour as prior to bulb failing she hasn't had a problem with the temps .

I am wondering if the 42C is too hot for her --most older dragons do not like that hot of temps-- I would either get a lower wattage bulb or this is what I would do -- is replace the basking rock w/ something that offers different basking temps- a gradient heat that way she can pick her temp she wants to bask at -- a different piece of decor would offer that -- this is an example of what I am talking about -- this is what I use in two of my tanks and my dragons love this piece --
https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/habitats-and-decor/habitat-decor/thrive-driftwood-reptile-decor-54734.html?cgid=500116 this piece can be set up in different ways -- I have the long stick part laying on the floor w/ the big trunk piece under the basking light -- they can sit stand lay on or lay under it The distance for your UVB is what ? it should be 12-15 inches from basking decor and it looks like its the whole length of the tank -- its possible shes hiding from the UVB -- these are things that need to be ruled out as to why shes hiding and not basking -- as far as shedding I dont know if that has anything to do w/ the hiding -- its a process of elimination as to cause
Karrie

It could be coincidental behavior, but it is quite possible she prefers cooler temps and that's OK. The recommended ranges are a guide to start with. It's always good to tweak to their individual preferences. Try a basking surface temp of maybe 36-40 and see how she reacts. If she starts to bask more, then that was likely the issue. My dragon tends to like temps slightly cooler than the "norm" too.

CooperDragon":3k1hakbp said:

It could be coincidental behavior, but it is quite possible she prefers cooler temps and that's OK. The recommended ranges are a guide to start with. It's always good to tweak to their individual preferences. Try a basking surface temp of maybe 36-40 and see how she reacts. If she starts to bask more, then that was likely the issue. My dragon tends to like temps slightly cooler than the "norm" too.

Click to expand...

Cool.. Ta..

I've swapped to a 75w bulb and it's likely to get 40ish.. Will play around with the height of basking level and see if she plays