Random question.

loveminimouse1

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Mushu
Hello I have noticed that Mushu has not been hanging in his basking area as much but near it. The temp stays around 104 but he has been staying in an area that stays around 90ish. Not 100% sure why that is. Any idea would be great. Also he has been holding his “toes” off the ground I’ll post a photo but it’s odd to me and not sure if it’s normal.

Thanks
 

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xp29

BD.org Addict
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Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
That looks like hard plastic and black, it may being getting to hot. My guys do that when i take them out in the sun wearing a black shirt.
How old is your beardie? Once they are near adult 95 to 100 is the recommended basking temp.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Is it a digital thermometer with probe end?

The flooring might not retain much heat, but it can reflect it causing it to be a bit hotter.

That shouldn't matter too much anyways if you are using a digital with probe end. If you are, and those are your current temperatures, that is fine. As they get older they tend to like it a bit cooler. It's good for them to have warmer and cooler spots, it allows them to choose and change throughout the day.

Toes up is pretty normal, doesn't always relate to the surface temp of where they are currently.

-Brandon
 

loveminimouse1

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Mushu
The one we have is an infrared thermometer and I have two inside the tank that give temp and humidity. They both say the same temperature when I check. The mat is a zen habit mat. If the temp needs to be lower I can lower his basking spot to not be so close then.
Thanks
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
The one we have is an infrared thermometer and I have two inside the tank that give temp and humidity.
So the infrared one might be part of the issue. The digital ones you have inside the tank, if they don't have probes, are only measuring air temperature. You need to be measuring surface temperature. Surface temperature is what is being referred to when you read advice on recommended temperatures.

Typically, an IR thermometer would be giving you surface temperatures, however, IR guns are reliant on the surface they are measuring being within their calibration range. If the surface material is not within the IR guns calibrated materials, the reading will be off.

Without getting technical, every material has a specific E-Value. Most IR guns come factory set to measure surface temps of items around .95 E-Value. Any material with a higher or lower E-Value will provide false readings. While .95 E-Value covers many common materials, it also is very far off of some common materials which might be found within a bearded dragons enclosure.

For that reason, I recommend digital thermometers with probes over IR guns. If using an IR gun, you need to be accuracy checking it with a digital with probe end first to verify your IR gun is measuring your specific materials surface temperature properly. Of course, once you've verified the temperature's agree between your IR gun and your digital with probe end, you don't need to keep checking with your probes since you know your IR gun is measuring that specific material properly. You do need to do this check with the different materials you want to measure in your enclosure though.

TLDR, your basking surface temp may/may not be a much different temperature than you think it is if you are using your IR gun to measure the surface temp without verifying it with a digital WITH PROBE END.

-Brandon
 

loveminimouse1

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Mushu
Okay do you have any recommendations for a probe one? I feel really bad now I could be “cooking” Mushu without knowing it. I thought the ones I had were the correct ones to use.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Okay do you have any recommendations for a probe one? I feel really bad now I could be “cooking” Mushu without knowing it. I thought the ones I had were the correct ones to use.
More than likely if your temps are off they will only be off by a few degrees. Don't feel too bad, they could also be right on the money. My only point was the only way to know is to use the digital with probe end to verify. Once you verify, you'll know if Mushu is trying to tell you it's a bit hot, or if he's just telling you he has fancy feet lol.

What hdochow linked to above will work. If you have a local petstore you can just run in and pick one up for about that price. There also are a bunch of cheap ones on Amazon.

-Brandon
 

loveminimouse1

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Mushu
So I got the probe one and it’s about two degrees different so not too bad but I noticed he has a black dot on his foot. I’ll post a picture of it when I look at him tomorrow (he’s asleep atm) I’ve tried to brush it off with a toothbrush in case it was something but nothing came off
 

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