another newbie light/heat question

[cduncan26]

so, i have had my little beardie for 5 days now... i am having a very difficult time with heating... i have added a couple of pics that show the set up... i have a two lights on one side for basking, and a heat pad under the tank. on the other side of the tank is a light (in the pic its not on) its for night time... thermometer that i have is a cheap stick on... it doesn't seem to go above 80. and the tank honestly doesn't feel that warm when i stick my hand in it... although he does run around the tank.l.. especially when there is food running around... any help with my set up is greatly appreciated...

 

[AchierSnakes]

Looks warm enough to me! He/She looks lovely and warm, however, heat is a major thing and I would ensure it's correct to avoid your Beardie becoming unwell. There is a large debate about the correct temperature, and different owners say different things, however a quick online search says around 30 degrees centigrade is ideal. (Check care sheets for more information).
- Buy a good thermometer too! A digital one is accurate and ensures you are providing the correct heat. A thermostat - although I have never used one - may be a good idea to control temperatures within the vivarium. Measure the temperature at both ends of the viv; there should be a hot and cool area.
As for the light and set-up, it looks fine. Ensure your vivarium does not go below 18 degrees centigrade at night and all lights are off, including external lighting, to keep your beardie happy!

Keep us posted.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Don't know where you have looked, but everyone and everything I have seen has agreed on the heat of the tank within 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) is a temperature for the cool side of the tank, though the cool side can go down to 75 Fahrenheit just fine. 105-110 is a good basking temperature for babies/juveniles and 95-100 Fahrenheit is a good basking temperature for adults. I personally highly suggest getting a laser temperature gauge or a digital gauge, as the stick on ones are highly inaccurate and can't be used well to measure the temperature of a terrarium.
As for the heat pad, be careful with that. It can cause burns to a dragon. Do you have an air flow for the heat pad?
Also, once you get a proper thermometer, you should measure the night time temperatures. 65 Fahrenheit is alright, but you should not go any lower than that.
What kind of light are you using for at night time? Most of the time you do not need a night time light, and in fact it can actually be a detriment to their health if you use the wrong bulb as it can mess up their sleep with light if they can see it.

 

[cduncan26]

I do have the tank raised up. It feels look warm to the touch. I did use a laser pointer thermostat tonight. Where the heating pad is it read 90. The tank seems to be around 90 degrees on the end with the lamps. The other side was reading close to 80. I have the night time lamp that came with the beginner start up kit. I'll post a couple of photos here in a bit

 

[cduncan26]

update...

this is the tank at night with night light on

this shows that the temp where the night light shines is at 83 degrees

and this is where the heat pad is at... showing that the ground over the heat pad is 90 degrees

this last one i pointed the laser at the stick that he lays on, it shows the area at 83 degrees



borrowed the laser from a friend at work. i plan on purchasing a digital thermometer. i just checked a few min ago... which gave the tank about 20 or so min since taking these pics... the temp has not changed... i am tempted to turn the night light off, but worried it will drop the temp way to much... the laser thermometer i am using is only giving me readings on the surface not what the actual temp is in the tank... im having to rely on a crap suction cup gauge, that doesn't seem to read past 80 degrees ever....

 

[cduncan26]

i did forget to mention... when i am at a pet store and feel the temp inside a tank, i can feel the heat. in my tank at home... i don't ever feel heat... which makes me think i need to change something....

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Surface temperature is perfectly fine. even better, it is better to get surface temperature anyways. You almost definitely do not need the night light and I highly suggest you remove it. Unless your tank doesn't go lower than 65 degrees, you should be more than fine. The light will just irritate your beardie.
Do you have a basking spot for your beardie? if not, you should set one up so that she has a spot that is 105-110 for babies and juveniles and 95-100 for adults. Bearded needs this heat so that they can get everything they need to be healthy as well as help along their digestion. This is something you should do right away if you haven't already.
If you don't really feel the heat, you probably need to get a higher watt bulb. What is the wattage of your current bulb?

 

[AchierSnakes]

Surface temperature is perfectly fine. even better, it is better to get surface temperature anyways. You almost definitely do not need the night light and I highly suggest you remove it. Unless your tank doesn't go lower than 65 degrees, you should be more than fine. The light will just irritate your beardie.
Do you have a basking spot for your beardie? if not, you should set one up so that she has a spot that is 105-110 for babies and juveniles and 95-100 for adults. Bearded needs this heat so that they can get everything they need to be healthy as well as help along their digestion. This is something you should do right away if you haven't already.
If you don't really feel the heat, you probably need to get a higher watt bulb. What is the wattage of your current bulb?

I agree. If you are worried, buy a ceramic bulb which does not emit light but will keep a stable temperature. And as long as the temperature is around 95 - 110 in the day and no lower than 65 at night you shouls be fine.

 

[cduncan26]

i have two different lights over his basking spot. which seems to only be around 90. one of them sets on the mesh screen, it has a coiled bulb, im told that acts like sun light. and a built in halogen bulb. its a two in one... i also went and purchased another bulb from the pet store that is a 75 watt bulb for extra heat... which i know it def raised the heat some in the tank, but doesn't seem to be getting up to that 100 area. i read on here numerous times about using a regular house bulb instead of the coil. i am tempted to try this out, but worried it may do something to the mesh top.. even though the mesh top can take heat. i would take the entire top off, but i do have dogs... three chihuahua. and if he ever got out of the tank on his own somehow. i know that one of them would be alittle mean towards him. i do have a question about night temp.. if i turn the night light off along with his other lights. should i keep the heating pad on? i noticed this morning before i left for work that he was laying on the sand in the area that the heat pad is at... and that area seems to only get to 90 degrees. i have a stick in the tank that he uses for basking... it does get him close to the lights, but again it only shows 90 degrees with the thermometer. what else can i do to raise the temp??

 

[Rampagingraptor]

I would get rid of the coil like you have been thinking.
Anyways, I would remove the mesh on your tank and using a stand or something to hold it up instead. This will make it so that more heat and uvb light can get into the tank. You should be fine as long as your Beardie can't reach the top of your cage. You can try lowering the stick a bit if its too close to the top.
Remember that the heat only needs to go up to the basking temp in one spot, the spot that your beardie goes to all the time. I would measure the temp at where her stick is at to determine this if you aren't already doing that.

 

[cduncan26]

this is the all in one basking lamp with the coil bulb. i have a 75w fluckers basking bulb in one of these

sounds like i need to get rid of the all in one lamp. if i use the 75w basking lamp, should i get another lamp for heat as well? i am terrified of removing the mesh and him/her getting out... lol... i'll see what i can come up with though... he/she is close to 8" so i know i'll need a bigger tank soon. right now its a 20gal tank...

 

[cduncan26]

alright, update... i went and picked up a reptisun 10.0. which is providing amazing light for the tank.. i then mounted the basking light on the side on the tank.... here are some pics

this side is the cooler side, seems to be at a decent 79-80 degrees

this is his new basking spot, its showing 94 right now... just checked and its at 96

the only thing is that the digital thermostat is telling me its only around 80 in the tank.... so im not quite sure what to believe...

i did have the mesh top on the tank and the basking light laying on the mesh... which brings it closer to him and seems to make the basking spot alittle warmer by a few degrees. but then it knock the UVB light out a bit... and you can visibly tell a difference when the mesh top is on and when its off...i still have the heating pad under the tank going... im hoping that is helping some... it is right under the rock he is on.. i only hope it doesn't burn him or anything if he gets under there for shade

 

[CooperDragon]

I think most of the IR guns have a good read range of about 2'' from the surface in the shape of a cone. They vary depending on the optical range of the gun. The probes report their temperature so leave it in place for an hour or so to stabilize and it will provide an accurate reading where it's sitting.

 

[cduncan26]

the thermometer for the tank still is showing around 76-80 degrees. lastnight all the lights were off, kept the heating pad going, which he seemed to lay on. the room temp where i have the tank set up was around 70. this morning the numbers didn't change. tank thermometer showed close to 80, and the gun showed 80 on the cool side and 95 on his rock he is perched on... the tank still doesn't feel very warm when you have your hand in it. im wondering if changing the basking bulb from a 75w to a higher watt bulb would help at all

 

[CooperDragon]

I think getting a 100w or a 150w and placing it higher or putting it on a dimmer (or a thermostat dimmer even better) would be helpful for really dialing in the temps. If the overnight temperatures are staying at 70, you don't really need the heat mat or any additional heating. 70 is a good overnight cooldown temperature for them.