Basking spot too hot in morning!

[AmyJade94]

Hi everyone, previously posted a discussion about my 2 bearded dragons (housed separately of course), never got a reply but the issue has somewhat been resolved from me being more patient and fiddling with the thermostat probe placement.

However a still slight niggle I have, in the morning when both beardie basking lights switch on, the basking spot temperature (digital thermometer) soars right up to 135f!... give it an hour and both vivs settle between the required 105 - 110f. Meeko this never seems to bother, however Prescilla begins to glass surf.. she doesn't go black, just surfs.

Her current routine glass surfing is only in the morning for the first hour of the viv lighting turning on, then the rest of the day you wouldn't know there was a problem. This is making me wonder if she is too hot, I would be if my basking spot was at 135 when it should be 105/110... why is it SO hot in the morning then settling for the day? Is there a way for me to fiddle with the temps/probe again that'll help this? Thank you

 

[CooperDragon]

I just commented on your other thread as well. I'm sorry it was overlooked. I would either try using a different bulb and see if that is more steady, or set your thermostat lower so it goes from 110 down to 100 or so and see how that goes. I think the glass surfing might be restlessness and she just wants to get out and run around in the morning which is common. If the cool side temps are OK she is likely to just move there if the basking site is too hot. Her restlessness may or may not be related to the temperature but if you can build a routine of taking her out of the tank for a bit in the morning it may make her happier.

 

[AmyJade94]

Thank you, yes I've just read both as you've read on both it really is high in the morning.. 120 - 130ish then settles. The cool end is set to 80 but I have just lowered the thermostat to slightly below, see how that goes. I will experiment with a different brand of bulb, at the moment both have Komodo 75w... I found the 100w were too strong and weren't staying lit... wonder if I should try a 50w? Both beardies do have time out of their vivs but I will certainly start getting her out in the morning, see if I can get her into bit more of a routine. I have the thermostat probe placed on the floor of the viv right in the cool end, I've read various opinions online.. some say rest it on the floor, some say it needs to be about an inch or so off the floor as its measuring air temp. Which do you do personally? Wondered if that may be where I'm going wrong

 

[CooperDragon]

I have my cool side probe on the floor and the basking probe is sitting on the basking log with a ziptie. You could set the cool side a bit lower if you want. It's OK at 80 but can be cooler without issue. My cool end often goes into the low 70s, especially during winter. I have my basking end set to 103 but it ranges from about 98-106 or so depending where I take a reading with the temp gun.

You might want to try a different brand of bulb or even a different style. I've had good luck using PAR38 halogen flood lights from the hardware store. BR40 bulbs will work too but won't sit flat due to the bulge reflector. Might take some trials to find what works best in your setup but once you find something that works you can just get a bunch of them to have on hand.