bearded dragon acting really weird, getting very worried

[Claudiusx]

80 is much too low I would get a few different bulbs that are a higher wattage than that. If after an hour its only 80 at the basking SURFACE than you need to bump that up.

Luckily household Bright White bulbs are cheap, so its not too hard on the wallet to get a few of them in different wattages.

-Brandon

 

[mafoo]

yes i know thats way to low. today im going to pick up a 100w and a new 60w to see if it makes a diffrence

 

[diamc]

You might need a 75 or even a 100 watt. Let us know what basking & cool side temp you end up with.

It actually makes sense that he wouldn't like a bath in a round cooking bowl especially if it is too small for him to be able to stretch out, also probably slippery. You can use a bathtub, sink, or a long large plastic container. No matter what you use, make sure to put a washcloth, small towel or some other type of cloth in the bottom to keep him from sliding around so that he feels more secure. When mine were small, a transparent container worked very well but now I use the kitchen sink but of course I clean it thoroughly before and after. For the bottom, I use a spongy material that has suction cups on the bottom that stay secure on the bottom of the sink.

 

[mafoo]

i checked all the tempetures and he is 89.7, the middle of the basking spot in 91, and the cool side is 75.5, how much more should i go up about to get it to 100 or so? also this morning i fed him and he ate 50 large crickets and his salad, and will probably eat another 30 crickets tonight. he obviously was very hungry since he only ate 5 supers and 5 crickets yesterday.

 

[Claudiusx]

Even the 100 watt only got you to 91?

-Brandon

 

[mafoo]

yea, my house is usualy quite cold so it probably will take a bit more. could it be possible that its a bad light? it was just a old light thats about a year old that we switched out with a flourescent light in the house

 

[diamc]

Did you use your dad's temp gun to check the actual basking SURFACE temp?

 

[mafoo]

yea. i checked again now and it was 96, would that be ok for him? i know for adults thats good but im not sure for him since he isnt that old. also another thing thats scaring me is hes hiding again, sometimes he just randomly does this but im going to give him a bath right away and see if that helps since normaly he only hides when he wants to go to sleep, which is usualy around 10:30, and its 9:22 right now

 

[mafoo]

and i have another somewhat of a problem.... today when i was giving him a bath he dipped his head under a bit and water got into the holes in his neck, is this alright or do i have to do anything to help him out?

 

[Claudiusx]

I would try to get it up to around 100. 96 is still pretty low.

They have a film around the ears, so there shouldn't be any problem there, especially if your dragon put its head underwater voluntarily. Just watch it and make sure that nothing is bothering him.

-Brandon

 

[mafoo]

ok now ive had a bit of troubles getting the heat up but ive finaly got a light from the pet store (nothing else would give enough heat) and ive got it up to 105 in there. he was feeling better a while ago but ive stopped bathing him so much and today he was hiding and wouldnt come out so im starting back to a bath every day.sorry for not updating you guys its just i knew what i needed to do and didnt need to ask anymore questions so thought itd be best to wait till ive figured it out or needed more help.