Bearded dragon basking spot too hot?

[Makennastone323]

So I bought this tree branch for my beardie to bask in but it’s made in some sort of plastic material and I’m worried that it might be heating up from the heat lamp, should I be concerned about it potentially burning the beardie?

 

[Claudiusx]

Yes you should always be concerned about things being too hot and burning. That's why you need a good thermometer to measure temps. What is the spots temperature?

-Brandon

 

[Claudiusx]

Moved by Moderator from General to Enclosures

 

[MrSpectrum]

Too many variables. If it's too hot for you to keep your finger/hand on, it's too hot for your pet. :wink:
What kind of plastic? Depending, I might be more concerned about potential off-gassing with some plastics being heated up.

Monitoring temperatures is important, so it's good you're thinking about that. Do you have a temp gun? IME, they're the best (not only) way to measure basking surface (and bath water) temperatures.

You can also monitor how hot the branch is getting with a digital thermometer w/ probe. For most accurate results, I think I'd tape the probe to the hottest part of the branch.