bearded dragon sleeping/basking

[HenryLucifer]

Hi! i’m henry’s mommy and he is 4/5 months old (11ish inches). he is in a homemade 70 gallon tank with 100watt basking bulb and i’m not sure about the wattage of the uva bulb. he has been napping a lot during the afternoon, and will run around, sleep, wake up and run, and then repeat, especially if i have him out of his tank. is it normal for them to nap/rest while basking too?

when he is basking, he will sometimes put his head up against the wall (picture) and will even stand against the wall. is that normal?

one more thing, he has a homemade rock in his tank and it’s made out of styrofoam covered with grout. he’s had it for like 2 months, but started to bite it recently. it’s currently covered with a towel but is there any way to stop him from biting?

thank you

 

[KarrieRee]

not sure about how to stop the biting on the home made rock some others would haft to comment on that ------------ your UVB your using for him is a tube or coil? And where in the tank is it? on top of screen or inside the tank
Karrie

 

[HenryLucifer]

not sure about how to stop the biting on the home made rock some others would haft to comment on that ------------ your UVB your using for him is a tube or coil? And where in the tank is it? on top of screen or inside the tank
Karrie

thank you for responding, karrie. this is what his tank setup is right now and he’s under the basking lamp right now .

 

[KarrieRee]

Tube what brand and bulb and is it in a reflector hood? Your basking temps are being taken w/ stick ons only?
Karrie

 

[HenryLucifer]

Tube what brand and bulb and is it in a reflector hood? Your basking temps are being taken w/ stick ons only?
Karrie

They are both Zoo Med and the basking bulb is a 100watt. yeah they’re only stick ons because they came with a starter kit i got a while ago and the digital thermometers and things like that are so expensive

 

[KarrieRee]

Digital thermometers are $6-7 at Petco or PetSmart- the stickons are inaccurate-- sometimes off by 40 degrees- I recommend you get one for accurate temps- both zoo med ? The UVB is crucial- if it's not in a reflector hood the UVB needs to be 6-8 inches directly over him -- if it's a T 8 in a reflector hood 8-10 inches-- a T 5 12-15 inches
Karrie

 

[HenryLucifer]

Digital thermometers are $6-7 at Petco or PetSmart- the stickons are inaccurate-- sometimes off by 40 degrees- I recommend you get one for accurate temps- both zoo med ? The UVB is crucial- if it's not in a reflector hood the UVB needs to be 6-8 inches directly over him -- if it's a T 8 in a reflector hood 8-10 inches-- a T 5 12-15 inches
Karrie

in the picture from earlier, can you see the basking lamp? is that too close? we couldn’t get the temperature to the right amount so we moved it closer
also yes i think it’s in a reflector hood

 

[KarrieRee]

You need the digital probe thermometer --- the probe needs to sit where hes sitting for an accurate basking temp---- that will tell you if its too close for temps- they need to be 105-110- w/ out the probe I cant tell you - you run the risk of burning him up w/ out it---- i can see the basking light but like I said you haft to go by the digital probe for accurate temps - the UVB did you see what it was for a bulb - that too is critical - besides the basking temps - if one or both are off he will quit eating --
Karrie

 

[HenryLucifer]

he eats fine, so does that mean it’s okay?

 

[KarrieRee]

So far hes eating fine -- it will take awhile for the effects to become severe if its not proper --- we have had two dragons die on this forum this week w/ improper UVB -- and one is not doing so good - basking temps are crucial as well --- I can only tell you that you need a digital probe thermometer and correct placement for the UVB --- and I cant tell you if hes fine or not w/ out more information from you I can only advise as to what I know works and what does not work -- as far as him eating the basking decor I will flag this post to some others on here who might be able to help
Karrie

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, that's a really nice enclosure you made for Henry, good size and nicely decorated. It's too bad that he's eating his platform, unfortunately he will likely continue since he seems to have developed the habit. You might just need to take it out and replace it with a large natural rock and/or another basking log.

As for his up + down behavior, it may be due to him coming in + out of the tank and being a little stressed . All beardies are different but most of them will exhibit some degree of restlessness . You might add a nice dig box to give him something else to do, but it will make his place messy. BTW, what do you feed him ? And what are the temps. in the room that his enclosure is in ?

 

[HenryLucifer]

Hi there, that's a really nice enclosure you made for Henry, good size and nicely decorated. It's too bad that he's eating his platform, unfortunately he will likely continue since he seems to have developed the habit. You might just need to take it out and replace it with a large natural rock and/or another basking log.

As for his up + down behavior, it may be due to him coming in + out of the tank and being a little stressed . All beardies are different but most of them will exhibit some degree of restlessness . You might add a nice dig box to give him something else to do, but it will make his place messy. BTW, what do you feed him ? And what are the temps. in the room that his enclosure is in ?

hi! thank you, i tried really hard for his tank to be perfect. the past month or so i’ve had to feed him freeze dried crickets (i don’t have a lot of money currently) but yesterday i went out and bought live crickets. he’s been devouring them! could his biting behavior be because of calcium/nutrition deficiency? i saw that online.

he is in my room upstairs, which i’m almost always in. the temps are taken by the stick on thermometer which i learned aren’t too accurate. according to them, his tanks cool side is around 80 and the warm side is around 100. my room is the same as the rest of my house, if not warmer, which is at least 70° i’ve also been taking him outside for some sunshine on the really nice days

what would you recommend as the substrate in the dig box? i’ve seen people say flax seed, millet seed, and cloth. what’s the safest?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Your little one is very pretty & your tank setup looks great as well.
Definitely as suggested, get a digital probe or temp gun to accurately measure the
temperatures. The stick on types will only measure the ambient temperatures & the
humidity.
I would not use calcium sand in a dig box, but maybe washed & sifted playsand possibly,
but keep an eye on him to be sure he doesn't eat it. Peat moss or regular organic soil
without any chemicals, etc in it.

Tracie

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[HenryLucifer]

thank you all for answering

i think my little guys pretty happy now with his live crickets. i’m looking more into the dig box and what supplies would be safest for him. i wouldn’t keep it in his tank, just an activity to do when he’s out.

does anyone know if napping is okay? or should i wake him up if i see him asleep during the day? he sleeps through the night, so his sleep schedule seems stable. he usually falls asleep at 8/9 pm and wakes up at around 9 am, his lights turn off at 9 pm and turn back on at 6 am. is that enough lights off/on time for him?

also, is there a point where i could be taking him out too much? i always give him at least 2 hours to bask after meals and a few hours before i take him out in the morning. if i’m hurting him by taking him out, please let me know :/

this is a pic of Henry yesterday when we were all playing board games lol