Beardie always away from her lights/heat

[GemmaP]

What could be the reason ? Shes 6-7 months old now , has grown 2 inches since i got her, eats crickets, mealworms , kale, carrot and courgette daily ( dusted ) . Substrate of tile and a digging box, poo's daily, viv is 48 x 18 x 24 , her basking light is exoterra sun glo 100w ( was 100w intense) and a compact repti glo 10.0 .

she spends most of her day sat up on a play platform at the other end of her viv. she's very active, jumps and climbs but i hardly ever see her basking ?

her viv is the top one, the logs now rest on her digging box meaning there a closer to the coil, basking temp of 105 ..

should i be worried ? She is so active, a bit agressive and even though her and lenny lived together before i knew better, i cant even let them play together at mo as she attacks him.
I am swopping both of their coils for tubes but my car just cost me £400 for a new clutch plus its xmas and these vivs are only a month old so im slightly spent out!

 

[SilverMoon]

One thing that really should be changed is the compact reptiglo 10.0. Beardies will sometimes look into the light as they bask and the reptiglo can cause serious eye burns and blindness. The compact version is especially harmful. It can also cause neurological problems, and it does not give out enough UVB. If you HAVE to stick with the Reptiglo then you need to change to the tube version. If you want to be sure your little one is getting enough UVB (which is essential!) and not get harmed by ill effects then you want to buy a ReptiSUN 10.0 (tube). If you have more questions about the reptiglo problems, just google it. It's better to be safe, than sorry.

 

[GemmaP]

Thanks for the reply but as stated I literally can't afford to set up both tanks with tube lighting this month it cost me all my savings to set up two new tanks to split them up and then my car broke plus Xmas means I just do not have the £50 per tank to do it . She has had the same light heat set up in her old viv it's only the last couple of weeks she has decided she just loves lazing on her play platform

 

[kaylorin]

How are you checking your temps? It should be a digital or infrared to get more accurate temps, or use a probe right on the basking area. Stick on dials can be off by large amounts. With my water dragon, my battery was failing in my probe thermometer, and I could not figure out why she was not staying in her normal spot - and how I could not get it at the normal temps. Once I changed my battery, I found that my thermometer was off by almost 10 degrees. My baby bearded has done the same thing - when he stays on his cool side for more than about 15 minutes, I get my infrared temp gun out and find that his basking platform is running around 118, rather than his 108 it normally runs.

The other thing, might be to move your heat/uvb above your platform-she may just like being up high =)

 

[GemmaP]

I have two prob thermometer one on each end, and i have a spare that i use to place the prob on the hottest spot from basking lamp, I will do some periodic checking today and see today if maybe its too hot, I have a 60w basking bulb i can pop in if it is too hot . Ive moved her log around so she has a bigger basking spot and she's currently sitting on it now .

 

[CaptainVimes]

To be honest, if she liked the platform so much, I would put it under her basking spot...

IF YOU CAN

However, you'd probably need a dimmerstat to cool the bulb down to the temp required with being closer to the basking spot, PLUS a bulb guard, (to prevent beardie touching the bulb) so again it would mean money that you haven't got right now.

To be brutally honest, everyone was going on about how dangerous these compact bulbs are? According to my Fiancé, (he's not qualified by any means, but this subject came up on the reptile forum, and "arcadia john" - Arcadia expert representative, was called in to correct everyone.  (I have just texted my fiancé to give me the link to the post in question, just waiting for it so I can reference you all to it))

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/lizards/794887-baby-bearded-dragon-lighting-problem.html#post9449264

Read the post by Arcadia John:

I'll copy it here, if you can't go to the link:

Compacts have indeed been linked to eye issues. But this is all linked to two causes!

Firstly substandard Asian import lamps particular of a spiral design that leaked shortwavelength UVC.

This then being germicidal burnt through the front surface of the eye among many other nasties!!

Cheap Chinese lamps = old fashioned and out of date phosphor tech!

Secondly the biggest cause of eye issues is ill-fitted lamps!

Reptiles must be illuminated from the top down! Any light source, UV or not could cause PKC in any captive animal including reptiles if fitted side on.

The light is intense and the animal cannot find shade so a bright light causes eye strain, which then cases irritation which then leads to infection or PKC, this could then spread through the system and lead to death.

Personally I feel that compacts are hard to use as they are hard to reflect but they do have their uses in some systems.

In fact we make them in 3 different %.

I cannot believe anyone would sell a captive reptile without the right "life support" system.

Reptiles are truly solar powered!

Not just heat and light but Uv is the life source behind the proper care and ability to thrive of reptiles.

It should be illegal for shops and dealers to sell live animals without knowing the quality of the system!!!

At Arcadia we are campaigning for these things to become regulated officially so that reptiles are not murdered needlessly or for profit.

Happy to advise further if required.

John 

People STILL (wrongly) accuse all the compact bulbs of having the same problems.

When it has been scientifically proven that this was not actually the case.

Admittedly, ANY TUBE is better than a compact, because a compact only covers a small area in your enclosure, whereas a tube has more widespread cover.

Beardie doesn't have to be on the basking spot to get the UV they need. Etc....

However, if you can't afford the tube yet, don't worry, the compact will do for now. If you can get her to spend more time under the compact, it will be fine, until you can afford to upgrade to a tube.