Bilbo's Intro!

[ReptiSly]

Hey this is my first post just wanted to check in and introduce Bilbo to make sure everything looked okay. Below is a picture of Bilbo's enclosure and himself. arcadia 12% t5 14 inches away from basking. Basking is at 118° Cool side is at 85° Also have a dimmable 100w led panel for the live plants on the cool side. Any thoughts or concerns let me know! Any idea what morph Bilbo is would be helpful. Or maybe a place to point me in the right direction! Thanks a bunch!

 

[KarrieRee]

Hey this is my first post just wanted to check in and introduce Bilbo to make sure everything looked okay. Below is a picture of Bilbo's enclosure and himself. arcadia 12% t5 14 inches away from basking. Basking is at 118° Cool side is at 85° Also have a dimmable 100w led panel for the live plants on the cool side. Any thoughts or concerns let me know! Any idea what morph Bilbo is would be helpful. Or maybe a place to point me in the right direction! Thanks a bunch!

How are you getting that surface basking temp? It should be 95-100 nothing over 110 -- stick ons are inaccurate -- please adjust the temp --- your UVB is inside the tank or top of screen - the screen will determine placement and distance

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there, welcome!

Bilbo looks great. What a cool looking home he has. I love that dirt cave you have.

I'd drop the basking surface temp to around 110. 118 is a bit hot for a juvie, they typically like 105-110 a lot better, with options to be a bit cooler too.

-Brandon

 

[ReptiSly]

Hi there, welcome!

Bilbo looks great. What a cool looking home he has. I love that dirt cave you have.

I'd drop the basking surface temp to around 110. 118 is a bit hot for a juvie, they typically like 105-110 a lot better, with options to be a bit cooler too.

-Brandon

Thanks! will do I dropped it to 110 and will see how it goes. I just know temps for wild beardies basking goes into the 130° range and even higher depending on color of surface. I've made sure to include plenty of hiding spaces with shade that also provide further cool down spots. Wouldent we want our dragons to get to ideal temperature quicker rather that slower? I've read conflicting things on basking temp.

Thanks again!

 

[ReptiSly]

How are you getting that surface basking temp? It should be 95-100 nothing over 110 -- stick ons are inaccurate -- please adjust the temp --- your UVB is inside the tank or top of screen - the screen will determine placement and distance

The uvb is clearly under the screen and not worried about distance... I use a ir temp gun for basking temps and probes for air temps as an ir gun will not give you accurate readings for air temps..

 

[Claudiusx]

I just know temps for wild beardies basking goes into the 130° range and even higher depending on color of surface.

It gets up to those surface temps in their natural habitat, but that doesn't mean they are basking in those temps. Typically dragons will seek shelter in the high noon sun and temperature.

Wouldent we want our dragons to get to ideal temperature quicker rather that slower? I've read conflicting things on basking temp.

Not necessarily. A dragon won't bask if the surface temp isn't proper. We want the proper surface temp so that they spend the proper amount of time at the temperatures their bodies need for proper digestion and metabolic function. IF the dragon is only basking for a minute or two because it's too hot, it doesn't give the body long enough for those basic functions.

I use a ir temp gun for basking temps and probes for air temps

This is fine, but I'd confirm your IR reading with your probes too. IR guns suffer from inaccurate readings if the surface they are attempting to measure fall outside of it's emissivity value. Many materials we use in our enclosures could have an E-value way outside of the range for your IR gun (Unless your IR gun allows you to manually adjust emissivity).

Place a probe on your basking SURFACE and allow it to sit for 10 minutes or so. That will be your true basking surface temp. If your probe and your IR gun agree with each other, then you've just confirmed your IR gun is reading that particular surface properly.

IR guns are only accurate if they are being used on a material that the IR gun is made for. I can really dive into it with you if you want, but the simple solution is doing what I mentioned above to confirm your IR gun is measuring accurately.

Eitherway, looking forward to more pictures of your little dude and his setup as time goes on

-Brandon

 

[ReptiSly]

It gets up to those surface temps in their natural habitat, but that doesn't mean they are basking in those temps. Typically dragons will seek shelter in the high noon sun and temperature.

-Brandon

Makes more sense. I did lower temps but my guy was sitting in the hottest spot for the last 2 weeks. He thermoregulated and was active. He would not even go to the coolest side of the enclosure. I appreciate the input and will see how it goes! Will monitor his activity levels and hopefully remember to report back here! Thanks once again Brandon!

 

[Claudiusx]

Makes more sense. I did lower temps but my guy was sitting in the hottest spot for the last 2 weeks. He thermoregulated and was active.

Sorry, I realized you posted after I posted, so I edited my post, but you posted again! LOL.

See what I posted above in regards to your temperature and how you are measuring it. It's possible your basking surface temperature is actually lower than you think, which is why Bilbo is hanging out in the hottest spot you're measuring.

-Brandon

 

[ReptiSly]

Sorry, I realized you posted after I posted, so I edited my post, but you posted again! LOL.

See what I posted above in regards to your temperature and how you are measuring it. It's possible your basking surface temperature is actually lower than you think, which is why Bilbo is hanging out in the hottest spot you're measuring.

-Brandon

Yeah my ir gun and probe match up almost identically. Right now I'm reading 110.7 at the closest point. I also have my basking fixture at an angle to create a gradient. So it's possible I'm just reading the highest temp and he's been sitting in the gradient of the lamp a couple degrees cooler. Unfortunately my lights just shut off for the night. I'm going to get a better idea of the temperature differences tommorow.

 

[xp29]

Dave kaufman has a video on YouTube were he measures ground temp in the hot part of the day IN Australia. Ground temps reach 165 degree, (you can safely eat meat at 165) but no beardies in sight. They hide in cooler places during the hot part of the day. They are most active in morning and evening when the temps are more forgiving.