Dragon's mouth keeps open.

[Hudson]

Hello,

I have just gone to the reptile show in White Plains and bought my first bearded dragon. When I brought it home I introduced her to her new home. I gave her crickets to eat. She then sat on the branch in the habitat and opened her mouth multiple times. Does this mean anything?

Thanks

 

[starhead86]

A lot of times they will bask, when they reach the optimal temp. where they are comfortable they will open their mouths to maintian the heat or cool off a little. Double check your temps, but this isn't an unusual habbit.

 

[diamc]

Hi, welcome to the forum :wave: and congratulations on your new beardie. How old is she? The opening of the mouth is called gaping and that is how they regulate their body temp. If she is doing it on & off, that is fine but if done a lot, then it's possible that the temps in the tank are too high. Just to be safe, could you fill us in on the type of thermometer you're using to check the temps, is it a type of stick-on, like a strip or round gauge, a temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a long wire & probe end? What are the basking and cool side temps? To cover the basic setup, could you also fill us in on the size of tank, the wattage of the basking bulb, is it a white or colored bulb, what brand UVB are you using, is it a coil, compact, strip fluorescent or mercury vapor bulb, how close is the UVB to your beardie when he is basking, and what type of substrate are you using on the bottom of the tank. I know these are a lot of questions, but just want to make sure everything is perfect for your new baby. :wink:

Edit: sorry starhead86, we posted at about the same time.

 

[Hudson]

Thanks for answering my question

My dragon is 3 or 4 months old. Her name is Puff. She can get as close to the basking bulb as she wants too ( She can't go in it though). The bulb is 150 watts white bulb made by exo terra. It doesn't mention UVB but does say that it gives off UVA. the theremometer is a probe with a wire. It reads 87 and getting hotter on the hot side and i haven't checked the cool side yet. It is a 20 galleon long with a cage carpet.

 

[diamc]

Hi, that's good that you are using a thermometer with a probe end. Make sure that you place the probe end so that it is touching the basking area, wait about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before you get the final reading. If the thermometer doesn't have a dual reading, then you will have to move the probe end over the cool side and place it right on the bottom of the tank, wait about another 45 min, then you will have the cool side temp. Actually 150 watts seems like quite a bit of wattage for only a 20 gallon tank, so make sure you check the temps as I explained. If they are too high, can cause rapid dehydration. The basking temp should be about 105 and up to 110 for a baby with the cool side 75 to 85 (but no higher) with a temp of 80 being ideal.

Good that you're using carpet, no worries of impaction with that. :wink:

You will need to invest in a UVB light to prevent metabolic bone disease and other health issues. Here's a site that sells them for a very reasonable price. http://www.petmountain.com/product/bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-high-output-uvb-bulb.html You will also need a hood and if you need more info on that, let us know.

Oh, and we love to see pictures.

 

[Hudson]

This is Puff on her driftwood. Her tank is 104 at the hottest point and 68 at it's coolest.

 

[haleygirl272]

You may want to raise the cool side. The cools side should be, at minimum, 75. I reccomend you keep it 80 degreesF

 

[Hudson]

Do you have any recommendations on how to do this? Should I just center the light a bit more?

 

[diamc]

Puff is absolutely adorable, looks like a real sweetie. It still seems like the temps would be much higher than 104 with a 150 watt bulb in a 20 gallon tank. Do you think you could post a picture of the thermometer? Did you lay the probe end right on the basking log at the highest point where she is basking then wait about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before you got the 104 reading? There are easy ways to raise the cool side temp but will wait for your response first.

 

[Hudson]

Thank you for the compliment!

I can't post a picture right now but I can say where the I measured it.

The hot end was measured at the top of her basking log, It did reach up to 108 but cooled back down. the cool end was measured at the floor.

 

[beardie parents]

I agree with Diane. I have a 20 gallon and I use a 60 watt household bulb that we need to prop the fixture up in the middle of the day so it doesn't get to 115 or higher. This does depend on the heat of the day as when it's colder, it doesn't get quite as hot.

 

[Hudson]

I just did another measuremnt.
The middle is 81 degrees The basking spot is 101. It might be this way because the house is 58 to 60.

 

[diamc]

Wow, you keep your house cold. Just curious, where do you live? It would be a good idea to recheck the temps during the heat of the day though to make sure it isn't getting too hot.

To raise the cool side temp, you can pick up another clamp light and try using a 25 watt household light bulb right over that side & see what temp you get then. Does your thermometer look anything like this? http://www.petmountain.com/product/thermometers/509769/coralife-digital-thermometer.html

Please make sure that you get a good UVB light very soon as that affects their total health and without one his bones won't develop normally. Do you have calcium and vitamins on hand already?

 

[Hudson]

Hi,
Thank you for asking, if you had not mentioned that I needed a UVB bulb I would not have known.
I live in New York.. I do have calcium supplements, do these substitute the UVB bulb? Thank you for your help.

 

[haleygirl272]

Yes, he needs UVB and calcium supplements.