Feeding/Heat questions

[Deathtron3000]

Hey everyone, I created this account just to ask this question. I’m housesitting for a friend and taking care of her son’s new bearded dragon. This is the first reptile I’ve cared for, and even though I spent time before being left alone with him socializing so he knows me and learning his routine, I’m a little worried I’m doing something wrong. He has been cranky with me the last two feedings. This morning he refused to eat any of his crickets at all, even though I know he saw them. When I came to feed him last night, he was a dark bluish color that gradually faded as I interacted with him. I know the color change can be because of shedding but I also read that it can be because he’s too cold. His heat lamps are on but the family turned the heat off in the rest of the house before they left. Could this be affecting him and do they normally get cranky and refuse to eat in these situations? I’m going to call the owners as soon as it is early enough where they are to get an answer but it’s their first reptile too so I thought I’d ask some more experienced dragon owners too. I really don’t want to mess this up and hurt the little guy! Thanks so much.

 

[3magpie3]

Do they have temperature probes in the tank? What are they reading for temps?

 

[EllenD]

Dragons darken themselves when they are trying to absorb more light/heat because they are too cold, and yes, this will effect a lot of things, like appetite, activity levels, etc. When you remove a dragon from the tank they generally do brighten up if they were dark inside the tank, because you're removing them from the lights, so there is no reason for them to darken themselves anymore because there is no longer any light to try to absorb. So that in and of itself is normal, but it really does sound like the the family turning the heat to the house completely off caused his tank/enclosure temps to drop far too low, especially if he's in a glass tank and not a wooden enclosure, as glass tanks with mesh lids do not hold heat nearly as well.

His lights aren't left on all night are they? His tank needs to be pitch black at night with no lights, but if the family has turned the heat to the house completely off, then his nighttime temperature will surely drop below 65 degrees at night, which is the minimum the temp inside the tank should be at night, and if it does drop below 65 degrees then they should have a low-wattage Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) over the tank that is on only at night, as they emit only heat but not light.So if they have decided to leave his basking light on constantly over night to compensate for the lack of heat in the house, this will terribly disrupt his sleep, which can also make him cranky, mean, and lose his appetite.

Is there a Digital Probe Thermometer anywhere in or around the tank that you can use to measure the temps? Or do they only use a stick-on thermometer that is stuck to the glass of the tank? If they only have a stick-on thermometer inside the tank (extremely inaccurate and unable to measure his Basking Spot/Platform Temp at all, they can only measure Ambient (air) Temperatures), which side of the tank is it on, the Hot Side that the lights are over or the Cool Side with not lights, and what temperature is it reading during the day (after his lights have been on for at least an hour or two)?