One of those thermometers you put on the walls. So it's not right under the light and probably not very accurate. I'll get a better reading tomorrow morning and report back.
Our temp for the house is set for 70F but my room doesn't have very good insulation so it's brought down a lot from the outside temp which is why I have the light currently. I do need to get the disk but I just can't until the weekend so this is what I have to work with for the rest of the week. I know the red light isn't very good for them but it's the best I have for the time being.
One of those thermometers you put on the walls. So it's not right under the light and probably not very accurate. I'll get a better reading tomorrow morning and report back.
Our temp for the house is set for 70F but my room doesn't have very good insulation so it's brought down a lot from the outside temp which is why I have the light currently. I do need to get the disk but I just can't until the weekend so this is what I have to work with for the rest of the week. I know the red light isn't very good for them but it's the best I have for the time being.
Honestly, not using anything at night and turning the heat up a few degrees till the weekend is a FAR better option then leaving the IR bulb on at night. If your room is around 60 degrees as is, just as your mom to turn it up a few degrees until you can get the ceramic heat emitter. Explain to her it is vital as your beardie isnt getting the proper sleep he needs with the IR bulb on, and just as with humans sleep is very important to health.
You are correct on that thermometer not being accurate for what you need it for. That thermometer is reading ambient temperatures, when we are talking about what the basking temperature needs to be , we are referring to surface temperature. The ONLY way to accurately read a surface temperature is either with an IR temp gun, or a digital thermometer with a probe attached to a long wire. I recommend the IR gun, makes it much easier, and can be found at walmart/lowes/home depot for around 20 bucks. It is very important that you get one of these thermometers, as correct temperatures is one of , if not THE most important aspect of bearded dragon care. In order for your bearded dragon to properly digest their food and get the energy & nutrients needed, their temps HAVE to be correct.
Once you get either a IR temp gun or a digital thermometer, you want to make sure that your bearded dragons basking spot is 105-110 degrees. it is crucial it is within this range.
Just curious, our dialect on this thread has me wondering , what style UVB light are you using? What brand? How old is the bulb and how close to your UVB source can your dragon get?
I use the ReptiSun 10.0 tube bulb. I got this bulb last month and he's about five inches from it (first pic)
The second pic I took the thermometer and left it on his most common basking spot for five minutes to make sure it read correctly. It is about 105°F (seen in second picture)
The thing with the temperature is its not up to my mom or me or anyone except my dad. He's super controlling and if the temp goes above 70F he yells at whoever turned it up. I have a space heater in my room that I used after reading your reply last night before I went to bed and turned off his light. He calmed down a bit but halfway through the night I could hear him running around again.
I would get an IR temp gun or A digital thermometer with probe as soon as you can, those thermometers are not really reliable, and dont take the right kind of temperature.