is my beardie sick?

[Brilynnpearson]

I just bought my beardie a new heat lamp that doesn't give off light. It just gives of heat. I turn that on at night to help him sleep without red lights. Anyways, when I came home today I noticed he didn't eat any of the crickets I gave him this morning. He may have eaten one or two but I can't tell. Anyways, do you think the lamp I use at night is too hot and it made him sick? If he was too hot he could have gone to a cold side of his cage. When I came home today he made a huge mess in his cage. I think he wanted out. But I noticed some white/clear stuff on the floor of his tank. Could anyone shed some light on what it is?

Update: I figured he was just tired of crickets and wanted something else to eat so I cut up some collard greens for him and he still isn't eating.

 

[CooperDragon]

It could be coincidence and he just had an upset stomach. If that's the case it's no big deal. It's good that you got a ceramic heat emitter. Those help out a lot on cold nights but aren't always needed. Do you know what the temperatures were in the tank overnight? You just want a little bump into the low 70s as needed. I try to keep my tank between about 70-73 overnight and use a similar heat lamp during the winter. You can adjust the output by raising the light higher or by putting it on a dimmer (or even better dimming (pulse) thermostat). That way you can set it to kick in automatically only as needed.

 

[Brilynnpearson]

It could be coincidence and he just had an upset stomach. If that's the case it's no big deal. It's good that you got a ceramic heat emitter. Those help out a lot on cold nights but aren't always needed. Do you know what the temperatures were in the tank overnight? You just want a little bump into the low 70s as needed. I try to keep my tank between about 70-73 overnight and use a similar heat lamp during the winter. You can adjust the output by raising the light higher or by putting it on a dimmer (or even better dimming (pulse) thermostat). That way you can set it to kick in automatically only as needed.

I don't know what the temperature was last night. I'm afraid it might get too hot. He does have a cold side, though so he could go over there if he gets too hot. Do I need to switch back to the red light for a couple days so that I can get him a new ceramic heat emitter?

 

[CooperDragon]

The one you have is probably fine but you may need to adjust it's output and it may not be necessary every night. I would get accurate readings of the tank temperature overnight. At least a few hours after lights out and perhaps before you head to bed. That should give you a general idea about what the overnight temps are. They won't likely drop below what your house thermostat is set to as well. Once you have a relatively accurate idea of what's going on temp wise overnight then you can take action and adjust from there.