Is she too cold?

[tayfly]

Hi everyone, I recently took in a bearded dragon, Goliath, from a family member who was having trouble caring for her as much as she thought was appropriate. I'm excited to have her, but this is my first bearded dragon so I'm nervous and not familiar with their behavior.

I read online that they don't need heat at night if your apartment is above the low 60's. Mine stays well above that. However, the previous owner kept a lot of heat all night, so I just adjusted to one dark heat lamp for the night time. After turning off the bright lamp, Goliath laid flat and has gotten pretty cold. When I pet her she doesn't respond, but I can see her breathe. Should I be concerned that she's getting too cold?

 

[HKzForDayz]

Hi everyone, I recently took in a bearded dragon, Goliath, from a family member who was having trouble caring for her as much as she thought was appropriate. I'm excited to have her, but this is my first bearded dragon so I'm nervous and not familiar with their behavior.

I read online that they don't need heat at night if your apartment is above the low 60's. Mine stays well above that. However, the previous owner kept a lot of heat all night, so I just adjusted to one dark heat lamp for the night time. After turning off the bright lamp, Goliath laid flat and has gotten pretty cold. When I pet her she doesn't respond, but I can see her breathe. Should I be concerned that she's getting too cold?

If the temp is above 65 , she is fine. Turn off the dark lamp, beardies has excellent color vision and any kind of color lamp will disturb their sleep. If you need external heat to get above 65, you can use a CHE(ceramic heat emitter)

 

[GoneForLunch]

If you're worried she's too cold, either get the CHE (a Ceramic Heat Emmiter, puts out no light, just heat) or even just put down some soft shirts/shirt scraps in her hide that she can snuggle up in. As long as you're above 65*F at night though, she'll be okay.

 

[ofcourseilikepasta]

It's actually important for their body temp to go down at night IMO. If Gary is too warm at night he doesn't sleep as well because his body doesn't "shut down" in order to sleep. He will also sometimes poop in his sleep if he's too warm. It can be a little alarming when you feel them getting cold but rest assured, it's totally normal

For nights where it does get below 65, I also suggest a CHE. That's what I have.