Juv. Beardie Temperature gradient Help?

[blackouteffect90az12]

Hello everyone,
My name is Brandon and this is my first post on these forums. I use them a lot to just read others questions and see the answers and everyone is always so helpful, so i decided to give this a whirl. My beardie's name is Osiris. Hes approximately 5-6 months old. I just got him a new terrarium(hes been in it for about a month now), its 4 foot long, by 2 foot by 2 foot.(see pictures). Here's our issue, he doesnt have any health issues currently(although he has been hiding in his log this past week, but he hides on the hot side log, not the cool.) He eats everything(greens and crix) regularly and poops twice a day. everything checks out health wise. he basks a lot, his mouth is never gaping or anything like that and i never see him on the cool side of his tank.(if youre wondering what the box thing is on the left hand side, its a dehumidifier. i live in southern california and its always humid. with that it usually sits at 26% or lower. I have the water dish in his tank because he actually drinks from it often. ive witnessed it. although im not sure if it works right, it never collects water.. but thats me getting off topic.) ANYWAYS, Temperature gradient is the problem. the probe on his basking spot reads 105-113 most the time. which is good. he enjoys it. but his cool side is usually 90-95 and i hear thats not a pleasant time. It is summer time here in so cal, but the ball pythons cage in the same room is smaller and doesnt get up to that heat and he has a bigger bulb in his deep domes. His light right now is a daylight blue 75 watt along with a 36 inch reptisun 10.0 across the top. Ive tried the 50 watt Intense basking bulb and the temperatures on both sides went out. Only thing i havent tried is a 50 watt blue and maybe somehow raising his basking platform?) Any ideas would help. ive been thinking a tight beam low wattage bulb maybe? not sure how different that would be from the intense basking spot. I love the little guy, just trying to give him the best life possible. (lots of pictures included)

Thanks for any and all help guys.

 

[FishboneNC]

First suggestion, remove the water! Give it to him when he eats, as soon as he's done with it, take it out...humidity might be the issue.
Temps seem right, if it's too hot, they'll move or become nervous, move around trying to find a cool area

Whats that machine in the left corner?

 

[FishboneNC]

Another thing, secure or only use that digital probe/bulb when needed!
It takes about 10 or 15 minutes to get the temperature, take it out or secure it!

After having my beardie for two years...he bit off the temperature bulb and ate it!

 

[blackouteffect90az12]

Oh man.I'll tuck it under his mat when I'm not using it then. And the machine is. Dehumidifer. It's humid in southern California and I'm trying to be proactive towards respritory infections. And ya, he doesn't seem to mind the hot side, but I've heard their cool side is supposed to be around 80-85. Not 90-95.

 

[diamc]

Hi, welcome to the forum. If he isn't basking under the light and is hiding on the side of a log quite a bit, that would tell me that he is too hot. You might want to think about trying a flood light like Lowe's or Home Depot carry as you want a bright white light rather than bluish. What is the temp of the actual spot where he spends most of his time?

When using a probe thermometer, the probe has to actually be touching the basking spot and you need to wait about 45 min to an hr for the temp to stop rising before getting the final basking surface temp. If someone only waits 10 to 15 min, that is not enough time as the probe end heats up the most in the last 30 min or so of checking it.

The cool side is too hot at 90 to 95 and it should actually be in the 78 to 82 range but no higher.

What is the distance from the UVB bulb to where he has been basking? It should be within the 6 to 8" range in order for him to get the full benefit of it.

What is the humidity level without the dehumidifer running?

 

[blackouteffect90az12]

He basks on his platform directly after eating . He hides under his log just randomly, but it is always the log on hot side. Under his log it sits at 95. Would a flood lamp be less overall heat output? And he's like 8 inches away from the light on the floor, but he also loves to sit on his logs under it. My problem is with the low wattage blue light, his cool side is still too hot. And without the dehumidifier it climbs maybe 10 %. I'm gonna try a tiny sillac. Gel one soon and attach it to the upper back wall . More ground space less hot air out put. though I don't feel it puts out too much air anyhow.

 

[diamc]

A humidity level of about 36% isn't bad. It's when it's over 50% for a long period of time that it would be concerning.

Flood lamps are preferred as the wider beam makes a more uniform and larger warm area rather than too hot heat in one small concentrated area. What is the diameter of the dome you're using now?

 

[blackouteffect90az12]

I have a picture of it. It's a fixture on the top of the terrarium. Not a concentrated dome type thing

 

[diamc]

Oh, ok, sorry, I do see it now.

 

[blackouteffect90az12]

Yeah. Maybe if I build a wall down the middle and make him a tiny Dragon door? Sounds like a fun project....