Hi everyone, I'm a new bearded dragon owner. I got my little dude on Monday the 20th. I just had some questions. My beardie spends most of the time on his basking side I dont really see him go anywhere else in the tank espically when Im in the room. Is that normal? Also I have no problem handling him he will walk up my arm and hangout on my shoulder and stuff like that but today when I went to put him back in the viv he was climbing up my arm and didnt seem like he wanted to go back in. Also is it normal for them to close eyes while basking?
There is a picture of my tank and heres some stats
20gal
Cool side stays between 80-85
Basaking side 105-110
Hunidity is 40
Theres a UVB 10.0 reptisun tube fixture ontop of the mesh
My beardie is a little over 6in
Hes been eating around 10-15 chrickets twice a day and hes been eating his salad daily
Hes also just sheadded recently I gave him a lukewarm bath to help. How often do I mist him if at all, I've seen mixed opinions on misting
Thanks in advance for your responses!
Hi everyone, I'm a new bearded dragon owner. I got my little dude on Monday the 20th. I just had some questions. My beardie spends most of the time on his basking side I dont really see him go anywhere else in the tank espically when Im in the room. Is that normal? Also I have no problem handling him he will walk up my arm and hangout on my shoulder and stuff like that but today when I went to put him back in the viv he was climbing up my arm and didnt seem like he wanted to go back in. >>> he wants to spend some more time on you / with you, all mine do that , skinks and dragons. Also is it normal for them to close eyes while basking? <<<< all mine do that .... he's just having a nice siesta.
There is a picture of my tank and heres some stats
20gal
Cool side stays between 80-85
Basaking side 105-110
Hunidity is 40
Theres a UVB 10.0 reptisun tube fixture ontop of the mesh <<<< move the UVB under the mesh , as the mesh will be blocking over 25% of the UVA and UVB . My beardie is a little over 6in
Hes been eating around 10-15 chrickets twice a day and hes been eating his salad daily <<<< three feeds of suitable sized crickets per day is better (gut load them with high calcium greens (buk choi is good) and carrot and repcal adult beardie pellets (crickets love them). what size crickets are you using at present , maybe you should up size slightly.
I hold back the salad / greens until the last live feeding, very young beardies need their insect protein and fats more than they need greens and salad when very young and growing very fast. Hes also just sheadded recently I gave him a lukewarm bath to help. How often do I mist him if at all, I've seen mixed opinions on misting <<< depends on how hot it is in your house, a misting (drops of water in his snout) once per day is generally enough unless it's very hot. Thanks in advance for your responses!
I've noticed as well as having the UVB tube ontop of the mesh top ---- not good.
You also have analog dial type stick on thermometers in the tank. This type of thermometer are terribly inaccurate and can be more the 25% out, meaning if you think you have a 100F basking spot it can be anything between 75F and 125F , NOT GOOD.
I agree that you should get accurate temp readings using a digital thermometer with a probe for each side or an IR temp gun so you can adjust the lighting. Your temp ranges are OK though.
Do you have a T8 UVB light or is it a T5? A T5 is powerful enough to provide adequate UVB through a mesh top at about 10'' up. The T8 should be under the mesh though and sit about 6-8'' from the basking area for best output. In most cases it's worth investing in a good T5 light. Some people hang the T8 fixtures using command hooks or industrial strength velcro or it can be hung from the top using wire.