bengarrison208
Member
Greetings, my family and I are proud new beardie owners. We got Smiddy from Petco. about 11 days ago. He's approx. 6 inches. Not sure the age.
Setup-
40 gal. breeder tank with a mesh lid.
18 inch Zilla Slimline Desert 50 UVB T8 mounted in the tank (will be swapping to a Reptisun 10.0 soon)
Zoo Med CHE 150w. in a Dome
Zoo Med Basking bulb 100w in a Flukers Sun Dome
Digital Thermometer with probe
The UVB is mounted in the middle (in the tank) with CHE on one side and the basking light on the other side.
One big OOPS that we realized was that we didn't have a basking light for the first 9 days. We misunderstood the heat/light requirements or weren't given proper info from the Petco associate. We also started with dial thermometers so I'm pretty sure the temps have been less then adequate for the first 9 or 10 days.
Now that we have a basking light and a digital thermometer I have been keeping a close eye on the temps and they still seem too low. Approx. 85 in the basking area. I'm not sure what the cool side is as I'm waiting for another digital temp gauge to show up. It seem that my light set up should be enough to heat a tank the size properly... am I wrong? How would I get the temps. up without using a under-tank heater?
So Smiddy was pretty active and alert when we brought him home. He was eating about 3 crickets a couple times per day. He would eat very little veggies. But over the last 3 to 4 days he has become very lethargic and not eating or pooping. Also sleeping in his basking area 95% of the time.
We are very concern that not have the basking light and cool temps have caused this. Can anyone advised us on the next steps to attempt. I have been combing the forum and am a little overwhelmed. Thank you.
Setup-
40 gal. breeder tank with a mesh lid.
18 inch Zilla Slimline Desert 50 UVB T8 mounted in the tank (will be swapping to a Reptisun 10.0 soon)
Zoo Med CHE 150w. in a Dome
Zoo Med Basking bulb 100w in a Flukers Sun Dome
Digital Thermometer with probe
The UVB is mounted in the middle (in the tank) with CHE on one side and the basking light on the other side.
One big OOPS that we realized was that we didn't have a basking light for the first 9 days. We misunderstood the heat/light requirements or weren't given proper info from the Petco associate. We also started with dial thermometers so I'm pretty sure the temps have been less then adequate for the first 9 or 10 days.
Now that we have a basking light and a digital thermometer I have been keeping a close eye on the temps and they still seem too low. Approx. 85 in the basking area. I'm not sure what the cool side is as I'm waiting for another digital temp gauge to show up. It seem that my light set up should be enough to heat a tank the size properly... am I wrong? How would I get the temps. up without using a under-tank heater?
So Smiddy was pretty active and alert when we brought him home. He was eating about 3 crickets a couple times per day. He would eat very little veggies. But over the last 3 to 4 days he has become very lethargic and not eating or pooping. Also sleeping in his basking area 95% of the time.
We are very concern that not have the basking light and cool temps have caused this. Can anyone advised us on the next steps to attempt. I have been combing the forum and am a little overwhelmed. Thank you.