Hi everyone! We've had Drogon since October (got him from Petco, treated for parasites, he's now parasite free and seems to be thriving and on track). I currently have him in a 40G breeder (just moved him in so I'm messing with lighting) with a 100w halogen floodlight and Reptisun 10 T8 UVB. My temp gun shows that it's 99 on his basking spot. I then took the wood basking spot out and put in a flowerpot with tile top and it was 120 degrees (don't worry, just tested- didn't put Drogon in there). So I'm back to the wood basking spot. I think I'll get a dimmer and put the flower pot basking spot back in so I can control the heat. What do you think?
Also, I need to replace his UVB because it's been a while. Should I stick with the T8 or move to the T5?
Last, I just had an outdoor closure built. I check the temp and humidity before I take Drogon out. From what I've read, humidity is okay as long as it's below 60%. It's only been 25% but I'm wondering long term once summer hits. Drogon also hates the outdoor enclosure right now. He's so scared- turns black, puffs up and when I try to get him out he opens his mouth to pretend to bite. He's just a happy camper back in his indoor viv. Kind of a bummer! Any suggestions on getting him used to it? I already have him on leash outside and he loves it. I have slowly tried to increase his time in the enclosure. Thanks for any help!
Using a lamp dimmer is a good idea for the basking site. The halogen flood lights tend to dim pretty well. I would go with a T5 for your tank, just set it right on top. The outdoor enclosure looks great! If it's stressful I wouldn't push it too much. I'd also be sure to put some shady/hide areas in there as well. If he's OK with being outside on his leash I'd introduce it slowly but if it continues to stress him out he may just not like feeling trapped outside so I wouldn't push it on him.
Thanks CooperDragon! I haven't put him in the outdoor enclosure since. Maybe one day he'll come around to it, maybe not! And I got the T5 too! Appreciate your help!
That's a great enclosure! Just keep putting him in there and he'll get used to it. Put a long untreated 2X4 in there for climbing, propped up to reach near the top on one end [ keeping it simple at first]. If he is O.K being out on his leash, maybe you can just let him climb in and you hang out with him for a bit right there by the cage.
I also built an outdoor enclosure for my beardie. I basically converted a 4'x8' raised vegetable garden by putting a hinged screen top over it. We've had it for a couple of years and I feel that our beardie is still not very comfortable in it. He seems to be scared and constantly looks up at the sky. We have a lot of birds in the trees of our yard and I attribute this nervousness to his instinct that there are predators in the sky and trees.
I still put him out there occasionally and just tell him, "It's good for you", like I do with my kids.