Newbie here am I doing anything wrong?

[EddieLizzard5515]

Hi have just purchased my beardie Eddie he is around 10 months old, struggling to get him to eat his greens so having to hand feed him them, he loves his crickets and enjoys his waxworm treats. His temp is around the 35-36 mark I have tried moving his basking spot up a little with an extra log. He seems to like this as he sits there alot more often. I'm now worried it's a little overcrowded in there but he seems happy enough and likes to climb all over. He is a bit shy at the moment and won't let me pick him up, he just runs away, so have been sitting with my hand in his home for a few minutes each day and also letting him eat the waxworm from the palm of my hand. If anyone could give me advice I would really appreciate the help. I also have a heat mat set to 19 degrees for night time but the instructions told me to place the sensor right on top of the mat under the sand. I will add a pic for any suggestions. I

 

[CooperDragon]

Welcome to the forum! If you could post some photos of Eddie and his setup, I'll be glad to review it and make suggestions for improvement. You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

It sounds like he enjoys the warmer temps given the higher basking spot, so that was a good change and observation. How are you measuring the surface temps? If you are getting accurate surface readings, you could probably bump the basking site up into the 38-40 range safely.

Overnight, if the temps are staying above about 18 or so I'd just let it be. A cooldown overnight is natural. If the temps drop much below that, then I suggest using a heat projector or ceramic heat emitter for heat rather than a heat pad. They are less likely to malfunction and cause burns. If you're running the mat on a thermostat, that will help reduce risk though.

What do you have in place for a UVB light? UVB is critical for their health so it's worth investing in a high quality bulb.