Odd Heat Bulb Behavior?

[codegreen]

Hey all!

I've got a bearded dragon that's 11 months old, and has recently been exhibiting some strange behavior. He does the glass surfing whenever he has had to poop, but recently has been doing it whenever his Heat bulb is on. I've changed the fixture, bought a new bulb, and it keeps him at 90-100 degrees in the basking spot at-least. I've got a Zoo-med 10. t8 24" UVB bulb in there as well. I've finally caught on that its only when that heat bulb is on that he starts glass surfing. He's been eating better with it off even. We've got him in a 95 gallon terrarium with branches he loves to climb, basking rock, everything. Any ideas if something is wrong with him, or just beardie being picky?

Also - Its in the AM he does not like the bulb, later in the afternoon evening he will be fine with it on.

 

[CooperDragon]

That's a big enclosure. Is the heat bulb directly overhead? If it's at an angle it may be bothering him. What is the temperature gradient? 100-110 is a good range for surface temps in the basking area but there should be a gradient down to 75-85 or so on the other side so he can move away from the heat if he wants to. Also, how far above the basking area is your T8? They aren't very effective beyond 6-8'' so if it's further than that, you may want to switch to a T5 which is better suited for a large enclosure. If everything is OK with the lighting then it may be coincidence and he just wants to get out to explore.

 

[codegreen]

The heat bulb is directly over his basking rock, and the t-10 bulb runs along the back behind the heat bulb (3" behind the heat bulb in the middle along the back). Its straight above his basking rock, so maybe from the cooler end bothering him? From his normal hangout on a branch that goes fairly high - the heat bulb would be at an angle/ he'd be looking close to the side of it.

I thought t10 was the better one for larger cages? Tried giving him a big cage so he's happy when he's not out. The gradient goes to about 80. Which is kinda hard to lower at the moment due to outside temperatures and lack of cooling.

 

[kingofnobbys]

How old are the basking globe and the UVB tube ?

I suspect (I've witnessed this with some reflector bulbs of the kind commonly used as basking globes) that the builtin starter circuitry will "hum" because a electric filter circuit in this creates oscillations - this might be very annoying to the dragon, even if you can't hear it (the dragon's ears may be able to sense the frequency).
I'd try replacing the globe and see if the same behavior is seen.

Also a compact (T10) UVB tube is even weaker than a T8 UVB tube. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND upgrading a new reflector hood designed to T5HO tubes and invest in a 12%UVB or 14%UVB Arcadia T5HO tube depending on how tall the tank is.
See this for guidance - viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235611

 

[codegreen]

The uvb was just replaced at the beginning of the month, on its third change since having him. After the issues I replaced the heat bulb and fixture both thinking something like that was going on (humming, sound, etc..) it is a t8 tube, thought I mentioned that in the beginning post.

I’ll look into those HO bulbs - the reason I got the reptisun was the mention in several places of other uvb bulbs causing health issues with their beardies.