I am a new beardie owner, and I am concerned about my baby. I would be very grateful for some help. I recently got my BD (it will be two weeks on saturday) from a breeder. He is approx. 5 months old and about 15 inches. He is an orange Hypo with some yellow and lavender bars on his sides. I mention this because when I got him he was fairly light in color, and the orange was bright. Over the last two weeks he has turned very dark and lost his color. I've read that when others take their BD out in the sun it makes the coloring brighter and light. When I take mine outside, he gets VERY dark. And I've noticed that when inside, he is darkest while he is basking. Is there something wrong? Why would he turn dark and loose his color? I don't think he is going to shed because he was just finishing a shed when I got him. Also, he isn't dull, just dark and brown/gray, without his normal color. I don't know if this is a behavior thing or a health problem, but I am very worried. He is also fairly dormant. He doesn't move around very much. Is that normal for a 5 month old? And I don't think his appetite is what it should be. He barely touches his greens in the morning, and it's only been the last couple days that I've gotten him to eat more than a few crickets/superworms. I figured the loss of appetite was relocation stress, but then his color changed and I got worried. The more I write the more I think I should have posted this in the Health Problem forum. Sorry! I have him in a 40 gal breeder (36 x 18 x 16) tank temporarily until my husband can build a bigger viv. I am using the 18 inch Reptisun 10 for uvb, and a 150 watt household bulb for heat. They are placed side by side on the tank's screen lid, with the heat source on the end of the tank. I ordered a temp gun last week but it hasn't arrived yet. I've been using a cheap thermometer stuck to the inside of his tank wall, but I don't think it's very accurate. On the hot side it is only reading 90-95. His basking rock is about 4 inches high, so he is less than 12 inches from the lights by the time you add his body height. Please help me! I don't think he is thriving! Is he dark because he is trying to attract more uvb/heat? Or does that happen when they get sick? Thank you to anyone who can help me figure this out. I am so worried! I have never owned a reptile before and I don't want him to suffer because of my ignorance. I have a dog, cat, parrot, guinea pigs (2), hamster, and fish.... but I've never worried about any of them like I have about this little guy in only two weeks time!