Pls Help: Arthur is cold!

[Mom2Arthur]

Arthur is 8 months old. He is in a 40 gallon tank. He has a 100-watt bulb with the UVB light. His setup is what was recommended on this board using the same products.

I recently moved his home upstairs thinking that it would be warmer. During the day, his cage varies between 88 and 96 depending on our room temp. Since he has been upstairs, he hasn't seemed too interested in crickets although he eats his squash and bd food quite well. Last night, his cage temp dropped to 65. My husband picked him to warm him up, then gave him some crickets. We only had around 4-5 crickets, and my husband said that Arthur seemed to want more. He normally poops every day, and he hasn't gone in several days. So I'm getting pretty concerned.

How do you guys keep the cage warm at night? Do you use a night-light or some other source for heat?

Thanks.
Ursula

 

[Ethelia]

Hello there,
i have a basking UVB light at one end and a heat lamp in the other. the heat lamp is rigged up to a temperature probe in the tank so it only kicks-in at night if the temperatures drop. it brings the temp back up and then cuts out when it's reached its requirement.
it is controlled by a MICROCLIMATE Ministat 100.
my brand is certainly not the best one out there, but it is fairly inexpensive, but i think a temperature regulator might help you worry less about your little one.
i believe reptiglow make one?

 

[Mom2Arthur]

Thank you! I'm running to the pet store as soon as it opens.

 

[midnight_962002]

65 degrees is ok. I wouldn't go to much colder. Your day time temperature should be around 105 on the hot end.

If you go with the above you might want to use a CHE instead for the night heat light on the controller. But, don't let it get above the mid 70's because there body needs it cooler for them to completely shut down and go sleep.

My dragons are in the basement and there room gets to the mid 60's at night time in the winter and the summer(AC). They go directly to basking in the morning and are fully active in about 1 hour.

Ernie

 

[Mom2Arthur]

So mid 70s at night is ok?

Do you guys cover up the cage to keep the air inside? I was going to get another heating "pad" type of thing to adhere to the bottom of the cage where he sleeps, but perhaps that would be too much? Can I use the CHE thing for that?
Thanks.
Ursula

 

[diamc]

Hi, if your temp is dropping to around 65, then it would be a good idea to buy a CHE. Here's a site that shows what they look like & how they work. http://www.petmountain.com/product/heaters/107630/exo-terra-exo-terra-heat-emitter.html This is what is recommended for night use as it gives off heat but no light as lights can disturb their sleep and they do need to have the temps cooler at night than during the day.

Make sure that during the day you have the UVB and basking light right alongside each other so your beardie can get both benefits while he is basking. If you need brightness on the cool side of the tank, you can use a small fluorescent (non-UVB) there or if you need to raise the temps on that side a little, you can use a low wattage standard household lightbulb. Bright white basking bulbs should always be used because they do much better under white bulbs rather than a colored bulb or a CHE during the day. It's not a good idea to use a heating pad on the bottom because if it overheats, he could burn his belly.

Make sure you are using either a temperature gun or a digital thermometer that has a wire with probe at the end as those are the only 2 ways to get an accurate reading. Any type of stick-on thermometer can be as much as 20 degrees off. What UVB are you using and is it a compact, coil or strip fluorescent bulb?