Problems maintaining a safe temp in my beardie's enclosure...

[J4ckdaw-]

Hi there, strangers of the internet! I'm just curious, the summer heat in my country is reaching upwards to 30 degrees Celsius and despite having the AC on frequently I am not able to keep the temperatures as they should be. Today, his basking spot reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit! Way, way to hot! And his cool side was around 95-100 degrees, night temps are around 80 degrees. Advice? I'm going to install a hook in order to prop up his basking bulb (100w) to drop the temps a bit, should I invest in a dimmer as well or will that make it too cool?

I have a 13" 4 1/2 month old male (he is turning 5 months this July) in a 40 gallon tank at the moment, he is having issues with possible parasites or over supplementation at the moment (we have a vet visit scheduled) so I've been keeping a close eye on him. I want temps of 100-110 degrees on the basking spot and 75-80 for the cool side, what can I do to make that possible? Should I get a lower wattage bulb? Should I get a dimmer? Should I prop up the light? Is anyone else experiencing something similar? What did you do for this?

If I should get a dimmer, how much do they usually cost? Where can you buy them, is it safe to order them from a widespread company like Amazon? I've removed the climb I've used as leverage to the bulb as a precaution so that he is further away, the ground temps are 100-120 degrees. I'm feeding him 2" hornworms to help fight dehydration and offering him water daily, I'll start taking him out of his enclosure to cool down whenever I am home (room temps of 75-80 degrees F). How long does it take for overheating to become deadly?

Thanks,

 

[Claudiusx]

With temps that hot you are better off just keeping the basking bulb off and just running the uvb bulb. Unless you can crank up your ac or direct some of the ac towards the tank and improve ventilation.

You can use a dimmer, but at those temps the dimmer will dim the bulb so low it will basically be off anyways.

-Brandon.

 

[J4ckdaw-]

Apologies in advance, but could you specify a bit? The temps with the basking bulb off are roughly 78-80 degrees, that I feel won't be high enough for his basking spot- should I turn the bulb on early (ordinarily turns on and off at 7:20 AM and 7:20 PM) say maybe 6:50-7:00 AM and let it heat up before unplugging it when I head off to work? Temps by then are usually 95-105 degrees with a cool side of 75-80. It might cool down a bit though, would that be a cause for concern or would it be fine for a day?

The AC in my house comes out of a non-movable ventilation system constructed into my walls, it runs out of a grill beneath the cabinet where I keep my bearded dragon's enclosure which does little to nothing asides from cool down the room a bit. He isn't lethargic or overly dehydrated as of right now, although he is black bearding much more frequently which I'm assuming is because of such high temps. So, is what your implying to not buy a dimmer? I'm most likely going to prop the light up, how does that sound?

 

[Claudiusx]

his basking spot reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit! Way, way to hot! And his cool side was around 95-100 degrees, night temps are around 80 degrees. Advice?

The temps with the basking bulb off are roughly 78-80 degrees,

I was going off of what you first posted, that the coolest area in your enclosure is 95-100 degrees and at night (assumingly with no lights on) it's still 80. That is much too hot and you shouldn't be using any additional heat in a situation like that.

If your temps in the enclosure during this heat wave are around 80 with the lights off, then you can try using a dimmer (or propping up the light), but you're going to need to greatly increase the ventilation in the enclosure and provide airflow to keep the cool side of the enclosure cohesive with the temperature in the rest of your home (assuming again, around 80). This will allow you to have a suitable basking site and also a much needed area for your dragon to cool down.

A dragon is much more capable of surviving periods of being slightly cool than they are of surviving periods of being overheated. If you have to pick one or the other, aim for cooler.

-Brandon

 

[J4ckdaw-]

S

I was going off of what you first posted, that the coolest area in your enclosure is 95-100 degrees and at night (assumingly with no lights on) it's still 80. That is much too hot and you shouldn't be using any additional heat in a situation like that.

If your temps in the enclosure during this heat wave are around 80 with the lights off, then you can try using a dimmer (or propping up the light), but you're going to need to greatly increase the ventilation in the enclosure and provide airflow to keep the cool side of the enclosure cohesive with the temperature in the rest of your home (assuming again, around 80). This will allow you to have a suitable basking site and also a much needed area for your dragon to cool down.

A dragon is much more capable of surviving periods of being slightly cool than they are of surviving periods of being overheated. If you have to pick one or the other, aim for cooler.

-Brandon

Ah, I understand. Yes, I took the temperature tonight with a thermometer gun and it read anywhere from 78-81 degrees. The cool side will only reach 95-100 degrees when the basking bulb is left on for a certain amount of time (say maybe 7-8 hours), usually when the lights turn on in the morning the enclosure as a whole is the temperature I've listed during the night time hours and takes a bit of time to heat up.

Should I leave the basking bulb on until I get home? The temps are usually 110-115 by then and the cool side is 80-90. If I don't turn the light on at all the enclosure will be too cold. Increasing ventilation will be difficult... I have a fully glass enclosure with a mesh screen top and side opening doors, I can't leave the doors open as I have free roaming cats and the enclosure is elevated three feet from the ground.

Alright, this is a lot of great information! You've really helped me out a lot, so I'd like to say thank you! I will keep all of this in mind moving forwards,

 

[Drache613]

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