questions about basking!!

[Tarr]

its about 95 on his basking spot.. hes opening his mouth and breathing normally... then like falls asleep.. acts like he kinda enjoys it?

 

[Tarr]

kind of funny watching him!

 

[zarrianna]

Well may I suggest a higher basking temp? About 100 would be good.And it is kinda amusing!

 

[Ethelia]

That second picture is to die for!
What a cutie.

And yes the basking temp should be a little higher, 100-110, especially for younger beardies.
How close can your beardie get to his basking light?

 

[whiskersmom]

[Moved to General Discussion from ER]

 

[Emma318]

Wait, I thought gaping mouth was a sign of being overheated?

not true with dragons?

 

[Tarr]

That second picture is to die for!
What a cutie.

And yes the basking temp should be a little higher, 100-110, especially for younger beardies.
How close can your beardie get to his basking light?

4-5 inches away from the light... its a 40w night glow i have a different set up than everyone to save money.

i have the basic 3 bulb set.. 25w uvb coil, nightglow, daylight
then i have an extra heat lamp with a 40w nightglow in it for extra heat.. it gets down to freezing at night so i have to keep him a bit warm

 

[Ethelia]

Ah. Theres your issue. Your beardie needs to be a minimum of 6 inches away from the bulb. That will be why she is gaping so much.

At night you really do want to avoid using a bulb, red and blue bulbs disturb their sleep. I live in england so I do understand your worry about freezing cold!
Do you know what temps your viv drops to at night without the aid of the bulbs?

 

[Tarr]

Ah. Theres your issue. Your beardie needs to be a minimum of 6 inches away from the bulb. That will be why she is gaping so much.

At night you really do want to avoid using a bulb, red and blue bulbs disturb their sleep. I live in england so I do understand your worry about freezing cold!
Do you know what temps your viv drops to at night without the aid of the bulbs?

without the bulb it drops to 65 with the bulb it stays at 80.. he usually sleep under his rock tower which is really dark and spacious

 

[Ethelia]

Its my understanding that 65-70 is an acceptable night time temperature, although 70ish is prefered.

If you are really paranoid about night time temps (like me!) you can hook your night-time light up to a thermostat, which is set to turn on when the temperature drops bellow a set level.
This is how mine is set up with a MICROCLIMATE MINISTAT 100 (which is pretty cheap). It has a probe inside the viv, and if at night her viv temp drops bellow 70 it turns on, boosts the temperature and flicks off again.
That way you dont disturb your little ones sleep all night long, but means you dont have to sit up worrying at night when it gets super cold.
Just something to consider ofc ^_^

 

[Tarr]

Its my understanding that 65-70 is an acceptable night time temperature, although 70ish is prefered.

If you are really paranoid about night time temps (like me!) you can hook your night-time light up to a thermostat, which is set to turn on when the temperature drops bellow a set level.
This is how mine is set up with a MICROCLIMATE MINISTAT 100 (which is pretty cheap). It has a probe inside the viv, and if at night her viv temp drops bellow 70 it turns on, boosts the temperature and flicks off again.
That way you dont disturb your little ones sleep all night long, but means you dont have to sit up worrying at night when it gets super cold.
Just something to consider ofc ^_^

sounds like it costs quite a bit of money and im only 15 saving up for a car :mrgreen:
what exactly does viv stand for?

 

[Judah'sHuman]

Hi~

My guy will sorta gapes and look like he is yawing out of his viv when he is hanging out with me sometimes. It is really funny. Gapping is not always a sign of over heating, it is how they regulate their body temps as well.
I have to mention though that the compact coil bulbs are really really bad. They give out inconsistant levels of UV and can cause eye damage and internal problems . The levels of uv that it gives off can be like solor flare radiation. I know that lighting can be expensive but the best thing to do is pick up a Reptasun 10.0 floresent tube light ASAP, this is the least expensive option, and you wont injure your Dragon. You will want to put a non colored bulb next to it as well. A clear house hold bulb will work just fine. This will level out the color specturm from the Reptasun. Best of luck!