Spending time on the cool side and can’t figure out why

[ZiggyDust]

So my beardie, Ziggy (10 months old) has now done this twice in the last 4 months and I can’t figure out why.

Ziggy is spending all day on the cool side of the habitat, where there isn’t much UVB, not wanting to bask. She will bask first thing in the morning for about 1 hour and move to the cool side and spend all day there unless I move her. She will then move herself back. With the size of her habitat there are many spot she can bask at different temperatures should she wish. I have tried making it warmer and cooler at basking spots to see if that’s an issue and no luck. So I don’t think it’s temp related.

She is normally a very active dragon, she is just lazy again all of sudden. She is eating fine and her bowels are fine too.

Any insight? Is this “normal”?


Habitat information

- 8x2x2 Zen Habitat Enclosure

-Air Temps are 83- 89°F on the left (warm side) and down to 77° on the right (cool side)

- Basking temps ranging from 108°F to 95° (Ziggy has multiple basking spots)

- Two Reptisun T5 10.0 UVB lights covering 2/3 of enclosure

- Solid substrate

 

[Badwolfe]

Any chance of a pic of the set up?

 

[ZiggyDust]

Any chance of a pic of the set up?

 

[Badwolfe]

The set up looks fine with good UV coverage. I would say she's just seasonally adjusting herself to temperatures she prefers. If everything is fine with her eating and pooping and stuff I really wouldn't worry. They do go through phases where they sometimes seem to prefer cooler spots and slow down. She's probably just hit sexual maturity too so might be preparing herself for the breeding season.

 

[ZiggyDust]

The set up looks fine with good UV coverage. I would say she's just seasonally adjusting herself to temperatures she prefers. If everything is fine with her eating and pooping and stuff I really wouldn't worry. They do go through phases where they sometimes seem to prefer cooler spots and slow down. She's probably just hit sexual maturity too so might be preparing herself for the breeding season.

Thanks for the reply. Should I try lowering the temps even more to see if she will bask under those conditions?

 

[Badwolfe]

Thanks for the reply. Should I try lowering the temps even more to see if she will bask under those conditions?

No if your temps are within the normal boundaries then I would just leave them as they are. The only reason they bask under a heating element (i.e. bulb) is to take in IR heat. They don't actually need a basking bulb that emits light as long as it is emitting the correct IR spectrum. They can get all the UV they need from the UV tubes This is why DHP's (deep heat projector) are becoming a lot more popular because they are specifically designed to produce a lot of the IR-B spectrum which pentrates into the flesh of the reptile much deeper than IR-A which tends to just warm up the surface skin and doesn't penetrate much further than that.

People often fall into the trap of thinking basking bulbs need to produce light when in fact they dont.

Hope that helps

 

[ZiggyDust]

T

No if your temps are within the normal boundaries then I would just leave them as they are. The only reason they bask under a heating element (i.e. bulb) is to take in IR heat. They don't actually need a basking bulb that emits light as long as it is emitting the correct IR spectrum. They can get all the UV they need from the UV tubes This is why DHP's (deep heat projector) are becoming a lot more popular because they are specifically designed to produce a lot of the IR-B spectrum which pentrates into the flesh of the reptile much deeper than IR-A which tends to just warm up the surface skin and doesn't penetrate much further than that.

People often fall into the trap of thinking basking bulbs need to produce light when in fact they dont.

Hope that helps

Thank you for the reply. I do have a question on the topic of lighting. When I first got Ziggy in June, I was still new to reptiles and just used the normal Zoo Med basking bulbs. With her habitat being 8 feet I obviously have a harder time heating it, which means more heat bulbs than normal. That said. My zoo meds lights are blowing out and they are obviously not the best option long term. I was looking at getting this as a replacement, as I can get a lower wattage and it will give off the same or more heat of a slightly higher zoo med bulb. I also saw that Arcadia DHP and was curious on it, then I saw your post. So that worked out well lol.

Which would you recommend of those two? Cost isn’t a big concern, I mean obviously it does to a degree, I will spend whatever I need to make her home perfect though. I will need a good bit of bulbs regardless. Ziggy currently has 4 heat bulbs (2-100W and 2-75W), along with the 100W CHE. Sounds like overkill, it’s not as her temps are accurate ambient 90 to 78°F. Thankfully she is also back to basking again, I guess she just wanted a break for a few days. Lol.

I assume the DHP still work the same way? By that I mean hearing the air and heating up the basking surfaces? Are there any downsides to not having a basking bulb that gives off light? I thought reptiles need UVA? Or does the UVB T5 give off UVA as well? I also was told prior that they need visible light to know where to bask? Or is that was the IR-A and B does from the DHP and they still are drawn to it?

Sorry for all the questions. Learned something new from your reply so now I have lots of questions.

 

[Longfellow777]

very nice enclosure

 

[Rubble1212]

very nice enclosure

Like Badwolfe said above the DHP produces IRB and from my observations my dragon spends more time basking under the DHP than than a halogen or incandescent bulb no matter how bright and yes your t5 will produce plenty of UVA I think Arcadia’s are 30% UVA?

 

[Longfellow777]

I use Dhp to supplement a little heat to my cool ends. John Courtney Smith the creator of Arcadia products says when he did the trials the full sun basking reptiles bask for much less time and had better coloration appetite and energy levels I don't know from personal experience with just a Dhp but to supplement with mine and she loves the middle of her tank I just had a great past week. So sitting under it here and there may have attributed to that. Unclear though, these deep heat projectors are a hot topic right now I'm starting to realize.

 

[Rubble1212]

Arcadia John thank you for your work. I belong to reptileforums.co.uk and Arcadia John has a wealth of knowledge and you can really learn a lot about DHP’s on that forum. He’s the creator of them and if you PM him he’s really helpful to ask setup questions but he’s super smart and very technical so some of the things he talks about are way over my head!

 

[Longfellow777]

I'll check that out. He actually has wrote me back through email arcadiareptiles.com awhile back he is very friendly and passionate about reps

 

[Badwolfe]

You can't really go wrong with the DHP's. I love them because they are none light emitting, and they produce much higher levels of IR-B than the incandescent equivalents. This means that the spectrums they produce penetrate much deeper into your reptile and therefore are more effective at warming them up quickly and deeply. This is one of the reasons that they can be used at lower wattages because the are so efficient. I like to keep my light levels as stable as possible and find them much more natural than using MVB's or halogens because they aren't subjecting my dragon to varying light levels constantly.

My girl is absolutely thriving under hers. Her appetite is very enthusiastic, she poops regular as clockwork and all food is fully digested. She was 8 inches when I got her at the start of January and she's now approaching 12. She is alert and active and shows all the normal behaviour that is typical of dragons and doesn't need to spend all day just sitting under a basking bulb.

 

[Beansbanana]

You can't really go wrong with the DHP's. I love them because they are none light emitting, and they produce much higher levels of IR-B than the incandescent equivalents. This means that the spectrums they produce penetrate much deeper into your reptile and therefore are more effective at warming them up quickly and deeply. This is one of the reasons that they can be used at lower wattages because the are so efficient. I like to keep my light levels as stable as possible and find them much more natural than using MVB's or halogens because they aren't subjecting my dragon to varying light levels constantly.

My girl is absolutely thriving under hers. Her appetite is very enthusiastic, she poops regular as clockwork and all food is fully digested. She was 8 inches when I got her at the start of January and she's now approaching 12. She is alert and active and shows all the normal behaviour that is typical of dragons and doesn't need to spend all day just sitting under a basking bulb.

@Badwolfe I was just wondering what she acts like? When you say she doesn’t spend all day under the basking bulb, does she move around most of the day or what is her behavior like?