Switched to Reptisun, now cant get hot enough

[KendrickLamar]

Okay, I switched from the zilla UVB coil light to the Reptisun 10.0 tube light. Now, however, the basking temp is only 90 degrees, where it used to be 100 to 110. I am guessing that the zilla put off more heat. So what do I do now? We have a CHE but need a fixture for it, and there is no room to put it on top of the 20 gal tank.

 

[Gormagon]

You may need to up the wattage of your basking bulb to compensate for the drop.

 

[AHBD]

What is the wattage of the basking bulb, and you post a pic of your lighting set up ? If you have one of those dual domes you can just get another low watt [ 60 ] basking bulb to put where the coil bulb used to be.

 

[KendrickLamar]

We have it up to 100 degrees. I think the light near the window helps add a little heat, and I added the black light lamp (for night- we don't use it anymore but it adds heat). The basking lamp is 150 watt.

Ever since we switched to Reptisun I have noticed Kenny is a lot darker. We also added a plant which he loves to sleep on. Unfortunately this puts him within like 3 to 4 inches of the Reptisun bulb, which is on top of the screen. Should I move the plant to the side not under the Reptisun tube? He just loves this hanging in this plant.

Thank you for all your help. I literally spend all day reading about dragon bearded care, shopping for him, feeding him, watching him, worrying about him.... I am not getting ANY work done...lol. I know I probably need to relax, but after hearing about others losing their first beardie due to not knowing the correct care, I am so freaking stressed.

 

[KendrickLamar]

More Kenny pics- notice the darker color in the first pic.

 

[AHBD]

Ha, little cutie. It's easy to get anxious about everything with a new baby. So is there a dual dome fixture ....you say that you keep the black light on along with the basking light ? Please be specific. And no, he's not too close to the uvb, the screen dilutes the strength and he's not going to be there all day long anyway.

 

[KendrickLamar]

Ha, little cutie. It's easy to get anxious about everything with a new baby. So is there a dual dome fixture ....you say that you keep the black light on along with the basking light ? Please be specific. And no, he's not too close to the uvb, the screen dilutes the strength and he's not going to be there all day long anyway.

He has the Reptisun tube, the 150 watt basking light, and before we moved his viv back over by the window and got it to 100 degrees, I had the black light on there too, we initially only used the black light at night but we do not use it at night any longer. I took the black light off since it is at 100 degrees. Though I would like to get it up to 110 degrees.

He is still a lot darker than he was and that color started after we switched to Reptisun. Is this a good thing? I thought darker is not good.

 

[JessPets]

Hello, is that thermometer on the back of the tank your only source? if so, change immediately to a IR temp gun or a thermometer with probe. The one you have can be off by as much as 20º

 

[AHBD]

If he is a bit stressed [ showing darker colors ] it can be from moving the tank and/or putting a new fixture on top. It's not a actual health problem. How is he eating ?

And if you have another fixture you can use a small watt bulb, even a 40, to bump the temp. up if you need to.

 

[KendrickLamar]

He ate about 8 crickets yesterday and some kale. Today about 6 crickets and some kale. He seems to get full about after 3-4 crickets. But when he is hungry he goes wild when he sees the cricket cage. I think the crickets are slightly too large. I can't find small crickets anywhere and it seems most stores are out of them altogether!

I will see about getting a better thermometer.

 

[JessPets]

Try to buy them online. They are cheaper and you get the exact size you need

 

[KendrickLamar]

Try to buy them online. They are cheaper and you get the exact size you need

We will, though I am seriously considering going to Phoenix worms because cricket care and feeding, catching escapees, removing from enclosure, 3x's a day is very time consuming.

 

[JessPets]

BSFL are very good and easy

 

[KendrickLamar]

I found a bearded dragon shop within an hour of my home. The guy was very knowledgeable. They sell small crickets and small superworms so I am set for the next week. I feel a lot better. The guy was clearly knowledgeable and very loving to the dragons in his care. He even boards them for vacations. I bought a probe thermometer and better flooring. Looking forward to Kendrick growing into a big healthy dragon!

 

[AHBD]

Sounds good. I never use the probe thermometers, although they are highly recommended here people make mistakes with those as well. You have to leave the probe on the spot for a certain amount of time [ someone will tell you ] and then you have to guess if the temp. reading is from the actual object that it's leaning on. A large tank like that is easy to get the heat right, and dragons will go in + out of a hot zone as they need to except for very sick dragons who may not move much at all.

And that's good that you found small crickets....hopefully he won't snub them if you feed him the small superworms. That does happen with a lot of beardies.