Hello, I'm new to the bearded dragon community. So far from what i've researched on this website, you all seem to be extremely helpful in aiding people with their beardies, keep it up!
Alright, here's my current situation. My name's Dan, I have a baby bearded dragon named Axel (we think he's a boy, hard to tell...5-6 weeks of age approximately, measured 6 1/10 inches today from nose to tail tip), just picked him up last week. Before making my purchase I did many hours of research on this site as well as all over the internet on caresheets, equipment recommendations etc. To start off, here's my current setup:
Zilla 40 gallon long breeder tank
Repti-glo 10.0 UVB 18" bulb (Have a reptisun 10.0 on the way)
Zoo Med 100w Basking bulb in a 150w fluker's lamp.
Reptile Carpet
I was using analog stick-on thermometers, and just got my zilla digital hydrometer/thermometer in today. I wanted to wait to address this issue further until I received my new thermometer to ensure accurate temperature readings. My main concern is that the current temperature on the warm side of the cage as well as at the basking spot is not warm enough. The hot side sits at about a steady 88 degrees, with the tank's average humidity sitting at around 34%. I wanted to ask some advice on how to raise this temperature to the proper 100-110 degrees, I've heard of a few ways.
My options are currently buying a ceramic heat emitter, buying an exo terra heatwave under-tank heater, or simply upping the wattage of the basking lamp. I was also told I could craft a divider in the cage, making the temperature rise that way as well. However I don't feel crafting a divider at this point would be worth it, seeing as after I remove it the temperatures would go back down.
My concern is that Axel's appetite is low, and I'm positive its due to low temps not aiding him with proper digestion. He's eating about 15-20 crickets per day, where I hear they can eat much more. He's doing fine right now, he does seem a bit on the less motivational side. I definitely need to address this issue and correct it soon, I want him to be as healthy as possible. Could anyone that has experienced this problem offer any suggestions? Thanks!
Alright, here's my current situation. My name's Dan, I have a baby bearded dragon named Axel (we think he's a boy, hard to tell...5-6 weeks of age approximately, measured 6 1/10 inches today from nose to tail tip), just picked him up last week. Before making my purchase I did many hours of research on this site as well as all over the internet on caresheets, equipment recommendations etc. To start off, here's my current setup:
Zilla 40 gallon long breeder tank
Repti-glo 10.0 UVB 18" bulb (Have a reptisun 10.0 on the way)
Zoo Med 100w Basking bulb in a 150w fluker's lamp.
Reptile Carpet
I was using analog stick-on thermometers, and just got my zilla digital hydrometer/thermometer in today. I wanted to wait to address this issue further until I received my new thermometer to ensure accurate temperature readings. My main concern is that the current temperature on the warm side of the cage as well as at the basking spot is not warm enough. The hot side sits at about a steady 88 degrees, with the tank's average humidity sitting at around 34%. I wanted to ask some advice on how to raise this temperature to the proper 100-110 degrees, I've heard of a few ways.
My options are currently buying a ceramic heat emitter, buying an exo terra heatwave under-tank heater, or simply upping the wattage of the basking lamp. I was also told I could craft a divider in the cage, making the temperature rise that way as well. However I don't feel crafting a divider at this point would be worth it, seeing as after I remove it the temperatures would go back down.
My concern is that Axel's appetite is low, and I'm positive its due to low temps not aiding him with proper digestion. He's eating about 15-20 crickets per day, where I hear they can eat much more. He's doing fine right now, he does seem a bit on the less motivational side. I definitely need to address this issue and correct it soon, I want him to be as healthy as possible. Could anyone that has experienced this problem offer any suggestions? Thanks!