Long time no see ...

[Jamie Tinkle]

Sorry , been so busy around here but I wanted to come post a thread and ask a couple questions . We have 2 beardies Spike and Soldier ( posted pics awhile back ) and Spike is so calm and nice and Soldier used to be but has grown very fearful , runs from everyone , jumps off everything . He also remains a darker color most the time . Now when we try to talk to him calmly and pet him or just show him we are nice in general he opens his mouth at us . In fear of getting bit , I just talk to him through his cage and not handle him anymore . Is there something I can do , or a reason his behavior has taken a drastic change ?? Also Spikes color is more the tan that you see , he too was dark in the beginning but is now much lighter. They seem to be around the same age and never housed together. I am guessing they are 3 or 4 months old , no clue how big they are at what age so purely a guess.

Second question , the lighting at the pet stores ( PetSmart and Petco ) are obnoxiously expensive and very confusing . I think we have the proper lighting , stays in the mid 90's at his basking area. And I too like another newbie thought they were supposed to have night lighting . Our house generally gets in the mid 60's at night at the moment but being from SE Texas it will be low 70's soon enough.Any advice or websites or local stores to get more lighting and fixtures would be greatly appreciated. We do plan on building custom enclosures soon. They are in what I would guess to be 40 gallon tanks ??? Bought them as a kit from PetSmart and it was the largest the sold . ( I know kits are frowned on , but we knew no better til this forum )

THANKS

 

[Jamie Tinkle]

OK going and looking at pics of other beardies , 4 months is probably to old , couple months is better estimate . Just a tad larger then what they sell in the pet stores.

 

[Jp]

Hello, Jamie. Glad you made it back for a visit So, you've got a feisty dragon on your hands, huh? He'll come around sooner or later, don't be shy, keep giving him his lovin. Temps in the basking area may be a little low, try a higher watt bulb to get temps between 100-105. No need for a night light unless the room temperature gets down to the low 60's.

 

[Germ]

Fixtures with porcelain sockets for heat bulbs can be found at most larger hardware stores or stores like Home Depot much cheaper than Pet Store prices, I use a chicken Brooder lamp on one of my enclosures that I found at a farm supply for like $20. The same for my UVB tube fixtures, all I use in all of my enclosures is cheap Under the Cabinet fixtures with the plastic cover removed & the bulb replaced with a UVB.

As far as heat bulbs go, any white or clear bulb of sufficient Wattage to produce enough heat to give the required temps will do the job. Personally I use everyday Halogen Floods, brighter\whiter light, more heat per watt, less power consumption, great heat penetration.

Are you providing UVB? Raising the basking spot may help bring the temps up.

 

[Jamie Tinkle]

yes he has three seperate types of light , now two because black lighting is not needed. One is a blueish tint bulb , believe it was referred to as a "day basking light " and a UVB 20w that came with the kit . He is in a 40 gallon with the wire mesh tops , and they are just placed on there not with the clamps because there is no where to clamp them. Pics coming .