New baby Beardie odd behaviour

[Lornaloula]

Hi I got my new baby Beardie home this evening and at first he climbed onto his basking log n sat in the middle of it when I checked on him an hour later he had climbed onto his lamp guard n was on the side of it with his mouth n tongue wide open!?
So I gently moved him back onto his log n put a drop of water on my finger near his nose n he licked it off
I've now turned his lights off for bed time
Was just wondering why his mouth was open like that and if anyone knows why he didn't just move away from his baskIng spot to cool down?
His temps are fine but the cool end is about half a degree too warm but that's all bit confused as to why if he was hot he thought sitting on the lamP guard would be a smart thing to do??
Any advice appreciated!!

 

[Germ]

Having the mouth open while basking is called "Gaping", is how a BD will sometimes thermoregulate their temps & is a common happening. I call it that they are just too lazy to move for a slight temp regulation.

I am guessing by your description, that you are using a wire cage to protect the Bulb. This should be no where near close enough where your BD can touch or jump to. BDs sense heat from the 3rd eye in the center of the top of their head & not very well, if at all, on their underside or tail. If it was on the cage, it could very easily burn itself without even knowing it. This is something that should be rectified ASAP, particularly now that you have seen that it will go there.

Pics of your setup would be very helpful in giving us all an idea of the situation, in order to offer helpful suggestions or advice..

 

[Lornaloula]

Yer that's what I thought so I moved him but am very scared like you say he may do it again the only way I could rectify this is if I remove his basking log as the viv is only small but he would still get enough heat even if he was on the floor basking (cos its only small) should I just move his log to the other side? I'll get some photos up in a bit!

 

[Lornaloula]

I'm using my iPhone not sure how to upload a file?

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

This link will explain and give you options for how to post pictures here.

http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/i...o-post-pictures-youtube-video-tutorials.5464/

 

[Lornaloula]

http://instagram.com/p/PmP_vJHUYr/
Hopefully the link works I've moved the log over to the other side now and he hasn't climbed up there yet since yesterday although he did climb up the thermometer wire near the lamp guard!
He hasn't eaten anything yet either, Ive left some veggies in there for him and offered him a cricket, I left the cricket in there about an hour but he showed no interest so I've taken it out n just left him (I figured he's still trying to settle in) how long can a 5 week old baby go for without food?
His basking temp is 106f and cold end 86.5f but can't seem to get the cold end any cooler he's just been sat on his log with his head resting down on it for the last hour

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

What are the dimensions of your enclosure? In the photo it looks extremely small to be housing your dragon in. Basking spot temp should be 110F and 80-85F on cool side.

 

[Lornaloula]

It's 2footx1x1 which is fine for his size I've read if u Put a baby in a huge viv he can feel insecure and it makes it trickier for catching food, I'm having a 4 foot viv made next week so when he's bigger n needs the space he can move in there,
If the basking temp was 110f his cold end would be too hot (I guess that's the problem with having a smaller viv) but the temps are not too far out so should this be ok? I read basking temps should be between 105-110 and cold end 80-85? Thanks for the replies!

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

That equals out to a 15 gallon tank...minimum size for a baby or juvi bearded dragon is 20 gallon and preferably 20Long...Also there is absolutely no reason that a baby cant be put in a 40 gallon breeder tank right from the start. Many people use these to begin with to save money and without any problems. The 40 gallon breeder is the minimum size recommended for adult bearded dragons. As long as the enclosure is not cluttered then a baby will not have any problems finding his prey.
In your current enclosure there is not enuf room to get the proper gradients set up. And as low as the basking light that I see is mounted in it it is going to be a constant worry that he will be on that wire guard possibly burning himself....At 12 inches tall the lights should have been recessed in the roof thereby making it safer and to be honest with that current set up I do not see a way to safely keep him in there.
If you will take some pics showing the inside roof of your viv and the outside top then perhaps I can make a suggest as to how to modify your lights until you can have your other viv built next week.