Not happy in the morning

[skip7]

Hello,

Our little fella is still not very easily handled like he runs away and does not like been held (wants off your hand) so we are slowly building trust by putting our hands in his home and giving him little pats and we let him put his front arms on our hand when he does not run through the day.

Through the day he does not flatten and show his beard at you But he does flatten and show his beard every morning when I turn his lights on and will do it when you just look at him until 2 hours after lights on. He also does it if he sees any bright coloured object outside his home. Is this normal?

 

[PatsyB]

They tend to flatten and go darker when they are warming their body and in the morning they like to stretch their beard out a little. Mine do that that all the time and it takes them a little while to get going in the morning too.

 

[skip7]

okay cool ,

have anther question he is scratching at the glass today about 3 or so hours after breakfast he started and has not stopped doing it all day I have given him a couple back pats that calms him down for a very short while then he is doing it again. I'm worried.

 

[skip7]

Okay seems it was to hot for him after doing more research into it the pet store told us to put the thermostat prob close to the basking log but online everyone is saying to put the prob on the cold side or in the middle and use the stat to keep the cold side at 29c and just move his basking log/rock closer or away to the light to get it at 38/40c is that the right info?

 

[PatsyB]

You need a temperature probe right in the highest spot of the basking area AND on the cool side of the tank. Those are the two temperatures that are most important to know.

He could see his reflection in the glass, maybe put a piece of construction paper on the inside bottom of the tank and see if that stops him. I have a male beardie that is 2 years old and he still does this every day. Nothing I do can stop him, he just wants out of his tank.

 

[skip7]

I have been using a Infrared Thermometer gun, but will check out the Thermometers with probes,

with the stat that controls the heat/basking light what's the best way to set it up as the instructions are very vague and what the pet shop said is different from what most are saying online.

would this info on the stats be correct?

 

[Hdrydr31]

okay cool ,

have anther question he is scratching at the glass today about 3 or so hours after breakfast he started and has not stopped doing it all day I have given him a couple back pats that calms him down for a very short while then he is doing it again. I'm worried.

Maybe he needs to go to the bathroom? Mine does that when she wants out as she will not poop in her enclosure..

 

[PatsyB]

The temp gun is perfect to use! I misunderstood when you send thermostat probe.

I don't use a thermostat. I just use a basking bulb. I would think you would want to put the probe on the basking spot because if the basking spot is the correct temp then most likely your cool end is going to be okay unless you have a huge long tank.

 

[PatsyB]

Are you using a bulb mercury vapor bulb? or a tube UVB and a basking light?

 

[skip7]

Are you using a bulb mercury vapor bulb? or a tube UVB and a basking light?

We are using what came with the viv

Using a mercury vapor bulb the brand is Exo Terra Repti Glo, and the basking light I can not remember the watt's as its not written on the glob might.

 

[skip7]

Yup it's definitely temp, I can't get the cold side to say cold with out the basking log going down to 33c.

1. I put the stat probe on the cold side set it to 25c and the hot side will not get over 33c.
2. I put the probe on the hot side and set to 35c his log gets to 38c but the cold side also gets up to 33-35c
3. I remove the stat and just run the basking light at mains his tank gets in the 40s (celsius)

How can I get his basking area in the 38-40c (would I just put something under his fake rock to lift his basking log closer to the light?) and his cool area cool. this is his current setup

 

[PatsyB]

You want the log to get to 41c and the cool side to get to 25-27c. Maybe up his log to get him closer to the light and lower the wattage in the basking bulb?

 

[skip7]

Done some changes while my brother gave him a bathe, I change the hot and cold side around, I put the stat's prob on the hot side but not under the light and have it set to about 33c and lifted his log up to get closer to the light and the log is now at 38c and the cold side is at 29c. It's better he has been sitting on the log with his mouth open since putting him back in. I'll keep monitoring and seeing how I can improve it for him.

Thinking it might be worth changing his basking area to something else that I can get a little closer and be really stable and change the light to a lower wattage.


If I was to put some plants on the cold side what's safe to use?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Lighting can be a challenge that's for sure I don't have any experience with the meurc bulbs. I know I have quite a few different watt bulbs that I can change out depending on the season and also was my trial and error on getting good temps I think most of us have a hand full of bulbs on hand lol I know for my I have a 55 gal tank and I had to play around with the distance away and close to the spot Izzy is the most to get good basking temps. What size is your enclosure? As that can be part of the equation that might be making things hard on you. In the last picture he looks normal they gap like that to regulate their temp as they don't sweat. Just make sure you give him hides on the hot and cool side so he can get away from the heat if he wants.
plants: just as long as he can't get any pieces of them off and eat them.

 

[skip7]

Moved some things around and got the heating pretty good now log is at 40c and cold side is at 27c

I think I know why he was not happy looks to be shedding scared the crap out of me as he was on his log going mental rubbing his face and swinging his tail is this right and is there anything I need to do other than mist him a little more should I bathe him more then 2-3 times a week while shedding?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Yea shedding can make them cranky especially if it's a thick shed. You can increase the bathing to every day to help loosen the shed. Be careful on increasing the misting inside the tank as that will increase the humidity