Basking light not staying warm enough?

[bubblez825]

Hey guys, I've been doing some research and found out surface temps in a bearded dragons basking spot should be around 105-115*F. Well, my heat lamp is keeping the surface temps around 92-95*F and is set at about 8" above her basking spot. I currently have a "soft white" 100 watt bulb in the heat lamp, but when i had the clear 100 watt bulb in it, the temps were about the same. I've tried using the search function, but all I'm pulling up is about UVB lights and using household bulbs, nothing about types of bulbs or wattage of bulbs to create appropriate temps... What can i do to increase her surface temp? what kind of bulb can i use, and how high above her basking spot should it be?

Thank you

~Emily

 

[eccentric_amber]

what kind of enclosure are you using? that really has a lot to do with it. We are using a glass with a screen top right now, in the winter I was having trouble with the temps in the tank. (everything was just a little too low) I used this purple board insulation and cut 3 pieces to fit the sides and back it worked perfectly. If you don't want to do something like that you might need to move the viv to a warmer part of the house. How old is your beardie? 115 would be a little high for an adult. 95-100 would be ideal.

 

[bubblez825]

I have her in a 40g glass tank with a screen top, but the basking spot is staying around 91-93*F with the screen lid on, so I have it off, with a towel across the top of the tank except where the heat and UVB lamps are. This keeps the temp around 95*F. My room stays around 80-85 degrees(or at least, stays that temp in the corner where my tanks are). My beardie is about a year and 2 months old. If she is okay at around 95* as an adult(for whatever reason, she prefers staying in her cool side of her tank anyways, it confuses me??), is it okay to leave the set up like this with the approx. 95*F temps in the basking area?

As for hatchlings/juveniles, what should the temps be in their basking spot? A friend of mine had a clutch hatch the past two days, and in about a month I'm getting one of the "kids". I will be keeping it in a 15g glass tank w/ screen lid until it gets about 5-7 inches long, then a 20g till about 10" then move it to a 40g. I'll be using a heat lamp and a UVB lamp, then a UTH on low(like around 75-85*F) during its first winter. Is there anything special I need to do for hatchlings involving heating?

 

[eccentric_amber]

Skip the the 15g and go straight to the 20gal till he/she is about 10-12inches. The 15g will probably not give you a good temperature gradient in your enclosure; you could get a greenhouse effect and before you know it everything is too hot. And then you'll have a dehydrated or dead baby. With a baby you want their basking temps 100-110 degrees.
Make sure you have a good way to mount the UVB bulb on the in side of the tank, I use command hooks they work awesome.

A really great care sheet that I trust whole-heartedly is the one on rio-reptile site: http://www.rioreptiles.com/info.html Cheryl is the owner of that site and also www.beardeddragon.co she is awesome and has help me a ton with my dragons deff. check those sites out. You will find any supply you need from the bd.co. Since I am throwing out sites check out this one too: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html very awesome colored coded food list.

 

[bubblez825]

thank you SOOO much! I'm definitely going to do my homework before I get the baby! (*links-bookmarked ) I'll keep it in the 20g for sure. The 15g can just be a storage tank I don't want ANYTHING to go wrong with this one! I randomly got a call early September of last year from the parent of a friend saying "hey are you home i have a late birthday present for you!" and came home to a 4 month old bearded dragon in a 15g tank with a heat lamp. I had to do my homework VERYYYYY quickly, and ended up with it having seizures and a dislocated knee(I'm guessing she jumped off of something when she was real weak) from lack of UVB, not realizing the heat lamp wasn't both UVB and heat(I was told it was, and I had no idea what a UVB light looked like so i trusted what i was told). Needless to say, after all that trauma, the baby is now a healthy active full grown female bearded dragon with a tremendous appetite! She runs and walks perfectly fine, but every now and then I'll see her favor her leg that had been injured. I just don't want to have to go through that again with another animal, and give this baby the happy, full, 100% healthy life it deserves

 

[lecko167]

I had the same problem with my Bearded Dragon, Bruce, when I had him in a 55 gallon tank. I moved him to a 40 breeder (so much more room) and I use a 150 Zoo med basking light. I tried Halogen lights and the like but I never could get the temp high enough.

Also, Bruce will not use the bathroom regularly unless the surface temp of his basking area is 100+. I've always been told 100-110 is only for juveniles and hatchlings, but it certainly works for my big boy.

 

[eccentric_amber]

So I tried going on the beardeddragon.co site and I think it is down right now.....I swear it exists lol keep the site and check back, there is a link to it on the rio reptile site