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8 wk old beardie not eating and not really basking.. Huge mistake by me and shop

428 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Azastral 
#1 ·
Hi all.. I made a huge mistake and trusted a shop on what I needed, even though I researched it and had a different list...

As a result I got the built wooden viv 4 days ago, and put beardie in... Last 4 days she's eaten maybe 5 worms per day... Yesterday I was told its likely because she needed a basking zone even though shop said not needed.....

I was running on just a ceramic at 35-37 and 12% d5 uvb.


Viv is wooden with glass front 120cm..


I put in a basking 75watt lamp at 10inches from rock basket and its surface is a pleasent 40.9.

My beardie keep jumping on grate of ceramic (am assuming she think it will get hot).

I have moved her a few times and she's enjoyed a bask and then eaten a single worm...

How best do I transition her from the now cool ceramic side to the basking side....

Am worried a bit if the.none eating lasts more than a week.... However she's very happy and is shedding skin on her legs and often comes to glass(not panicking) but like to just lay on me.. So I am assuming she's OK...

Any thoughts would be most welcome.
 
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#3 ·
Take the ceramic bulb out completely.
The guard on it and builb dont need to be in there, should never have been within reach of the animal anyway to jump on.
With a basking platform under the light emitting basking bulb, she will just go to it and bask under, let her get used to the setup.

As was said in the other thread, youll need to have some sort of stone in there for the basking area and it should be raised (the basking lamp fitted into the roof of the viv). You want a surface temp of around 42C to 45C which you will need a IR Temp gun to read (costs about £10/£15 off Amazon)
The basking bulb should be on a dimming thermostat, put the probe in the viv and remember you want air temps of around 24C to 26C (no higher really) in the far cool end. Balance the viv by adjusting the thermostat so you get that basking temp, the prob would usually be in a few inches off ground level and away from the sides of the viv. You can position it towards teh middle/cool side and make an adjustment, give it half hour to settle and see what temps are.

Dont raise the basking platform too close to the bulb, absolute minimum of 25cm pref 30cm, and no way for the animal to jump to the bulb (so no branches coming in close to the bulb that it could jump across from).


If the cool end is correct, but the basking surface is a little under, raise the surface. If the cool end is below 24C and the basking platform is under, increase the temp on the thermostat. If the basking platform is too high but cool end is under, lower the platform. Etc etc
The cool end can be under 24C, which is unlikely given the viv dimensions, but dont let it be above 26C if possible. If you can get a nice 42C basking and the cool end is 25/26 you'll be fine.
 
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