Lost and Found Lizard

                    He looks very Majestic…   

WoW!!
Reading that shopping list, I just KNEW a 'free' lizard would bite you in the wallet.  Ha! 

Now, just wait for the electric bill for running a 100watt bulb 24/7 along with UVA and UVB bulbs...  I wonder if that heated pad under the tank would be less power? 

This reminds me of the 'free' parrot I rescued years ago.  I liked to watch reruns of 'The Andy Griffith Show'  Mayberry.  The opener is whistling.  The bird picked it up and every time that show would come on, he'd go nuts bobbing and whistling along until I covered his cage with a sheet. 

Long Live Prince Elfie!

WoW!!
Reading that shopping list, I just KNEW a 'free' lizard would bite you in the wallet.  Ha! 

Now, just wait for the electric bill for running a 100watt bulb 24/7 along with UVA and UVB bulbs...  I wonder if that heated pad under the tank would be less power? 

It didn't bite me in the wallet.  Got the lizard and the tank for free.  I spent ~$70 on stuff.  Much, much cheaper and much less hassle than the dog that the boy has been asking me about. 

-Allen

Yeah, I'm going to need another heat source.   It wss 60 last night, and the cool corner of the tank is only 70 with the heat lamp on over on the other side.  Is an under tank heater better than an overhead ceramic emitter?  Why or why not?

-Allen

When I had a BD I always had an under tank heating pad on 24/7. The tank was in front of a window in my bedroom to let in sunlight but would tend to get cold in the winter. Having the heater under the tank in the lowest spot in the tank so Nelson could lay on the heated substrate, and he would almost every night in the winter. One other option if the tank still seems to cold at night is a night heat bulb, sort of blacklight that emits very little light but a good amount of heat.

The whole heating thing can get crazy, on my 50 gallon tank I had 4 hoods (basking bulb, flood bulb, and 2 night heaters) and a dual 24" UVB strip, plus the under tank heater. Timers are your friend haha

There are also heat bulbs that emit no light, works more like the heating element in a fryer, but is encased in ceramic for safety. Only problem I had with them was it would put my whole bedroom in the high 80s, so only used it in the winter, lizard loved it though.

I always used a under the tank heater for Bearded Dragons, get one with a rheostat or some way of changing the heat level.  How are you monitoring the temps in the habitat?  I would suggest a infrared heat gun and monitor the temps where the beardie is laying, not at the middle of the habitat.   A ceramic heat emitter is also good. 

I always used a under the tank heater for Bearded Dragons, get one with a rheostat or some way of changing the heat level.  How are you monitoring the temps in the habitat?  I would suggest a infrared heat gun and monitor the temps where the beardie is laying, not at the middle of the habitat.   A ceramic heat emitter is also good.

I have a cheapy thermometer and a digital one with a probe.  I'm moving them around the tank, letting them sit for a hours or 2 and taking a reading.

Yup, I need more heat.  The cold side of the tank is only 70 degrees.  I put a towel over the tank, except around the heat lamp and it didn't make much difference in the cold side.  And that won't help much at night without any heat source.  I think I'll do an under tank heater next as it's only 17W vs much higher for ceramic heat emitter.  But even then, they are supposed to boost the tank temp by 5-10 degrees, and from everything I've read, it should be 80-85 at the cold corner.

Prince Elfie is super active today, tearing around the tank tossing his food everywhere.  It's amazing what a little basking under the heat lamp does for him.

-Allen

I prefer ceramic heat emitters. IMO, beardies LOVE heat and projecting it from above is more natural. I find that they also make it easier to manipulate heat different heat zones for your buddy.

A daytime hot spot in the 105 range is a must. IMO, this is best done by having a ceramic heat emitter up top with a piece of driftwood suspended diagonally so the lizard can get as close to the light as required. Something like this [random web image I found]:



A nice granite rock (absorbs heat but not too much like black might) under the driftwood in the hot zone provides another basking spot.

After a lot of trial and error, I ended up with a 150w ceramic heat emitter on the "hot side" of the tank in a 40g "breeder" size (18x17x36). Lots of people use them but I never trusted under tank heaters in any sort of higher wattage. I don't think lizards can sense if they're getting too hot and their skin starts to burn. For this reason, I also stayed away from heat rocks.

For actual day lighting, I went with just the UV bulbs. They should be sufficient. The fluorescents were the only ones around when I was a kid but the newer, mercury vapor, are supposed to be even better. The additional heat they give off could be a plus and I suspect they will penetrate deeper into the tank.

Timers are an obvious great way to working the lights. I would also add a temp shut off safety mechanism to prevent overheating if it's in your budget. Something like this is fairly reliable: http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/jbj-true-temp-digital-heater-controller.html

At night, you'll be ok if you stay between 65-75. An under tank heater will work here if you chose to use one. If not, grab one of those blue night lights. IIRC, beardies can see red and the red can keep them up at night.

It's good to hear that he's on a rampage. It's so interesting to watch them eat. They get so excited when chasing food. Mine would easily eat 2 dozen crickets (legs sometimes removed as this is hard to digest) a day and a pinkie (day old) mouse every other week. Wax worms are also a nice fatty treat.

What an effed up day (Jiffy Lube left my keys on the roof of my car and I lost them somewhere between there and home, took awhile to find them).  BTW, I missed my demo with Triak because of this fiasco.  So I went lizard shopping.  I decided to get a ceramic heat emitter instead of an under tank heater.  Something about sandwiching a heating element under the bottom of a tank just didn't feel right.  I got a 100W ceramic after doing some head math.  I'm running it next to the 100W light. About 4-5" off the ground it hits 103 degrees.  Sounds about right for when I get some wood.  Will bring the wood up a little higher and let Elfie choose his spot.  I'm profiling the cool corner right now, then will see how the ceramic does on it's own.

Got a few crickets while I was there and enjoyed the show for all of 2 minutes it took him to catch and eat 1/2 dozen of them, dusted with vitamin supplement.  He's now basking and digesting.

Elfie was even more active before I fed him the crickets.  Let him run the house a bit as I cleaned up some lizard shit, and he was off and running.

Have I said anything about how cool beardie pushups are?   

-Allen

Where the heck you been hiding Joe? Under a rock heater?

He looks really happy in that picture, Allen..

OK.  So with the ceramic 1/4 the way from one end and the heat light in the middle, I get 104 degrees 4-5" up from the bottom on a platform directly under the heat light. It's in the mid-90s right on the bottom under the ceramic.  And the far end is right around 80.

With only the ceramic on and all other lights off, it's in the low 80's on the heated end of the tank and right around 70 on the far end, and in the mid-70s in the middle.  The room temp will probably drop another 5 degrees by the coldest part of the night, so the cold end will adjust down a little I think.

It seems pretty good now for winter time room temps.  Probably won't need the ceramic on in the summer as my room temps will go up 10 degrees in the summer and the tank will adjust up as well.

Prince Elfie was super active at the height of the day, slowed down after eating in the evening, and went to sleep as the lights went off.

All is well in Lizard Land!!!

-Allen

If you want to see something cool watch the juvenile BD's in a large enclosure do the arm waving to each other, the subordinate BD's will leg wave to the dominant BD's so they won't be attacked.  Even then if they are not well fed some could end up with missing toes and feet.  I would not have two in the same enclosure with such a large size difference as in the video.  Not a good idea to have more than one male together also.