Hi!
I'm scratching my head trying to understand what I might be doing wrong but maybe I'm just overreacting.
Last night I've put the Bearded Dragon in his/her terrarium after making sure I got the (night and day) temperatures ok. I've followed the caresheet instructions to the T.

In the middle of the morning he was trying to get beyond the glass at the cooler side, scratching and rubbing quite hard, and it only calm down when I turned the temperature down a bit.
At lunch time he hasn't yet eaten any veggies, ignored the crickets and only ate 5 mealworms.
After that he fell into a deep sleep in the cool side and stayed for 3h until I couldn't resist anymore and wake him up just to make sure it was alive =)

So here are the temps from the caresheet:
- ambient temperature: 90-95 Fahrenheit | 32-35 Celsius
- basking spot: 100-110 Fahrenheit | 37-43 Celsius
- cooler end: 75-85 Fahrenheit | 23-29 Celsius
- night time: > 70 Fahrenheit | > 21Celsius

Here are the temps I've been using due to the described behavior:
- ambient temperature: 82-85 Fahrenheit | 28-29 Celsius
- basking spot: 91-95 Fahrenheit | 33-35 Celsius
- cooler end: 80-84 Fahrenheit | 27-29 Celsius
- night time: > 75-80 Fahrenheit | > 24-27 Celsius

Here's also a pic of the terrarium (w: 19.6" x h:12.2" x d:10").
Bearded Dragon is in the left bottom corner and as you can see, thermometers are not high.

So, is this behavior normal? Can it be stress? Do they sleep a lot during the day?
What are the common signs of under and over heated terrarium?

Thanks! =)
Ricardo

Attached Images

terrarium.jpg (15.6 KB, 8 views)

um.........wheres the UV?

I would put the temps back to where they were and leave them alone. Fluctuating them is not a good idea. Reptiles frequentely stress over coming into a new enclosure and act a bit weird. It takes them a few day to settle in and get used to things. Many times they will not eat for couple of days.
They also have a bit of trouble understanding the concept of clear glass. They think if they can see through it they should be able to walk through it.
Just leave him alone and give him a couple of days to get used to things.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Boyblue, I've ordered a ballast by mail. It will arrive tomorrow. Before I brought Bearded Dragon home on Sunday, I asked in the store and they told me that a few days without UVs it's not a problem. Today is only the second day without UVs.

Merlin, I'll put them back again. But what is the "normal" behavior? Periods of hyperactivity mingled with periods of deep sleep?
We mammals slow down to cool off when we overheat and tend to accelerate when we are cold. What about reptiles?

A couple of days without UV isn't going to be a problem but you do need to get it on them asap.
Mammals are already generating their own body heat which stays at a pretty constant temperature. Reptiles don't. Reptiles will speed up with warmer environmental temps and cooler temps will slow them down and make them sluggish. However this is NOT a manner of behavior control. Reptiles instinctively know what temperature their bodies need to be in order to function properly, thus the reason for establishing a temperature gradient across the enclosure. This allows them to move from one temp zone to another to regulate themselves.
Babies are more active and a lot of scurrying around will result in them tiring and going to rest. Adults are not quite so active.
Relax! Your Bearded Dragon's behavior sounds totally normal.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Thanks! =)
Much more relaxed now... I mean me! =)

ive also heard that those temp gages you have dont always work, they can be off by 5-10 degrees. you shoud get one of those with an lcd screen that tells u the highs and lows of the day(is that one in the middle?).

Also, is the red light your daytime light? If so, you need to get a brighter one. When it is dark they tend to get confused and sleep. He may be stressed and that is why he is not eating.

I definitely agree with Merlin to leave temps as suggested. Lower temps make it hard to digest food.

__________________
MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

Boyblue, item #2 on my list is a digital thermometer.

Marsha, the red light is an IR heat lamp. I have a little spot lamp on a timer right beside the terrarium for the photoperiod. In the morning there is also some sunlight from the window but at in the late afternoon, that little light might not suffice.
Tomorrow when I install the UV lamp, I'll put some proper daytime light.

Ricardo do not place the tank where direct sunlight can shine on it. The glass walls will allow the sunlight to quickly build up heat to a dangerous level.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!