new beardie owner

[Sheldon & Tori]

hey everyone, my better half and i picked up a 6 month old beardie at the calgary show and half of his tail and under his chin is all black.......does this just mean he is cold or what? we have a 150watt heat lamp on there for him (he's in a 65 gallon aquarium) which i thought would be more than enough heat.......i have another 150watt heat lamp but i'm concerned that it might be too much heat.......anyways, if you could let me know what that black coloring is that would be great!

thnx,
sheldon and tori

[tHeGiNo]

It means he is upset, which of course is suspected with all the stress it is going through with travelling and a change in environment. Are there any lizards he can see? This too can be the problem. A black throat normally indicates an upset dragon, in most cases because it sees another dragon or lizard.

[tHeGiNo]

Also, you should invest in a digital thermometer - guessing temperatures is never a good practise. However, to gauge the temperatures, if he is spending all the time under the basking spot, chances are it is too cold. On the other hand, if he is spending most of the time on the cool side, it is likely too hot.

For interests sake, temperatures for a young bearded should start at 115F. Use the above method to suit your dragon accordingly.

[sexxie_cucumber]

I was at the Calgary show too! How did you all like it?

[Sheldon & Tori]

personally, i thought that the prices for most things were higher than at the edmonton show but then again i went to the edmonton show like one hour before it shut down so i'm sure people dropped their prices to get rid of most things......but other than that it was good to see all those nice looking animals! and that one giant chameleon! it was huge!

[Sheldon & Tori]

k, as for the beardie......i think the temp for him is ok because although he does spend a lot of time under the heat lamp he does move to the cooler side from time to time, but i'll pull my digital thermometer out of my incubator and check the temps in his cage........as for seeing other lizards, no he can't.......however, my girlfriend also has 4 cats and a dog that go in and out of her room........our kitten sat on top of the cage and tried pawing him a few times and he tried to bite the kitten.......it was kinda funny for us, but i'm sure it stressed him out a bit........we have since found a way to keep the cats off the top of the cage

[Kara]

Good for you two! I told you a beardie was the way to go:) And the Meller cham was amazing!!! Matt and I wanted her so badly but the price was more then we could afford. Glad you like the new addition

[Amy]

How did you find a way to keep the cats off the cage? Mine have been doing that and stressing my little guy out, but I dont want to put the cage 10 feet high....

[HeatherRose]

'Mist' your cats whenever they get on the cage :D

Works for me, mine don't go near it anymore.

[Amy]

Hahaha! I have no problem misting the cats! I did not even think of that...thank you.

Hopfully that helps.