Baby Bearded Dragon will not Bask.

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

About 2 weeks ago I got a 9 Week old Bearded Dragon. We have him in a 20 Gallon Tank for now with paper towel for Substrate. For lighting we got the Hagen Exo Terra Solar Glo Mercury Vapor Bulb 160 Watt, which we were told by the breeder that would be sufficient for the basking light as well as the UVB. We are feeding him 2 week old crickets dusted with the Flukers Calcium powder along with some veggies and fruits as well. The Temp in the basking spot sits in between 104F and 110F. He has been eating about 6 crickets give or take a few 2 times a day and has pooped everyday as well. However he never sits under the basking light. He will come out to eat and sit out for about 5 minutes then goes to hide again. I'm getting worried. We have taken him out about 3 times since we got him and he was fine. Why won't he Bask?

ANSWER: Hello Leslie,

Congratulations on your new little baby, he must be very adorable.  
What type of thermometer are you taking the temperatures with, a stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?  
The Exoterra Solar Glo 160watt MVB is a good bulb.  However, it does have a distance requirement of at least 16-18 inches.  How close is it to him?  Unfortunately, mercury vapor bulbs especially of the higher wattages are not recommended for use in small tanks as they can be overbearing.  I recommend using them with tanks at least the size of a 40+ gallon.  
Can you upgrade your tank?  
How close is the Solar Glo?  
He definitely should be eating triple that amount, if not more.  Can you post a picture of the tank setup for me, also?  

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Tracie,

Thank you for getting back to me. I went to a local pet store today and they said the same thing about the 160 watt so I got a 75 watt with 10.0 UVB light instead. I just hope the poor little guy hasn't been cooked. We also have a Digital Probe for the thermometer. I also read something today that if we are using an MVB light not to use Calcium powder with D3 in it. Is that correct.

Answer
Hello Leslie,

Great, did you get the Reptisun 10 tube bulb I hope?  If you got the Reptiglo 10 then that is not nearly as good as the Reptisun 10 & it can hurt their eyes, too.  
Yes, if you use a mercury vapor bulb, they produce enough D3 on their own so when you use calcium, it should be with no D3 added.  
I am glad you are using a digital probe to measure the temperatures with so they should be accurate.
How is he doing today?

Tracie