Bearded Dragon UTH

Question
QUESTION: Hello , i bought a undertank heater for my bearded dragons a few days ago and i was about to stick it under the tank when i realized that the bottom had a layer of foam. (the type in boxes when you ship things) Is it safe to use the UTH with the foam ? I also heard that the UTH is dangerous for beardies as they can burn their underside but i noticed many leopard gecko owners also use UTH's without causing any burns. Also one of my bearded dragons (about 2 inches not including tail) don't seem to be intrested in food anymore and doesn't seem to be able to stand up using it's front legs or back legs(it seems to crawl). I thought it was some sort of impaction but the beardie could still move all it's legs. And one of my other beardie (about 2 and a half inches not including tail) seems to have lost the tip of his tail. I think it was the other beardie who he lives with that bit him but now i think it might be tail rot. It seems to have healed but is tail rot usually very serious?
Thanks!

ANSWER: Hello Jen,

How many dragons do you have, & what sized tank are they in?
Undertank heaters are not recommended for bearded dragons because they do not have heat sensors on their tummies like geckos do.  So, they don't know to move until it is too late & they have gotten burned.  Thus it is best to use overhead heating instead, they do much better.
Are you using a UVB source?  If so, what type & brand do you use, a flourescent tube bulb or a compact/coil bulb?  Are you using a bright white basking light?  Are you supplementing calcium on a regular basis?
What are the the temperatures in the tank & what type of thermometer do you use to measure the temperatures?  A stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?
If you are housing 2 males together they will fight, or even two females can fight as well.  It is usually not recommended to house multiple dragons because of dominance issues.  Tail rot is extremely dangerous.  An infection will start & go unnoticed until it has traveled halfway up the tail.  Then there is a large portion of the tail that will need to be amputated to keep them from getting a major infection.  If you think the other one is biting the tail, you need to separate them as soon as possible.


Tracie

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

QUESTION: Hi. I have 2 beardies in a 10 gallon tank. I use the long tube kind (not sure what it's called) of UVB light and it says exo terra repti-glo 5.0 . I'm  not sure about the temps because when i bought the tank along with the beardies the salesperson didn't mention anything about a therometer. Which kind should i use ? The beardies are very young so i'm not sure about the gender but they seem to be getting along fine right now. When i first noticed the tail of the beardie it looked like half an inch of the tip was just hanging like that and it was brownish. It fell off and it seems normal, apart from being shorter. I'll seperate them as soon as i get another tank.
Thanks

Answer
Hello Jen,

Ok, they will get along for a short while, but, the 10 gallon is very small so you will absolutely have to upgrade to at least a 30 gallon for them to be comfortable.  Then, depending on their sex, they will need to be separated.
A digital probe or a temp gun either one are acceptable to use as a thermometer.  The temperatures are extremely important.  
The Reptiglo 5 tube bulb is very weak for a UVB light.  You will need to use the Reptisun 10 tube bulb is the best UVB light.  If they do not have adequate UVB lighting, they will not get enough emissions so they will have a hard time absorbing their calcium properly.  

Are you sure that the tip of the tail was not bitten by the tank mate possibly?

Tracie