Beardie New Owner Questions

Question
Hi Thea
I've just bought a 4mth boy beardie for my daughter and despite asking the shop to give me the best of everything it would need - after only 4 days, I'm fumbling about trying to put right everything they've did wrong.
First Q re Heating:
They put in a heat plague under the wood chippings. I went back and also bought a ceramic 100w basking lamp but I'm still not getting the heat in his tank that I should be. At best I can get in the 80 but this is in the hottest part!
Should I bin the plaque and just get 2 basking lamps?
Should I be leaving the plaque on all night? Not sure if I like the plaque now though - heard he might burn himself on it!
Second Q re Handling
In light of how concerned I am about him not having the heat he needs (going back to shop tomorrow to sort this out though!) should I be letting my daughter be handling him too much? OK when she's at school, but at the moment she's stroking him, or handling him every other hour? ie; will she be adding to his temp problem? Hands are washed after every handling though.
Third Q re Reptile sources in France
Do you have any info on where to get really good reptile items (crickets delivered, reptile carpet etc etc) in Brittany; France. Struggling a bit here with the rubbish shop and my local vet is mainly a cow, horse and dog man.
Any info greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Sharon, O.K, let's try to figure out why you are not getting a higher temperature reading, which you should be with those two heating devices. First, what kind of thermometer are you using and where is it placed for the reading? Many people, at the store's advice, buy one of those strip type stick-on thermometers that adhere to the glass wall. Those are influenced by the temperature of the glass and are not actually in the area that the animal will be basking so they do not give a true reflection of the basking temperature right under the lamp and over the heat pad. I advice people to place a good thermometer right on the ground under the light or to tape it to the basking area and get a proper reading, then remove it.
I was a bit confused as to whether you have a ceramic heating element which are flat ceramic discs that produce heat but no light or a (light producing) lamp in a ceramic based fixture. You should be able to achieve a 100F temperature with a 100W ceramic heating element but you may have to adjust the distance between the heater and the basking area a bit. If the heater is already on the top of the tank and cannot be lowered any further then the basking area can be raised. Beardeds are semi arboreal and will climb to bask. A piece of wood that allows your dragon to get slightly closer to the heat should work. I wouldn't toss the heat pad just yet,you may need it for supplemental heat at some point. Your bearded can cool down to normal room temperature overnight, a cooler night time is natural and normal.  I would suggest you get rid of the wood chips though. Any type of loose particle substrate can lead to intestinal blockage with beardeds, even the calcium based sands sold at stores. I would use newspaper or paper towel until you are able to get something safer like the reptile carpet.
It doesn't sound like you were advised about an ultraviolet light source. These are specialized fluorescent bulbs that produce ultraviolet B rays that beardeds would normally get from direct sunshine. The play an important role in the systhesis of vitamin D3 and the absorption of calcium. Bearded dragons should also have calcium added to their diet a few times per week, the frequency varies with their age. I have included the link to the bearded dragons care site authored by biologist Dr. Kathryn Tosney. I would really advise you to read through it to correct any misinformation you may have been given by the store.
I don't think you need to worry about your daughter having him out of the heat, 5 or 10 minutes every other hour will not harm him although if would be advisable to let him rest just after he has eaten. Feeding behaviour is one of the first things to be affected if a reptile is not warm enough so if your dragon is still eating well that is a good sign. Their feeding behaviour can also be affected by lack of light. If you heater is the non-light producing type you may need to add a second source of bright light to the enclosure.
I've included a link to a store called "Zooplus" in France which carries reptile supplies and to a second site in France that seems to specialize just in dart frogs but I thought they may be able to direct you to a cricket supplier. Good luck.


http://www.bio.miami.edu/ktosney/file/BDcare.html


http://www.zooplus.fr/shop/boutique_reptiles


http://www.vivaria.nl/supplies_online/supplies_online.html