# Bearded Dragon changing colors??



## Botjuuh (Nov 19, 2009)

Hi, I'm the proud owner of a Bearded Dragon female ^^
From time to time, she changes color 

Sometimes when I'm holding her, and almost always at night.


Why does she do that? ><
At day she's dark brown with red spots on her back and white stripes on her tale and limbs. At night, or sometimes when I'm holding her, her colors change. Her back is then lighter brown her red spots turn very light orange and her white stripes on tale and limbs turn kind of gray/brown.


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

Beardies change colour due to moods. A darker colour is angry the more colourful the better. Has she got lines on her stomach?

Could be to do with the setup whats your setup and temps??


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## Cheese (Mar 7, 2009)

Its to do with the heat she is receiving. They fire up when basking in the day then at night when there is not as much heat or when she is out of her viv the colours will dull down. She will also dull down when shedding.


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

yeah mines shedding at the moment and a work mate came round to see my reps and that tonight for the first time and he looked well rougth! Dark and scaly!


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## Cheese (Mar 7, 2009)

SteveCourty said:


> yeah mines shedding at the moment and a work mate came round to see my reps and that tonight for the first time and he looked well rougth! Dark and scaly!


Lol they pick there moments dont they. Bet he knew you had guests :lol2:


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## Botjuuh (Nov 19, 2009)

SteveCourty said:


> Beardies change colour due to moods. A darker colour is angry the more colourful the better. Has she got lines on her stomach?
> 
> Could be to do with the setup whats your setup and temps??



She does indeed have lines on her belly: black lines that go across.
Is this a bad thing? 

SETUP:
Sand with calcium/vitamin powder mixed in it, it came recommended in the shop where I bought my beardie. There's a half coconut shell with holes drilled in, for shelter (she's still a small beardie). There's a dried bananaleaf on wich she can climb to get closer to the heat/UV lights when she wants to. Temperatures are: at day 30° Celcius, at night 18° to 20° Celcius. There are also 2 small rocks she likes to crawl around, and one big flat rock where she often rests on. There's also a fake plant to follage to create a shadowed corner for when she wants to cool down a bit. there's a little shallow bowl with salad and a shallow drinking/bathing bowl with medium-temperatured water in it (which is enriched with a couple drups of liquid vitamins).

FOOD:
She eats salad at will, whenever she wants to she just eats it, it's there for her. Live crickets sprinkled with calcium powder are put loose in her tank. I always make sure there are aproximatly the same amount of crickets in there. When she's hungry she hunts for crickets. She never refused to eat, although somedays she eats fewer than normal.



Anything that needs improved or that needs to be cut out?
Please let me know


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

Calci sand isnt great can cause compaction.

Your temps are way to cold.

You need a basking area of around 40 and a cool end of about 27. A beardie relies on temps to process food and poo properly. This would explain the dark markings.

Do you have a basking bulb? If you do and cant get the temp you need in the basking bulb get a stronger one. 

Black lines on the belly is a sign of stress


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

Also fake plants in my opinion are a no go although alot of people have them. If eaten they can cause serious problems. I use Kiln Dried Sand available from bandQ pretty cheap. 

I use cork bark in mine as something to climb on and he can get under it if he wants although this shouldnt be encouraged dut to a lack of UVB. I also have a basking area with a piece of slate rising it up (Slate picks up heat and gives him a warm area). I also have a place for him to climb. You didnt mention you had UVB strip bulbs in there? You should have a bulb the length of the viv At a strength of UVB10


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