Lights and Temperatures, Morning and Evening
A bearded dragon's day is run by his lights, so the log starts there: ultraviolet and basking lights on in the morning, off at night, matching the timer if you use one — and the sitter should record that they actually came on, because a failed lamp looks identical to a working routine until the dragon goes quiet. Add the basking-spot temperature and the cool-end temperature at a set time each day. Readings drifting down across several entries can flag a weakening lamp or a room that has turned colder, long before you come home.
Note where he spends his time, too: basking on his platform, flattened and soaking up heat, or hiding at the cool end all day. That position log, beside the temperatures, tells you whether the gradient you set up is being used as intended.
Greens, Insects, and Supplement Days
Food entries need separating for this species. The sitter logs the greens put in — what was offered, roughly how much, and how much remains in the evening — and separately the live insects fed, how many, and how eagerly they were taken. An adult dragon who ignores greens for two days but hunts insects eagerly is a different picture from one who refuses both, and a combined “ate fine” would hide which it was.
Mark which days are supplement days on the log itself, with what to dust on those days in the plain terms your sitter can follow, so nothing depends on them remembering a rotation. Cross each day off as it is done; a missed day noted honestly is easier to correct than a guessed one.
Stool, Shed, and Activity
Daily entries should cover stool — whether one was passed, and anything unusual about it — and any bath or soak you have asked for, with how he behaved during it. Note shed in progress, especially around toes and tail, and whether loose skin is coming away on its own. Record activity in a line or two: alert and watching the room, glass-surfing, sleeping earlier than usual, or spending the day in his hide.
Beard colour deserves its own mention in the instructions. A darkened beard during a brief disturbance is common, but a black beard paired with lethargy, gaping, or not eating is a reason to contact you the same day, and the log should say so in those plain terms.
The Message-You Threshold
Close the log with the escalation list: refusing all food for more than the window you set while also seeming lethargic, tremors or twitching, a limb being dragged, repeated gaping, or the basking lamp or heat failing with temperatures falling. Put your number, the vet's number, and a backup contact beside that list. Also tell the sitter what is normal for this particular dragon — his usual basking posture, his favourite greens, his grumpy hour — because your normal is the baseline every entry is judged against.
Through KinsLe's Care Pass, you can hand that sitter temporary, clear access to your bearded dragon's whole routine and key details for exactly the stretch you are away.