Lighting and heating for bearded dragons?

Question

Ok im looking at owning a bearded dragon and i need some help concerning heating and lighting. 1) i know they need a uvb light but is there any other lights needed? 2) can you turn the lights off at night and back on in the morning?(id use a timer if you can) 3) can you leave heat mats on overnight? if there is any additional info please say i wanna do this right because i love beardies and have only just been able to save my money to get one so any and all info welcome. Thanks everyone!

Answer 1

UVB made for reptiles, like a Reptisun 10.0 or Reptiglo 8.0 is best. Change the bulb every 6 months as they lose potency (even though they can give off light for a long time). Place it over the basking spot where the heat lamp is for about 12 hours a day. Timers work best for this so they can develop proper day/night rhythms. They do NOT need heat mats--they warm up from radiant heat (from above), not belly heat. The do not need heat at night unless the house temp drops below 60F. Dragons need a dark, cool drop at night for proper health. A red or black light will disturb their sleep. If you need heat at night, look into getting a ceramic heating element--gives off heat but no light. A regular household bulb, 75W or 100W in a clip on dome reflector makes a perfect heat lamp. Keep temps at basking spot at about 100F for an adult. Keep the lights at one end so the other side of the tank can be cooler (a temperature gradient is very important which is why they need at least a 40gal. breeder sized tank). Lots of good info here:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/home.html

Answer 2

heat from a regular bulb and uvb from a proper uvb bulb should be on 14 hours a day and off for 10, no need for a under tank heat mat, all beardie heat/warmth should come from above, like the sun, the aquarium should be completely dark and w/out heat overnight, or 10 hours, as long as the temperature doesn't drop below 65* F. thermometer w/ a probe is one of the most important things to have, for great advise bearded-dragons.com, they know their stuff! please do all the research before getting your beardie, they are great, but require time and money.

Answer 3

beardeddragon.org or beautifuldragon both have good message boards and care sheets. Bearded Dragons eat a HUGE amount of food in their first year. Please be sure you can afford the food. Order online is cheapest. You will need a basking spot and a good temperature gauge. As they need a constant 95-110 when the lights are on. Just read a lot of posts and care sheets and you should be ok. Beardies are very cool Lizards and very smart.

Answer 4

For my beardie I have the flourescent light that I turn on at 9:00 am and turn off at 9:pm, a basking light that goes on at 9 and off at 9, a night glow light and stays on 24/7, and a heated mat that stays on 24/7. It can be quite costly setting up the tank but once that is done, keeping and maintaining the dragon isn't bad. Now my money is spent on crickets, worms, and fruits and veggies. And replacing the bulbs but none of that is expensive. I love my beardie and he is definitely spoiled.
Enjoy him/her once you get it. They are so cute and friendly and I am NOT a reptile person but I can't go without one now. :-)

Answer 5

this is a good care sheet with proper lighting and heating info Good Luck!

And yeah you can turn the lights off at night

http://www.eastbayvivarium.com/caresheets/Beardeddragon.htm

Answer 6

nevertheless use your warmth mat and you desire a uvb 10 strip devoid of plastic or glass protecting the beardies viv so he receives each and every of the uv and not dissipated for the time of the canopy i might additionally get a a hundred - a hundred and fifty spot basking bulb on a thermostat so it keeps the viv on the wonderful temp