Free Web Hosting : Free Hosting : Troubled Teens : Web Site : Report Abuse

Home Dragons for Sale Books for Sale Care Guide Links E-mail me

A Basic Care Guide for Bearded Dragons
 		2
 
Housing
 
Substrate
 
Heat & Lighting
 
Furniture
 
Diet
 
 
Questions? Comments?
click here to send me e-mail
Send me an e-mail
Heat and Lighting for Dragons

      When possible, the best source of heat and light is to keep the cage outdoors in the sunshine. Sunlight has excellent health benefits for your dragon. Your lizard will grow faster and become more colorful when kept outdoors. Also, sunshine will somehow help compensate for small mistakes in diet.

      Never keep your dragon outdoors in an aquarium tank. The heat will build up inside the tank and cook your dragon. You must use a cage made of wire outdoors.

      If keeping your dragon outdoors full-time during the summer is not possible, try to at least schedule some outside-time with your pet. Remember to keep your lizard away from dogs and cats, and avoid areas with lots of people who may not appreciate your pet.

Artificial Sunlight

      Indoors, a full-spectrum fluorescent tube should be placed over the length of the enclosure. This is an artificial sun substitute which is very important for these sun loving lizards' health and behavior. I am often asked what the best brand of full-spectrum tube is. After having used most of the major brands and some relatively little known brands for the past several years, I can say that in my experience, it doesn't seem to matter- they will all work satisfactorally for your dragon, as long as you offer a good diet with sufficient supplementation. That's not to say that some tubes don't produce more UVB than others, because some do. But my dragons have done well under every brand I have tried, and healthy dragons being the goal which is reached by any brand, I now shop price, rather than UVB percentages.

Primary Heat
      An incandescent light bulb should also be placed over one end of the cage. This is best mounted in a reflector, such as a clamp-type work light available inexpensively at most hardware stores. The bulb may be a "basking" type bulb made especially for lizards, a reflector type spotlight, or a regular light-bulb that you would use in fixtures around your home. I use the latter as they are very cheap and my dragons are healthy. The basking type bulbs made for lizards are usually marketed as "full-spectrum". This is sort of a misleading marketing ploy, as they do not emit UVB, the wavelength that is important for lizards' health. They do produce a more "natural" light that may have some psychological benefits for your pet.

Beneath the light a large rock, piece of driftwood, or similar item should be placed to provide a basking perch for the dragon. The temperature on the perch where the dragon can sit closest to the light should be around 97 to 105 degrees.
USE A THERMOMETER TO CHECK THE TEMPERATURE! The dragon's ability to bask in this temperature range when it desires is critical to the lizard's ability to digest food, remain active and happy, and for its immune system to function properly. Placing this location at one end of the cage, rather than the center, ensures that there is a temperature gradient within the enclosure. One end will be warm and the other will be cooler. This will enable the dragon to move about within the cage to find the temperature it needs to be at a particular moment. This is VERY IMPORTANT for the health of the lizard.

A NEW ALTERNATIVE! HEAT and FULL-SPECTRUM LIGHTING IN ONE! The Future of Lizard Lighting?

      There is an exciting new alternative for heat and light. There is a new kind of incandescent bulb that produces both heat and bright full-spectrum light. These bulbs may be ordered from www.uvheat.com. I have heard really great things about how lizards respond to these new bulbs- improved behavior, breeding, and coloration. Supposedly even shy lizards come out and bask under them, just like real sunshine. Light intensity is important as well as spectrum. These bulbs provide both. They are probably the best way to light your lizard indoors.The guy who makes these has agreed to offer you a 15% discount on your first bulb if you mention you heard about them from Lizards for All! That's a pretty nice deal, I thought.

Photoperiod
      The heat-light and full-spectrum florescent-light should be on 12 to 14 hours a day. At night no further light or heat is required as long as you keep your home at normalish room temperature. (Babies are OK, as long as night temperatures remain above 60. I keep adults outside at temps down to 50).

Supplemental Heat

      If the temperature in your home does get a bit chilly at night you may wish to place an under-tank heating pad at the opposite end of the enclosure from the heat light. Other good options include a ceramic heat element, or red or blue colored incandescent light.

      Never use an undertank heating pad, ceramic heat element or colored bulb as a sole heat source for your dragon. Always use an incandescent light bulb for the primary heat source. This makes a big difference in health and growth and behavior for the lizard.