Vivarium lighting is an essential part of your reptile s home.
Bearded dragon vivarium lighting setup.
To set up a vivarium for a bearded dragon start by purchasing a vivarium that is 2 feet by 3 feet by 4 feet in size from a pet store.
They need light to remain healthy and it needs to be spread evenly throughout the tank with a branch or rock that lets your bearded dragon get 6 8 inches from the light source to bask.
The other major purpose of bearded dragon lighting is temperature.
The vivarium and cabinet come with instructions and should take around 20 minutes per unit to construct.
Your uv light should be placed twelve inches from the floor of the enclosure.
Bearded dragon temperature requirements.
How far away should uv light be from my bearded dragon.
This is one of the most budget friendly and accessible pieces to any bearded dragon setup.
And when it comes to choosing the right lighting there are many different options available to you.
They mostly use locking screws so don t worry if you make a mistake it can easily be taken apart and re built.
Since you ll need to control the temperature inside the vivarium place it somewhere out of direct sunlight and install a uva uvb and basking light.
Your bearded dragon should receive around 14 16 hours of uv exposure in the summer months and 10 12 in the winter.
I particularly enjoy halogen bulbs as they produce steady heat and last quite a long time.
Bearded dragons come from the deserts of australia they need full spectrum lighting for 12 14 hours a day.
There are several ways in which the proper heat can be provided.
The bearded dragon tank.
You can absolutely use a regular bulb as a bearded dragon basking light.
Bearded dragons require a gradient of heat within their enclosure ranging from 95 105 degrees fahrenheit in the basking area to 75 85 degrees fahrenheit on the cooler side.
It helps to regulate your reptile s sleep cycle and mating habits and is good for their overall health and wellbeing.
According to what we can find in bearded dragon natural habitat we can conclude the best suited match in captivity is a desert type terrarium.
Humidity setup in a bearded dragon s tank.
Building your bearded dragon setup.
Note that not all features of a typical desert vivarium setup are appropriate for beardies especially the young ones.
Your enclosure should be a minimum of 4 ft 48 inches in length some leaflets or pet stores may say a juvenile bearded dragon may feel lost in a 4 ft vivarium this is completely incorrect when they are born in the wild they are not restricted to only 4 ft of rocky.
After you have set up the lights it is time to think about the humidity in bearded dragon s vivarium.
Just be sure the bulb emits white light only.
What type of enclosure should you use.