Maintaining the proper temperatures in your bearded dragon’s terrarium is very important for its survival and health. A lack of adequate temperatures and improper basking zones for a bearded dragon enclosure may lead to detrimental conditions.
The bearded dragon may lose appetite, become lethargic, and ill.
Here are some tactics for creating proper basking zones for a bearded dragon.
Basking Zones for a Bearded Dragon
The most important area for bearded dragon heating is a basking zone. The temperatures in the basking zone should be between 90 to 110 degrees F, depending on the age of your bearded dragon.
These temperatures are obtained by using a special heat lamp bulb, ceramic heat emitter, or heating pads. There may be circumstances when a you will need to supplement terrarium heat. Use a combination of these devices in order to establish the proper basking zone.
Place an object for the bearded dragon to perch upon in the basking area. This can be a piece of driftwood, suitable rocks or stones, tree limbs, bricks, or commercial perches.
If you add items from outdoors as a perch for your bearded dragon, make sure it is chemical, mold, mildew and insect free. It is best to sterilize these items before adding them to the enclosure. You can sterilize them by using boiling water or baking in the oven.
Never place stones or rocks in the oven! Water build-up in the stone could explode. It is best to boil stones or rocks in water for about 10 minutes to sanitize.
Establishing Cool Zones
The end opposite side of the basking zone should be somewhat cooler to create a cool zone. The cool zone should be about 80 to 90 degrees F.
Cool zones are important so the bearded dragon can thermoregulate its temperature. If the bearded dragon becomes too warm while basking it can easily hop of the perch and cool off a bit on the other side of the terrarium.
Establishing a Temperature Gradient
The ideal environment when heating a bearded dragon habitat is one with varying temperatures throughout the enclosure. Ideally, you want the warmest temperatures to be in the basking zone, while slightly cooler just outside the basking zone.
The temperatures should gradually get cooler until you reach the opposite end of the tank at the cooler zone, which again should be 80 to 85 degrees F.
Creating a temperature gradient ensures the bearded dragon has an environment which best resembles their natural environment in the wild.
Monitoring Temperatures Within The Enclosure
In order to make sure you are achieving the desired temperatures in each zone, use a high quality mercury, or digital thermometer.
The best thermometers are ones that have a probe on one end with the read-out on the other. The probe can be placed inside the enclosure while the read-out is outside. A thermometer should be placed on both ends of the enclosure in order to gather readings from both the basking zone and the cool zone.
rocco says
You should do a picture to accompany this – including basking platform position and light bulb distance (different distances for different wattage), expected temperatures on the platform vs surrounds basking spot, ceramic lamp position (should night time heating be even over the enclosure and therefore in the middle?). just a thought, but of course stop being lazy and research thoroughly several other sources and combine the info!
Lucy says
Yes please. I agree!
Lucy says
Yes please. I agree!
Scott says
I going to get a beared dragon juvenile and I’ve been doing a lot of reading about them everyone has a different opinion on the care .I’m going to try to keep the cool end about 80 to 85 and basking end 95 to 110 is this correct? What is the best night time temptur. Could you please answer this question for me and should I put a hot pad on the bottom of the tank? Thank you
Scott
Will G. says
What kind of light can I use for night heat? I live in Colorado and even though my house is warm(70-75) I know I need to keep it a bit warmer at night. I have a heating pad but I don’t think that can maintain the temperature the beardie will need at night.