Reptile Cymru

If you are in the UK and ever visit Cardiff, in South Wales, consider stopping in to Reptile Cymru, a breeder and retailer, specializing in a wide range of captive bred snakes & lizards, and supplying all the equipment that you need.

RFUK

If you would like to be part of a UK community, why not join Reptile Forums, the UK's largest forums, where you can get friendly help and advice, or just chat to like minded people 24/7! Includes photo galleries, link directories and classified adverts.

Care Guide - Heating

The Pogona species come from various parts of Australia. The climate there is very different to here in the UK, so we have to create an artificial environment that simulates the natural one, in order for them to thrive.

In the wild, a bearded dragon will bask on a hot spot. This is produced by the overhead sun shining brightly and heating the surface. Large rock outcroppings get hotter than usual, and in the wild bearded dragons would perch upon hot surfaces like this.

This bearded dragon is basking on an artificial rock.
Photograph by R Percival

Heating

In captivity you will need to produce an artificial basking spot - this will be the hottest part of the vivarium, where the bearded dragon will sit and sun himself. The temperature of this spot can be increased with a large rock, or piece of slate, which will hold the heat, and simulate a natural rock outcropping.

Depending on the size of your tank, you will need a reflector bulb or a ceramic heat lamp. Ceramic heat lamps do not produce light, but produce greater heat. You can choose anything from 40W up to 250W to obtain the heat that you need.

We strongly recommend that your overhead heat source is controlled by a dimming thermostat - an appliance which will dim the electrical output based on the temperature detected in the tank, ensuring that the optimum temperature is maintained.

The basking spot should be placed to one side of the tank only. This will be called the "hot side". The other end of the vivarium will naturally be cooler than the hot side. This creates a thermal gradient which allows the bearded dragon to regulate it's temperature by moving from place to place. The hot side is simulating the nice sunny patch - the cool side simulates the patch of shade that the dragon moves to once hot enough.

Daytime Temperatures - Your basking spot should reach 100 - 110F for juveniles and 90 - 100F for adults. The cool side of the tank should be 80-85F.

In the night time the climate changes and a natural drop in temperature occurs. Bearded dragons being diurnal, will sleep throughout the night.

If you are using a ceramic heat bulb as your only heat source, you will need to adjust the temperature settings at night time. Thermostats which have different settings for day or night, and detect this time change automatically based on either a timer, or a light sensor can be used.

If you are using a light source for heat, you could consider purchasing a UTH (Under Tank Heater) such as a heat mat for the night time. This will need to be attached to a thermostat also.

Nighttime Temperatures - The Temperature can drop as low as 65-70F during the night.

Please note that this will be different if you are simulating the natural winter, which many pet keepers do not do. If you wish to read about winter conditions, select Care - Brumation.