Friday, March 28, 2014

Lighting


Lighting Your Bearded Dragon's Home


UVB


How your bearded dragon's habitat is lit is critical to your dragon's health. According to Drs. Foster and Smith, your bearded dragon "requires a certain spectrum of ultraviolet (UV) light called UVB. UVB is necessary for your Bearded Dragon to make Vitamin D," so you will need to provide a UVB bulb in your habitat. These can be purchased online or at the pet store, and while multiple options are available, the generally recommended UVB bulb is the ReptiSun 10.0 Fluorescent Tube. UVB light cannot penetrate glass, so you will need a screen mesh top for your tank. Although some of these bulbs guarantee a year lifespan, they should be replaced every 6 months, or they will not provide enough UVB rays to promote a healthy bearded dragon.

Basking


On the hot side of your bearded dragon's habitat, you will need a perch for them to bask in an artificial "sun." Basking bulbs can be expensive at pet stores, but a regular house light at around 65-120 watts (depending on the size of your tank) will suffice, and they are far cheaper. You will need to ensure your basking bulb does not generate too much heat for your bearded dragon. Although we will get into the details of temperature later, your basking area should be around 105F.

Mounting Your Lights


You may need to purchase stands for your light sources to perfect the amount of light and heat coming into the habitat. Your UVB bulb should be around 12 inches away from your bearded dragons. You can also use lamp stands to adjust how much heat is reaching your basking spot.

Sources




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