Bearded Dragon Lighting at Night (A Comprehensive Guide) (2024)

FAQs

What light should be on at night for a bearded dragon? ›

Bearded dragons do not need a source of UVA or UVB at night. As such, you'll want to turn both their heat lamp and UVB off at night. Leaving these bulbs on will make your beardie think it's still daytime and can seriously disrupt their sleeping schedule.

Luckily, your bearded dragon won't suffer any serious health consequences from one night with the lights on. But, the lights will probably disrupt their sleep schedule for a few days. Putting your lights on a timer can help regulate this process and prevent you from making this mistake again in the future.

Turtles, tortoises, bearded dragons, iguanas, and chameleons are some common examples of reptiles that need UVB light. This helps prevent animals from developing hypocalcemia (or lack of calcium). UVB lights should be kept on during the day and turned off at night and should be used along with calcium supplements.

Leaving a light tube on at night in your beardie's habitat is a bad idea. Bearded dragons need a completely dark room to get a good night's rest. Leaving a UV light for beardie on for heat at night will also raise the enclosure's temperature too much, making it difficult for your beardie to sleep.

Your vivarium should mimic the natural heat and light pattern of your bearded dragon's natural environment, and since the temperature in the outback drops after dark, your bearded dragon needs a cooler temperature at night. This means you can turn off your heat lamp at night.

Beardies in the wild receive ultraviolet light and heat from the sun on a daily basis. In order to best mimic the ultraviolet light in an indoor enclosure, high ultraviolet (UVA and UVB) output light bulbs must be used. 1 Fluorescent bulbs and mercury vapor bulbs are the two sources most commonly used in the pet world.

(Outdoors, make sure it's designed to be used outside, and that it's safe from wind and weather.) Out of sight: Try to avoid using the lamp overnight or when you can't monitor it, and make sure there is a working smoke detector nearby.

If your heat bulb is only providing a hot spot for basking and there are under tank heat mats, ceramic heaters, hot rocks or similar providing a general warm background temperature then, yes, it probably can be switched off over night.

During the summer months you should provide your bearded dragon with a minimum of 14 – 16 hours of daytime light and UV exposure and 8 – 10 hours of nighttime exposure. During the winter months the light cycle should be decreased to 10 – 12 hours of daytime light and UV exposure and 12 – 14 hours of nighttime exposure.

My house is cold too, and I lost a beloved herp to hypothermia once. Your beardie will be fine with temperatures as low as 15 Celsius, as long as it's only for a few hours. Alternatively, you can buy a heater that looks much like her lamp, but emits no light.

How can I keep my bearded dragon warm without a heat lamp? ›

Place hand warmers or heat packs in a sock and place the sock near your dragon (make sure they don't touch your dragon though, or they could burn her). Keep your dragon wrapped in blankets and use your body heat to keep him warm. If you are able, take your dragon into your car with the heat on high until she warms up.

If your home drops below 15°C (59°F), as mentioned above, then some supplementary overnight heating is required to keep your Bearded dragon warm, although if your home remains above this, then you do not need to provide heating overnight.

Heat pads and panels provide a warm area in the terrarium where reptiles can remain if they need to increase their body temperature. They should be placed on one end of the terrarium, which will allow the far opposite side of the terrarium to remain cooler.

Bearded dragons are diurnal and sleep up to 12 hours daily. People often ask if bearded dragons are nocturnal or diurnal. These reptiles are diurnal, so they are active during the day and sleep at night, similar to humans. If you have a bearded pet dragon, it will be awake during the day and rest when you do.

For the rest of the habitat, I recommend 76 degrees F at the cool end and the hot end should be around 86 degrees F. At night, the temperature, in the cool side, should be in the low to mid-70s.

Though bearded dragons usually sleep lying on their stomachs, there are many other positions some may use. In the wild, some bearded dragons will sleep up in a tree, vertical position.

Allow at least a 30 cm / 12″ distance between the lamp and basking surface to prevent direct contact with the Bearded dragon.

Lighting is pretty simple; the main two lights you need are the heat lamp and the UVB fluorescent tube fixture. The heat lamp is the easier one to set up; you can buy the reptile heat lamp fixtures at pretty much any pet store. You need a fixture with decent coverage for your tank, a "sun dome" type fixture works well.

How Long Can a Bearded Dragon Go Without a Heat Lamp? Bearded dragons can survive 24 hours without a heat lamp, so long as their habitat remains above 65°F. They need warmth to survive and remain healthy so any longer than 24 hours without a heat lamp poses a significant risk.

Every reptile or amphibian species has different heating requirements and always need a warm-side and a cool-side during the day and at night. This helps them regulate their temperatures appropriately so they can be happy, healthy, and active!

What happens if you leave a lamp on all night? ›

Leaving lights on when you are gone is not only a fire hazard but also increases your electricity bill. Lightbulbs can become very hot and if not used properly can ignite a fire.

Standard lux readings in a home are around 300-500, but in the evening and during the hours before bed, it should be less than 180.

Based upon current research, the best suggestion is to use bright, cool tones during daytime hours to increase alertness. During the darker, evening hours, when melatonin production and secretion is vital, switching to dim, warmer tones of lighting may create some benefit for sleep.”

Stay Away From Combustible Fuels

Seeing as a heat lamp bulb's temperature can reach over 480ºF, both of these are a concern. A 24-inch minimum distance is a desirable rule of thumb for bedding, walls, and ceilings.

Bearded dragons need UVB exposure in order to stay healthy, but too much UVB can cause a number of symptoms. These can include eye damage, skin lesions, lethargy, and loss of appetite. If you notice any of these symptoms in your bearded dragon, it is important to reduce the amount of UVB exposure they are receiving.

Like humans, bearded dragons are diurnal: they are awake during the day and they sleep at night. In their natural habitat, they are used to being awake when the sun is up and falling asleep when it is dark outside. For most people, this means that your bearded dragon should be sleeping when you are.

Bearded dragons typically prefer temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything below 75 degrees Fahrenheit is considered too cold for bearded dragons and can lead to health issues such as metabolic bone disease and respiratory infections.

Bearded Dragons are omnivores in the wild!

However feeding whole pinky mice and not ones that have been cut into pieces can also be a very healthy addition to a bearded dragons diet as they do naturally eat whole prey in the wild.

If your bearded dragon stops eating, don't despair as this doesn't mean they will die. While it mostly depends on the age, health, and weight of your pet, the fully-grown dragon can usually live for three weeks and sometimes up to two months without eating.

You should turn off whatever lights are usually on in their enclosure at nighttime to simulate light changes during the day. Some bearded dragons enjoy sleeping in hammocks, on blankets or rolled up t-shirts, or in their very own bed. Others will use a log, a hide, or a layer of sand to burrow in and feel safe.

What is a safe alternative to a heat lamp for reptiles? ›

A ceramic heater is another alternative. These units screw into a light socket and provide warmth. Once again, make sure you have a protective cover over the enclosure, such as a screen. Under-tank heating pads and heat strips are yet another option to provide heat.

Bearded dragons simply do not need ANY light at night, red or otherwise. Like any other light, this red light will also end up disturbing their sleep. Remember that bearded dragons can see (and sense) extraneous lights, so you would do best to turn them off completely.

Heat Mats for Reptile Vivariums

Heat mats are a popular choice of heating as they are cheaper and more efficient to run than most other heating systems.

Use a heat lamp to create basking areas for the bearded dragon. Basking areas are where the bearded dragon will lay, or perch, during daytime hours in order to receive heat and ultraviolet rays just as it does in the wild. The higher the wattage of the heat lamp, the greater amount of heat it produces.

Ceramic heat bulbs are one of the most widespread and energy efficient ways of heating reptile enclosures.

When a bearded dragon reaches its thermal maximum, it will often sit with its mouth open. This behavior, called gaping, shows that the lizard is at its optimal temperature for basking. This gaping will allow a bearded dragon to dissipate extra body heat.

Let your beardie soak for about 15 – 20 minutes. Once bath time is over, gently pat your pet dry with a soft sowel. This is very important! If he's still damp when you put him back in his tank, the substrate may stick to him.

Like humans, bearded dragons are diurnal: they are awake during the day and they sleep at night. In their natural habitat, they are used to being awake when the sun is up and falling asleep when it is dark outside.

Do I turn off the heat lamp at night? If your heat bulb is only providing a hot spot for basking and there are under tank heat mats, ceramic heaters, hot rocks or similar providing a general warm background temperature then, yes, it probably can be switched off over night.

Bearded dragons simply do not need ANY light at night, red or otherwise. Like any other light, this red light will also end up disturbing their sleep. Remember that bearded dragons can see (and sense) extraneous lights, so you would do best to turn them off completely.

What temperature should a bearded dragon tank be at night? ›

The nighttime temperatures should drop to 72°F (32°C) to 80°F (26°C) within the enclosure. If the temperatures drop below this after turning the heat and light sources off at night, you may need to use a heating device that does not emit light to supplement heat.

If they huddle together under the heat lamp, they are too cold. If they scatter away from the heat lamp and avoid the area directly under it, they are too warm. If they are evenly and randomly spread throughout the brooder, they are just right.

Do Bearded dragons need heat at night? The simple answer to this question is that it depends on how warm your house is. In nature, the temperature drops naturally overnight, and this drop in temperature can be quite dramatic in some areas.

Several studies suggest that light exposure at the wrong time can disrupt circadian rhythm and potentially impact your health. When your circadian rhythm is off, you can end up in a vicious cycle. You can't sleep well at night, and you feel tired and in need of a nap during the day.