Bearded Dragon Hatchling Care

Hi All,

Back in February, I bred two of my collector quality bearded dragons, something I have wanted to do for awhile, and now that my male is 18 months, and my female is 2 years, I decided it was the right time.

I froze the first clutch she laid because timing was off (COVID started and I got nervous about raising new animals).

I decided to keep the best looking eggs from the second clutch. We kept about 15 out of 32 good looking, healthy eggs in total.

I have read all the manuals, lots of resources online, and so for the most part I feel confident about caring for these babies. We rescue animals in addition to keeping our two breeder animals, so we have all of the necessary supplements (liquid calcium), medications, and items for care, even for babies that come out not as strong.

In total, we currently house 7 bearded dragons and are very familiar with them. Only two are breeders. The rest are pets or rescues.

However, this is still my first clutch of babies, so I’m nervous. I know there are always risks, but I want to give these baby beardies the best shot they have in life before they’re sent off to good homes.

The bearded dragons are now looking like they are about to hatch. In one of my two boxes, the eggs have all started deflating. This makes sense, as I’m at about day 60 and the temp range was 85-88 degrees consistently (I know 88 is on the high end, but blame the weird weather not me).

I have a question that all the prep in the world cannot seem to answer, and that is: what UV bulb do I use for the hatchlings?

I used to use T8s for all of my dragons. I recently made the switch in March to T5 bulbs. My dragons are doing so much better and thriving more under the T5 UV bulbs. The bulbs I have for the babies’ setups are still T8 bulbs. I’m wondering, now, if I should get some additional T5 hood lamps.

My set-up for the babies is 4 all-white rubber 18 gal
Sterilite containers. They’re tall compared to a 12 in 20 gal container. I’m worried that the UV won’t reach them from the T8 bulbs. I have tons of extra T5 bulbs. Should I get new T5 hoods for the babies? What are everyone’s suggestions.

*Also, any additional anecdotal advice on bearded dragon hatchling husbandry that people can convey would also be much appreciated, as I am new to this.

For example, I’d love to see people’s best practices and any neat tricks people have learned over the years.

Any tips or pointers would be amazing.

I have learned that there is no community like the bearded dragon community. Everyone is so nice and sharing. It has been a great pleasure to be part of that culture.

Hi there, if you could rig the t8 lights with wire so they hang down closer you could go with those. If not you'll be better off with the t-5's. How is your weather ? When I was raising babies they went outside all spring, summer + part of the fall at least 4-5 days a week for several hours. That gave them all the uvb they needed and their indoor set ups had just heat bulbs for that period [ for heat + bright light ] This is how I set mine up indoor, then a pic of them out in the kiddie pool.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29895/full
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29889/full

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29981/full

As they get bigger I have wire cages for them.

Thank you so much! Unfortunately in Northern California temperature is too unpredictable right now. It’s warm most days but gets kinda cool. Not sure it’s warm enough for babies. But thank you for the recommendation. Not sure with our lamps that we could rig the bulbs for hanging with wire. So I’m thinking I might go with the T5s then in this case. I just want to make sure they absorb a lot of calcium. Btw - how do you prevent your little ones from escaping through the wire?

Any day that is 70 and sunny is fine as long as it's not super windy. The plastic pool absorbs heat and you put various basking rocks, real or fake , and they absorb the heat as well. When the temp is over 75 or 80 you have to have shaded areas which you can create mottled shade using fake plants, trellis , etc. The wire cage is for babies that are getting bigger, in the 8" + range, they can't get through it. You can also use the totes they are being raised in to carry out in the sun. They hold heat well so again, you can put them out at 70 F when it's sunny. Here is one of my wire cages, I only have 2 adult beardies now so that's my 8 yr,. old boy Tigger in there.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29954/full

Or you can buy one online made for cats . :
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cat-Pet-Small-Animal-Enclosure-ABO-Gear-Happy-Habitat-Pop-Up-Mesh-Tent-Outdoor-/202691899606

It has to be at least 78F + sunny to put them in the screen cages.