Should I keep the basking light on after I feed at night??

Hey you guys! I've read so many forums from this site about beardies! I've had my Glaedr for about a year coming April. I have yet to see a post on what I need to know about feeding and lighting ? so my question is...

Should I keep my beardie's basking light on after I feed her at night? I work from 4pm - 10pm sometimes 4pm - 11pm and I usually come home and feed her then turn all her lights off because I am going to sleep at that time. The tank stays around 65° - 75° at night and my room stays between 75° - 80°. I have a heating pad on the outside of her tank right by her hammock. I just was not sure if turning the basking light off would mess up her digestion or if she just needs the warmth to digest her food. She seems fine but the only thing is she has not pooped in about a day or two and her belly is really fat. I was thinking about feeding her a small piece of a prune. Please Help!!! Need advice!

Also, I'm not sure how to post pictures! Please help with that as well ??

What time do you turn on the lights?
Generally beardies should be fed two hours before the lights go off so they can fully digest their food and not have it sitting in their stomach all night slowly rotting away.

How many months old is she currently?

65-75 for night time temps is good, just make sure it doesn't go lower than that and if it does you may want to invest in a CHE (Ceramic heat emitter) to keep the temps up, although dont let it go above 85 or so.


To post pictures go here, https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/
Upload a picture, then come back and hit the XIMG button to select it.

It would be good to get shots of her, the tank setup, the lighting setup ect.

I turn the lights on around 10:00am. This is Glaedr ?

She is currently 10 months and she is very mellow. That is why I am having trouble seeing if she is okay or not behavioral wise.

Hello! Unfortunately, I spot a few problems that will need to be changed ASAP with your setup.

#1: What sort of UV bulb do you have? The only really recommended one in the US is the ReptiSun 10.0 t5. If you don't have this, I would look into buying one! Amazon seems to have the best prices.

#2: Is the dial thermometer we see in your pics the only way you are taking temperatures? If so, and I'm sorry to say so, those things are horribly wrong, and can be off by as much as 20f! Please look into either a IR temp gun or probe thermometers.

And for your original question: beardies lights need to be on for at least one hour (preferably 2 or more) before lights out. This allows them to completely digest their food, otherwise they may regurgitate it, or simply have problems digesting it. I would invest in a timer for your lights, which you can find for less than $15 usually, which will automatically turn the lights on and off for you. I would have the lights come on maybe at 9, then do a feed at 10-11, and another one (If necessary) at 3-4. I wouldn't wait until AFTER you've come home from work.

Can you feed her earlier in the day? Digestion is pretty slow (4-24hrs for food to leave the stomach) somits nit going to rot or anything, but really is best when the animal is warm and their metabolism is up and active. She is a big girl and if she is getting two feeds a day still you might be able to switch to one day time feeding, or make the day time feeding larger than the night feeding.

If your turning lights on at 10 AM and then off at 10 or 11 PM thats only about 12-13 hours, personally I'd go with 14 hours of light unless your beardie is a full grown adult, its burmating, your trying to get it to burmate, and its winter. (Personally I see 2 years of age as full grown)

I'd feed her earlier in the day if you can, and if you cant, leave the lights on for about 2 hours more, that'll make it 14 hours of light which is good and she'll be able to digest her food.

She does need 2 feedings for least a couple more months so make sure you feed her twice a day, you can go with a single feeding once she turns 12 months old.

I do agree with the other posters here, the setup has some issues definitely with lighting and you need to fix the feeding schedule.

Thank you all so much for all the advice. I will definitely get that UVB light and buy a timer to turn the lights on and off and a different thermometer. I really appreciate it this form is so helpful and so many ways. And thank you guys for taking your time to reply and help me out!! ❤❤❤❤

Np, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask, and we'll do our best to get them answered!