Congrats on your first beardie! They capture your heart very quickly, they have more personality and are more affectionate than most other reptiles. So you guys are in for a really great, loving pet.
The thing that people who have had other reptiles in the past don't seem to understand about bearded dragons is how much their lives literally depend upon having proper and adequate UVB lighting for 12-14 hours every day, having a proper temperature gradient inside their enclosures with 3 distinct and correct temperature zones, and having proper and adequate supplementation with Calcium and multivitamin powders.
Bearded dragons have very specific UVB requirements, and unfortunately 95% of the UVB bulbs available that are marketed for bearded dragons are inadequate, not strong enough, and some actually cause severe eye damage. Without proper and adequate
UVB light your beardie cannot absorb any nutrition, specifically Calcium, and cannot make vitamin D3 which processes Calcium. People buying the wrong
UVB bulb is the #1 cause of illness, permanent disabilities, and death in beardies, and it's usually the result of pet shop employees not having a clue what they are talking about. Most if not all coil UVB bulbs cause eye problems, and most coil and compact (regular lightbulb shaped) do not emit the proper wavelength or the adequate strength
UVB light for a beardie. The most appropriate UVB lights for beardies are the long, flourescent tube UVB lights, that require a long, flourescent tube fixture, that usually must be mounted INSIDE the enclosure and not on top of any type of lid (
UVB light does not penetrate glass at all, and metal mesh lids can block up to 50% or more of it). Only a T5 High-Output UVB tube can be set upon a mesh lid and still penetrate through it (not glass). So there should be nothing between the UVB tube and your beardie on his basking spot. His UVB tube and his basking light should be right alongside each other so he gets both of them at the same time while on his basking spot, and the UVB tube must be not only mounted inside the enclosure, but it must also be the correct distance from the basking spot, based on what UVB tube you have.
We recommend the Reptisun 10.0 (never a 5.0) T8 UVB tube at 8" away from the basking spot at a minimum, the Reptisun 10.0 T5 High-Output UVB tube at a minimum of 11" away (can be on top of mesh lid), or the Arcadia 12% UVB T5 tube (UK and Australia typically). There are few other UVB lights that are appropriate for beardies. The T8 tubes must be replaced every 6 months, the T5 tubes must be replaced every year.
You need a digital thermometer with a probe on a wire to be able to not only get accurate temperature readings, but also to be able to measure the basking spot temperature. Those cheap, round, gauge thermometers are usually off by up to 20 degrees, and you cannot measure the basking spot temperature with one. So $10 at Petco or PetSmart will get you a digital probe thermometer. You must place the probe on the area you want to measure, allow the probe to sit there for 20-30 minutes, then read the temperature, and you must do this every time you move the probe. You should have 3 different temperatures that need to be checked for accuracy often, as without correct temps your beardie cannot digest his food, and cannot cool off when necessary.
Cool Side temperature: between 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit maximum
Hot Side temperature: between 88-93 degrees Fahrenheit maximum
Basking spot temperature: between 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit maximum for babies and juveniles, between 98-103 for adults
Also, as far as basking bulbs go, beardies see in color just like us, and any colored bulbs can really cause issues. You're trying to recreate natural sunlight, so no basking bulbs that are blue, red, green, yellow, etc. Only basking bulbs that are bright white or clear. You can use regular household halogen lightbulbs and regular household INDOOR halogen flood bulbs that you buy at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. No need to buy expensive basking bulbs at the pet shop, they are the same thing. And absolutely no lights on at nighttime at all! It disrupts their sleep, they need total darkness, and any colored nighttime bulbs are really disruptive. Their nighttime temps should drop just like they do naturally, so as long as his enclosure stays at 65 degrees Fahrenheit he needs no nighttime heat source, and most people don't need any nighttime heat source. If your house does get really cold at night and his enclosure drops below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, then you should buy a low wattage Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE), which emits only heat, no light, and screws into a regular lightbulb fixture.
. He is about 3 months old. I have had Chinese Water Dragons in the past, so I know some on what needs to be done for lizards in general. While I am still learning about bearded dragons as a whole I am open to any information, advice or anything else any one would like to tell me. Thank y'all for providing this site with all this great information! (I would input a picture if I knew how to lol)
