Does not need a heat pad....but needs a good UVB.
A reptisun 10.0 linear tube or an Arcadia 12% linear tube would be the best bet to battle MBD. You will need a light fixture. Or you could go with a mercury vapor bulb....which provides UVB and heat. They use a dome....be sure it has a ceramic base.
Also it would be a good idea to use calcium+D3 on all foods, live and greens. You could also try Phoenix worms, high in calcium.
Here are a few other tips for new beardie owners.
-Lighting: (UVB) Reptisun 10.0 or Acadia 12% linear tube lights are the safest choice. Or a good Mercury vapor bulb. Coil and compact UVB bulbs are known to cause health problems for bearded dragons, please refrain from using them. Same goes with other brands of linear tubes. You can use a normal incandescent light bulb for basking (clear or bright white), or a reptile specific basking bulb. Basking light and UVB should be on 12-14 hours per day. MVB bulbs should be placed around 18" above the basking surface.
-No night lights, use a ceramic heater emitter instead. If you can afford it, a light timer and a thermostat take alot of worry out of lighting.
-Lots of room to roam around. 40 gal breeder tank minimum for an adult. Young beardies grow super FAST! 1-2" per month in some cases!
-Feed 2-3 times a day. At 2-3 months old they should be eating 10-30 crickets (or other feeder) per feeding (as much as they can eat in 5-10 minutes). 30-90 a day! 80% protein, 20% veg.(THIS IS FOR YOUNG DRAGONS, Older dragons eat less protein and more veg.) Dubia roaches are a much better feeder for them, and are MUCH easier to keep (no escapes, live longer, can't climb, can't jump, don't bite...crickets will bite your beardie if left in the cage, smell 10000% better, don't make noise, less likely to have parasites, more nutritious). Small dubia nymphs are great for growing beardies.
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html <--- great nutrition chart!
-Dust feeders with calcium +D3 (5 feedings per week) and/or multivitamin (2 feedings per week). Phoenix worms are worth a try. High in calcium (no dusting)! Also look in to hornworms and silkworms. Great for adult beardies.
-Good greens: collard, mustard, dandelion. Squash is great too! Offer greens daily, even if they don't eat them, they need to learn. I have to mix in some arugula or cilantro to get ours to get the greens.
-75-80 degrees on the cool side of the viv. A larger enclosure will provide your beardie a much better temperature gradient, from cool side to hot side. They can pick where they are comfortable that way.
-Basking surface temp of 102-105 should be good for most beardies. Take temps with a digital thermometer with a probe. You can get accurate surface temps with a infrared temp gun, but a probe placed on the surface will work too. Leave the probe in for 30 minutes to get a good temp reading. A probed temp is usually about 5-8 degrees lower than the actual surface temp, so take that in account.
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Bath water up to about the shoulders, and warm, about 90 degrees. Beardies seem to like to poo in water, and should be pooping once a day. Do this at least once a week if your beardie isn't eating many greens. You can also mist beardies with a bottle sprayer when they are young to
hydrate them.
-Substrate: I would stay away from using sand, beardies might ingest the sand, which will cause impaction. Some use washed play sand with some success....but wait until your beardie is an adult. Never feed your beardie on sand, they will eat it. Repticarpet is a good choice, but can be annoying to keep clean. If you use carpet it's good to have two, so you always have a clean one. Sandstone/ceramic tiles are a really good choice, easy to remove and clean. They can also be baked to sterilize.
