Hidey holes... Good or Bad?

[Scottishscales]

I was reading online about hides and I read a few times that they are bad for bearded dragons because it doesn't allow them to get the right amount of UV light if they use them frequently. I was wondering if having a hide was a good or bad idea for my custom viv I'm building. I want to include somewhere my beardie can go to get cozy or whatever but I don't want it to affect her health.

Any thoughts and suggestions?

 

[Katiema10]

Strange. I've never heard of no hides. My three year old loves to bask and hide equally, my five month old hides when he gets tired, and my girl loves hiding all the time. All of them are perfectly healthy, though. So I wouldn't worry about it. I think they like having the option to hide or come out. They do it in the wild just fine.

 

[CooperDragon]

You definitely want to include hides and shade areas. They don't bask constantly so it's best to set up an area of high heat and UVB, lower heat and some UVB, heat and no UVB (shade areas on the warm side) and lower heat and no UVB. By providing this gradient you will allow them to self regulate and get what they need. They move around the enclosure quite a bit and know best what they need at any given time. This guide that Taterbug made helps to demonstrate what I'm describing. https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/photogradient

 

[Scottishscales]

Thanks! I actually really like that site and it helped a lot :] i have a better idea of how im going to set stuff up now. Thanks again!