How long can I keep a bearded dragon out its cage?

[Cassie8569]

People have said to me many times that you can keep them out as long as you want, but what about the needed heat and UV light? If they can be outside the cage for so long without them, why do they need them and why can they be without them for all day? Is it that you keep your home at a higher temperature? What about UV light - I find it quite confusing, please help

 

[Mrs. Tiggywinkle]

I don't know the technical answer but I do watch my dragon when he's out in the house and have noticed this: he likes the exercise and investigating things up to a point. Then he gets cold and goes off into a corner and gets sleepy. That's when I put him back in his home. I can only think that it's not good for him to be cold for a long time. My guess is that the dragons that stay out for long periods are in very warm rooms. So I think you have to judge for yourself on the timing for your beardie to be at large.
This is just my opinion and I'm no expert.

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

I think you should be able to keep them out as long as you want as long as you give them an hr of uvb before eating to get their appatite up, and 2 hrs after eating to digest. But if they are out, they need to be warm. A cold beardie goes back in his viv.

 

[stangbanger]

mine has spent 8 hours outside his viv on an extended vet visit and did just fine.

heres an interesting note - i saw a thread of a different forum, where several keepers (at least 4) had been owning and breeding healthy dragons for many many years with NO UVB at all, providing only d3 supplements via calcium powder dusting.....not that im advocating that, but it shows that surely a dragon will be fine without its UVB light for whatever period of time outside the enclosure if its important....im assuming this thread is about having to transport or something, not just getting them out for hours at a time to handle them...

 

[Cassie8569]

So I guess if my home is at a appropriate temperature, my dragon can be out as long as I wanted - or he wanted?

 

[ReptileAddiction]

I just put a basking light out above the ground and when she gets cold she goes under it. Mine lives sitting in the sun on warm days on the windowsill with the window open.