Hi, my beardie is about 10.5 inches long. It is summer time here. He wakes up at around 7am and typically begins to put himself to bed sometime between 5pm and 7pm. So he is typically awake for 10-12 hours a day. Is this enough time? I have his lights on a 13.5 hour schedule (7am to 8:30pm), should I change them? Everything else about him seems quite healthy. He is growing fast, having regular healthy poops, is active and alert throughout the day, likes his veggies (carrots and bell peppers are his favorites), and seems to enjoy being handled. Should I be concerned about how much he sleeps or is that relatively normal for young dragons? Maybe my dragon just likes to sleep?
I've always kept my beardie on a 12/12 light/dark schedule since he was a baby and he's been fine. If your beardie is acting fine there shouldn't be any need to change the sleeping schedule, usually they'll wake up when a light source is bright enough.
My lights have the following photoperiod in summer :
on 5:30am (about sun rise - they see the sun coming in through the kitchen window not long after sunrise) off 10pm
in winter
on 6:30am off 9pm
They quickly adapt to the photoperiod and are often seen having nap/siestas in the afternoon.