Natural Sunlight For Beardies

[TheLizard]

Hi I want to give my bearded dragon some natural sunlight but we have a lot of butcher birds and other predators around that I don't want swooping down and attacking the beardie, can you recommend a enclosure that will protect the dragon from predators like birds but also allow natural sunlight to travel in.

I will be minding the dragon outside, but I still would like a protective enclosure as some birds like pies and butchers can be very fast and eager.

I live in Australia so if you know anything I can buy in Australia, or any online stores that would be great thanks.
Cheers

PS: I am looking for something big enough for him to run around in but not too big. Hope that doesn't sound like a stupid question, my tank inside has proper lighting and heating too I just want him to have some sunlight and how much should he get per day? Thanks Heaps

 

[CooperDragon]

Natural sunlight is great for them so provide as much as you can (but allow access to shade as well). A lot of folks use playpens for children for outside time. You'd want to put some kind of protective netting over the top to protect against birds if you used that though. A dog cage may work well too. It would allow light through while being sturdy and protective against predators. Something like this with some stuff to climb on and hide in

 

[TheLizard]

Wow that's great, Thanks. I'm excited
Where could I get one of those cages, and how long do you recommend having my dragon out side each day and what temp is too hot for him.

Thanks for this.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm not sure where to find them in Australia, but I'd imagine most pet stores would have them. Even the pet department of your equivalent of the Warehouse should have something similar. If not, an online retailer could probably provide one. I'd go with at least half an hour of sunlight if you can. If you can provide more than that, great. Just make sure there is adequate shade and space in the enclosure to move around so that your dragon can self regulate and get out of the sun if it gets to be too much. They're pretty good at handling themselves if you provide them with proper gradients to do so. Do keep an eye on his temperatures and make sure it doesn't get much more than 100f/38c.

 

[Phoenix76]

Great idea!
My dragons love natural sunlight and being outside. It is possible that they can store the natural Vitamin D in their bodies because I think that birds and humans do. 15 minutes of sunlight is similar to 6 hours under a UVB bulb but even healthier.

However, when they are in sunlight their bodies can heat up fast through radiation. So I bring my dragons in when it gets between 80 or 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Half their outdoor cage is also covered with a weighted down towel for shade.

The type of cage I use is a 3-level welded-wire cage made for rats/hamsters/ferrets. It measures 30 inches long x i5 inches wide x by 30 inches tall. They also like climbing the ramps to explore different levels and I add fake plants for stress reduction.

I don't know how to post a photo