Hello, I have a bearded dragon named Toothless and he is about 18 months old. He loves to go outside and on car rides or sometimes he just loves to run around the house. His favorite food is collard greens with a couple of sliced blueberries. I was wondering, how many hours should he be under his light? I want him to get all of his nutrients but I also want him to be able to run around.
(also i have no idea how to place an image, so can somebody please explain that?)
Welcome to the forum! It's great that he enjoys car rides and running around the house. That provides helpful enrichment for them. It's also good that he enjoys his greens. At his age, he can eat mostly greens and veges. I'd offer as much variety as you can to make sure that he is getting the nutrients he needs.
He probably doesn't need a ton of time under his lights. Usually an hour or two in the morning to warm up at a minimum. You can set up a portable light or two outside of his tank so he can return to it and warm up when he's out and about. I have a setup that uses a regular halogen bulb for heat and one that is a mercury vapor bulb to provide UVB. My guy rotates between them as he sees fit and is free roaming for most of the day.