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Bearded Dragon Lighting Requirements

Bearded Dragon Lighting Requirements

Updated on November 03, 2021
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Reviewed by Petco’s Animal Care
Education and Compliance (ACE) Team

Temperature and Lighting Requirements| Ultraviolet A| Ultraviolet B| Types of Bulbs| Recommended Bearded Dragon Lighting Products

Bearded Dragon

From beginners to seasoned enthusiasts, bearded dragons are arguably one of the most popular species of reptile. With their ease of care and fun personalities, no wonder they’re a favorite addition to any family! To ensure your bearded dragon has lighting that meets its health and wellness needs, let’s start by taking a closer look into UVA and UVB lighting in relation to the bearded dragon’s natural environment.

What lights do bearded dragons need?

Bearded dragons need 10-12 hours of simulated sunlight every day. Pet parents can use UVA and UVB lights in tandem to recreate daylight for their bearded dragons. There are different types of bulbs that can provide these types of light, depending on you and your reptile’s personal preferences, including incandescent, halogen and fluorescent.

In Nature

Bearded dragons are native to Australia’s warm and dry climate. They spend most of their day perched on a rock or surface, taking in the sun. The sun offers UVA and UVB rays, combined they aid in digestion and absorption while warming their body temperature.

Temperature and Lighting Requirements

Bearded dragons are happiest when they have thermal gradient in their habitat with the cooler end around 75 degrees, the warmer area around 90 degrees and a basking area around 100 degrees. Being diurnal, you’re going to want to give your bearded dragon 10-12 hours of “daylight” and 10-12 hours of rest with either no lights, red light, night light or ceramic heat emitters. It’s important to remember that since they’re in a warmer environment, their nighttime temperature shouldn’t fall below 70 degrees; if it does you should compensate with one of the prior mentioned night time bulbs types. UVB lighting is crucial to the health of your bearded dragon; you should be providing UVB in conjunction with your UVA or daytime heat bulb. Together the UVA and UVB will help imitate the sun, giving your bearded dragon the benefits from it to help live a happy and healthy life!

Ultraviolet A (UVA)

UVA – Provides heat, stimulates appetite, mating and sleeping; along with helping reptiles see the world more clearly. These bulbs come in many different colors to benefit diurnal and nocturnal reptiles alike.

Ultraviolet B (UVB)

UVB – Helps reptiles synthesis vitamin D3 and absorb calcium, crucial for healthy growth and development. It’s important to remember that a UVB bulb should be changed every 6 months to ensure the output of UVB is adequate for the reptile; the bulb giving off light is not an indicator that the UVB bulb is working correctly.

Types of Bulbs

  • Incandescent – Comes in UVA & UVB, the most common bulb used for heating and basking areas; coming in all shaped and sizes for any enthusiast’s needs.
  • Halogen – Comes in UVA & UVB, these bulbs are relatively new to the hobby compared to its older brother, the incandescent heat bulb. Halogen bulbs are more efficient, resulting in less energy consumption and come in a standard and mini size, which helps fit the needs of most reptile habitats.
  • Metal halide – Comes in UVA & UVB, this is a bulb can be very high powered and needs a ballast to work.
  • Linear Florescent – most commonly a UVB bulb, these are the longer horizontal tube bulbs that are common in the reptile hobby.
  • Compact Fluorescent – Comes in UVA & UVB, these bulbs are known for their coil design and smaller form, which helps save space!
  • Mercury Vapor – Comes in UVA & UVB, these bulbs produce a fair amount of heat so ensuring you have a quality lamp fixture is important.
  • Ceramic – very durable and offer a high amount of heat with little to no light immitted. Ensure the use of a ceramic lamp fixture as these bulbs produce high amount of heat. Use cation, the bulb may appear off so extra care must be taken when attempting to handle the bulb.

As temperature is a critical component to your reptile’s health, always be sure to have a working temperature gauge to monitor your heat source to ensure it is working efficiently and safely!

Bearded Dragon Lighting FAQs

Do bearded dragons need their lights left on at night?

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No, UVA and UVB bulbs used to simulate daylight shouldn’t be used more than 12 hours a day. Bearded dragons need dark so they can get adequate sleep. However, if your home drops below 70 degrees Fahrenheit at night, you will need to use a heat bulb that doesn’t emit visual light to help your pet stay warm.

How many hours of light do bearded dragons need?

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10 to 12 hours. This is roughly the same amount of time they’d spend basking in the sun of their natural desert habitat. Sunlight—real or simulated—is essential for bearded dragons to metabolize calcium and create vitamin D3, as well as regulate important biological functions. Any less will cause health issues, and any more will disrupt their sleep cycle.

Where do you put bearded dragon lights?

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Bearded dragon lighting should be placed at the top of your pet’s habitat or attached to a lid for even coverage. You should also position and arrange your lights and heat lamps to create two zones in your habitat: one that’s at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit for basking and one that’s at least 70 degrees for normal daytime living.

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