Husbandry of Beardies

Question
Hi there,

I've had my beardie for over a year now and I was wondering which brand/watt of bulbs are the best to use and which site you get them from. (UVB, basking, and night time) I have frequent problems with the bulbs burning out, or not producing enough heat. Also, would you use an under the tank heating pad, or something else for extra warmth?

Thanks a million!
-Danielle

Answer
Hey there, Exo Terra is usually a widely used brand for bulbs. I had used that brand for years without any problems. Drsfostersmith.com is a good site to buy your bearded dragon needs. Also a site I used often for many years to get things from husbandry to food. Depending on the height of your enclosure I would shoot from around 75 to 100 watt bulbs. I usually had the short sitting 100 gallon tanks for each of my bearded dragons. Usually I found that the 75 watt bulbs were better for the night while the 100 watt bulbs were better for the daytime, the UVB bulbs I would usually buy would normally be about 75 watts. Make sure you have the correct lamps as some should only be using 75 watts while larger ones can use 100 watts. Of course its normal for bulbs to burn out after months of being used. If you live in an area where the summer heat can get pretty intense and your home also does I would consider cutting down on the daily heat lamp use if the temp in the enclosure is high enough for your beardie. Hope this helps! Before I forget, back then I used heating wire that was buried under the sand to keep them warm but found it was a huge waste of time and unnecessary. Also many people find that heating pads can make it too hot and can cause burns on your bearded dragons. So avoid the heating pads.