First time Bearded Dragon Owner:

Question
I am a soon to be Bearded Dragon owner. I am currently trying to get all the facts possible about this animal before I committee to caring for one. I currently have a 36 gallon tank that I will be using for the baby i am going to purchase. It is a bit longer than a normal 15 gallon long, but also has a lot more height. I am planning on upgrading once the dragon outgrows that cage. I have a pretty good handle on the diet I believe, for both babies and adults, I am just having a few problems on the lighting/ UV that is required? What do you recommend for starting temperatures and lighting sessions for the youths? Also any tips or any basic information for first time owners is very helpful, thank you for your time. :)
Christine

Answer
Hello Christine,

Congratulations on planning ahead FIRST before bringing a new dragon home.  That will greatly decrease the stress levels of him or her which will help them to adjust much easier.
A 36 gallon to start, will be fine.  An adult will need at least a 75 or larger gallon tank later on.

The UV & lighting is probably the most important factor in keeping reptiles.  At the moment, there are not very many good UVB lights around here in the US.  The best one right now, is the Reptisun 10 fluorescent tube bulb.  Steer away from ALL of the Reptiglo UV lights, as well as ALL compact/coil lights.  While there are a few safe compact/coil lights that could be used, they simply are not strong enough for bearded dragons.  They degrade quickly & are a waste of money.  The Reptisun 10 tube bulb should put out good UVB emissions for roughly 5-6 months.  Then, it will need to be replaced after that.
Since you will have a little higher of a tank, you will need to make sure that he or she can come within 6-8 inches of it, to maximize the exposure.  If you have a screen top, try to mount it underneath of the screen since the screen will filter out approximately 30-35% of the UVB.  
If you use a fluorescent tube bulb, you can use a regular house hold light bulb for the basking light.  There is no need to spend $20 on a "special" reptile bulb.  Or, a bright white halogen flood light would work great also.  
The babies tend to like it hotter than adult.  The recommended basking temperatures are 95-110 on the basking side, with a cooler end of around 78-82.  You can use a temp gun or a digital probe to measure the temperatures to ensure that they are accurate.  The stick on types are not accurate for reading higher temperatures.  

Remember, no sand for babies, it is too much of an impaction risk.  I recommend non adhesive shelf liner, or paper towels initially.  It is much easier also, to get a plastic bin to feed him or her in so that you don't accidentally leave crickets in the tank.  

Let me know if you need other help.  

Tracie