Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone use radiant heat panels for bearded dragons? I have quite a few laying around and thought about using them with a UVA/UVB light strip instead of a light strip and heat bulb. I wanted an opinion first before I did it. I can't imagine it would cause a problem but just wanted other opinions.

Thanks =)

What kind of radiant heat panels do you have? Remember you need a basking spot and an ambient temperature. I use a heat panel in my Iguanna cage to control the ambient temp. but still use bulbs to create a basking spot.

I wouldn't recommend these at all for bearded dragons. Unless your room temperature drops below 65F at night consistently, it isn't worth using these.

A single UVB tube doesn't produce enough intensity of light and that is what bearded dragons cue on to find a warmer spot to bask. The brighter the light they know its warmer so go high when they need a hotter temp. If the light is not intense enough they often think its winter and brumate.

I am also not certain these panels are designed to get to the higher basking temps bearded dragons need and only stay on 14 hours at most. They will need to be on a thermostat that can produce a day temp and a night drop temp as well. I know these are available for snake racks but tend to be a little expensive. If you already have everything you need then you could set it up but I suggest using a double florescent fixture so you can have one UVB tube and one full spectrum natural light florescent tube (these are quite bright and light up the cage nicely. I use this arrangement for my own dragons, but have a separate heating bulb)

However, it probably be less work and problematic to just use standard bulbs for basking temps.
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PHLdyPayne