Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if anyone uses under tank heaters with their dragons? What are some of the pros and cons of using them? Thanks!!!

I have used one in the past and have found nor heard of any "cons" on this topic.

1, this gives the dragon a 24/7 heat source when you turn off the spot lamp for the night. Some people now use ceramic heat bulbs at night to keep their dragon warm. An under tank heater would be no different other than the heat would be comming from the bottom rather than the top.

2, my dragon sometimes goes to the bottom of the tank and digs a depression in the corner of the tank to sleep curled up in. I do not have an under tank heater, nor a ceramic heat lamp on to give him some heat while he sleeps, but I can imagion that he'd appreciate it none the less.

3, the only objection to your recommendation is that some believe in thermoregulating the animal in the sense of night and day. In that turning off all sources of heat at night would mimic the natural dropping of temps they would experience every day in the wild.

So all in all, a constant source of heat (via under tank heater or ceramic heat bulb) would cause no problems in my opinion. The only thing the extra heat would do it speed up his metabolism in that he'd eat more, and more often. But then again, he IS a bearded dragon!

Hope this helps.

~Nick

The only problem I would see with having an undertank heater would be that the beardeds sense heat through the tops of their heads, so things like heat rocks can burn their stomachs, so if you do use an undertank heater, make sure there's plenty of sand on top of it, or that it's in a spot where you know the beardie won't dig.

This is all stuff that i have read and been told....

BD's sense heat through the tops of their heads. They cannot judge temps through their belly and it can easily result in a burnt BD.

BD's do not need heat at night. They actually prefer it when temps drop to mid 70's to 70's and can handle temps as low as 60*

BD's and alot of animals dig to get AWAY from the heat. Mine digs under her rocks to excape the heat and rest in the shade. Adding a UTH would do the opposite of that.

From what I have read I suggest staying away from them.
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0.0.1 Aru GTP (Still in Debate)
2.0 Ball Pythons (Kurt the Snake ~ Frosty McFry)
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat (OogieBoogie)
0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa (NoFingers McGee)
1.1 Bearded Dragons (Saku ~ GracieJ)
0.0.1 Albino Ornate Pacman Frog (Jabba the Frog)
0.0.1 Ornate Pacman Frog (Hooter)
0.0.2 Emperor Scorpion (Cecil ~ Peoples)
0.0.1 Usambara Tarantula - (FBD - Fire Ball of Death)
2.0 House Cats (Bill ~ Ted)

And a partrige in a pear tree...

~!Bearded Dragon Custom Cage Design!~

BD's are Light LOVING creatures. They will go to the spot with the brightest light even if it is the coldest part of the cage. BD's love the light, dont deprive them of it by using a UTH.
-----
0.0.1 Aru GTP (Still in Debate)
2.0 Ball Pythons (Kurt the Snake ~ Frosty McFry)
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat (OogieBoogie)
0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa (NoFingers McGee)
1.1 Bearded Dragons (Saku ~ GracieJ)
0.0.1 Albino Ornate Pacman Frog (Jabba the Frog)
0.0.1 Ornate Pacman Frog (Hooter)
0.0.2 Emperor Scorpion (Cecil ~ Peoples)
0.0.1 Usambara Tarantula - (FBD - Fire Ball of Death)
2.0 House Cats (Bill ~ Ted)

And a partrige in a pear tree...

~!Bearded Dragon Custom Cage Design!~