Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been researching the whole UVB lighting necessities of bearded dragons and have come upon rather controversial data. SO far, I have chosen to go with a 36" zoo med reptisun (I can't seem to find the appropriate light fixture for it, any suggestions?) Does anyone know how long the beardie has to be exposed to the light for it to actually have a beneficial effect? I am a bit nervous keeping on a light that emits ultraviolet radiation all day. Also, is it bad if the dragon stays awake at night? (I tend to be a night owl, even if I turn off his lights, the lights in the room sometimes keep him slightly awake...you know...he is in the sleeping position but his eyes are SLIGHTLY open). Does that mess him up?

The UVB-light doesnt actually provide very large amounts of UVB, so it should really stay on all day long, together with the other lights in your beardies' enclosure, unless you're able to get your beardie out in the sunlight quite often. If you're worried about yourself, don't be. The UVB-light doesn't reach very far.

As for the beardie being awake at night, yes, I personally think it's bad for him to be kept awake like that, although I'm not certain, just using common sense. Isn't it possible to dim the lights a bit around his enclosure? I have my beardie in my living-room, and keep lights on after she's gone to sleep, but I take care to turn off the lights that are near her enclosure. That's good enough for her, at least.

I'd keep the UV on all day, they don't put out nearly as much UV as sunlight. Don't worry about exposure to you, it's not enough to harm you and the glass filters out almost all of it, plus it only tavels about 18 inches anyway. As far as at night, you could always throw a blanket over his cage, that would make it dark for him.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

I remember reading somewhere that sitting under a UVB light for 8hrs only amounts to something like 1/2 hr to an 1 hr of natural sunlight exposure. Basically you should be more concerned about how much time you spend outside in the sun than if you were to have a Reptisun mounted over your computer.

Some BD's are more sensitive to ambient light than others when trying to sleep. I have one that will open his eyes if the TV is on in the room and another that will not open his eyes unless there is a lot of direct light over him. Funny thing about the heavy sleeper is he can be picked up and moved without ever noticing.