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There is always more to learn about taking care of a bearded dragon. Unlike dogs and cats, which people have been keeping as pets for tens of thousands of years, bearded dragons only entered the home a few decades ago.
So we’re still figuring out the best ways to take care of bearded dragons. Every year or so, it seems like new research comes out and helps us take better care of our pets. In this article, we’re going to cover a topic that might not be obvious to every pet owner: how to deal with seasonal changes.
Bearded dragons might need some extra help to regulate their body temperatures in the summer. We’re also going to cover some best practices for taking your beardy outside when the weather is nice.
Regulating a Reptile’s Temperature
If you’re totally new to owning reptile pets, one thing you might struggle with is the idea of helping them stay warm. Reptiles are all ectotherms (cold-blooded), meaning they use the heat in their environment to regulate their internal body temperature. They can’t sweat or shiver like mammals do- they need the sun to keep them warm and shade or water to cool them back off.
In your bearded dragon’s habitat, you will commonly help them manage their temperature by providing them with a hot side and a cool side, so they can move to regulate their own temperature as they need.
Remember - just because bearded dragons are reptiles doesn’t mean they just want to be hot all the time. Overheating can be deadly for beardies just like any other animal, and it’s critical that they have the opportunity to cool off, especially because they can’t do it with sweat.
How to Monitor Your Bearded Dragon Habitat’s Temperature
The best way to create a climate in your bearded dragon’s habitat is with a heat lamp. Features like hot rocks and heating pads can produce heat too directly, which can cause burns and irritation on your pet’s skin. Plus, beardies need both heat and full-spectrum light, which heating pads don’t produce.
The best solution is a mercury vapor light, focused on a basking rock on one side of your beardy’s enclosure. In order to monitor the temperature on the rock, you’ll need a laser temperature gun, which you can get cheaply online.
The daytime temperature on your beardy’s basking rock should be between 95° and 110°, never exceeding 115° F. The cool side of the habitat should be 77°-85° during the day. At night, you should reduce the temps to 55°-75°.
How to Help Your Bearded Dragon Cool Off
Keeping your beardy in these temperature windows is easy if you live in a climate-controlled place, especially in the cool seasons. But in the heat of the summer, it might be tricky to keep your basking area below the upper threshold, and the habitat’s temp cool enough at night.
For starters, when the temperatures spike, you are going to need to be more diligent about checking the temperatures in your beardy’s habitat. The easiest way to make tweaks to the habitat’s temp is to use a heat lamp attached to a thermostat, so you can change the intensity of the bulb manually. Tweak it until your basking area isn’t in danger of exceeding 115° F.
Keeping the cool side cool is a different challenge. You may need to move your beardy’s basking rock further to one side of the habitat to create a larger temperature gradient. You can also try adding a fan in the room where you keep your bearded dragon to keep the ambient temperature a little lower. You might also try adding a hide on the cool side of the enclosure to create an extra shady area where your beardy can beat the heat.
On hot days, you could also try offering a bath or misting your habitat. Reptiles often use water to cool off, but it’s important that you let your beardy choose whether they want to use the bath. Be sure to use clean water with nothing else in it. The temperature should be lukewarm or cool, but not cold.
If you decide to try misting, be sure to use a light touch (don’t spray everything to saturation), and watch the humidity inside the enclosure. We recommend this method only in drier climates. If you’re already fighting high humidity in your beardy’s enclosure, we recommend against misting.
Taking Your Bearded Dragon Outside
Some bearded dragons love going outside (provided the weather is good). This is a great opportunity for you to bond with your pet in a low-stress environment.
But, there are a few things to remember. First of all, remember that wild animals aren’t naturally “adventurous” the same way people are. If an animal has everything it needs (food, water, warmth, and safety), like your beardy does in its habitat, it won’t have any strong urges to venture out into the world. In fact, it may cause your beardy to get stressed, fearing that it will get scooped up by a predator.
So first and foremost, test the waters before you commit to any amount of time outside. Your beardy should be comfortable with handling if you’re going to go outside as well. Monitor your pet’s behavior and make sure it feels comfortable before you turn trips outside into a regular ritual.
Beyond that, we have a couple suggestions. First, make sure your beardy has access to shade, so it can regulate its temperature. You may bring it outside to find it loves basking in the sun, which is a huge green flag.
Next, limit time outside. Your beardy may enjoy being in direct sunlight, but eventually, it will want to get back to where it feels safe, which is its habitat. And last, make absolutely sure that your beardy doesn’t eat any wild insects. We have a whole article about the dangers of wild feeding, and it’s not worth the risk to let your bearded dragon eat anything you didn’t source yourself.