Bearded Dragon Care Guide

Housing

Enclosure Specifications 

• Minimum Size: 48in x 24in x 18-24in (122cm x 61cm x 46-61cm). 
• Enclosure Type: Stackable Phaiolozoo enclosures (available in multiple colors) are recommended for their modularity and ease of maintenance.

Lighting and Heating

• UVB Lighting: 
  • Bulb Type: T5 HO 10.0 UVA/UVB bulb
  • Replacement: Replace every 12 months to ensure optimal UVB output. 
  • Placement: Position the UVB bulb over the basking area to mimic natural sunlight. For specifics for your enclosure height, click here
• Heat Sources
  • Day Heat: 150-watt incandescent bulb.
  • Night Heat: 150-watt ceramic heat emitter (safer than incandescent bulbs at night).
  • Monitoring: Use digital thermometers (preferably ones that connect to your phone) to track temperatures on both sides of the enclosure. This ensures you’re alerted if a heat lamp burns out.

Warm Side Surface	Cool Side Surface	Air Temperature
108–113°F (42–45°C)	77–85°F (25–29°C)	72–99°F (22–37°C)

Basking and Enrichment 

• Basking Surfaces: Use a mix of sandblasted grapevine and basking rocks (which can also serve as hides).
• Enrichment:
  • Provide at least three hides (e.g., caves, cork bark logs, or commercial hides). 
  • Include climbing surfaces (e.g., cork bark, branches, or rocks). 
  • Offer digging opportunities (e.g., loose substrate or sand dishes). 

Substrate Guidelines 

Substrate choice depends on the age of your bearded dragon: 

• Baby: Use paper towels (easy to clean and safe for accidental ingestion). 
• Juveniles: Use paper towels (easy to clean and safe for accidental ingestion). 
• Adults: Sand (playsand, NOT calcium sand). 
• Seniors: Sand OR paper towels with a sand dish for digging. 
  • Sterilization: If using sand, bake it at 250°F (121°C) for 30 minutes to sterilize before adding it to the enclosure. Allow it to cool completely before use.

Humidity

• Maintain a low humidity level (30–40%) to prevent respiratory issues.

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Diet

Life stage / Weight	Insects	Greens
0-4mo / 5-50g	15-20 daily	daily
4-12mo / 50-150g	10-20 every other day	daily
12+ mo / >150g	10-15 twice weekly	daily

List of Foods 

Ensure food size is no wider than the space between the bearded dragon’s eyes

• Daily Greens:
  • Collard greens
  • Dandelion greens
  • Mustard greens
  • Turnip greens
• Staple Insects:
  • Dubia or discoid roaches
  • Crickets
  • Black soldier fly larvae
    • Feed insects in a separate space than the enclosure to prevent harm being done to your bearded dragon. Insects like crickets can chew on your bearded dragon and cause serious harm. I use a playpen for kittens to feed my reptiles.

Supplementation

• Calcium D3: Dust feeder insects or greens around 2-3 times weekly. 
• Seniors: Critical care supplement mixed with water should be put on their greens daily.

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Hydration

• Offer filtered running water. If you don’t have a faucet with filtered water to offer your dragon once daily, you can purchase a fountain for their enclosure.
• Misted greens