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Desert basking lizard

Bearded dragon

Pogona vitticeps

Kept the same way as the collared lizard and Uromastyx, so they share one kit: the same heat, light, and humidity, sized to the animal.

Build a bearded dragon setup See the gear
Photograph of a Bearded dragon
Photograph by Photograph: Frank C. Müller , Baden-Baden, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Care sheet

What it needs

We have taken these figures from published sources and are still checking them against our own experience. Treat them as a guide, and ask us before you buy.

Basking surface
40 to 45°C Measured on the surface the animal lies on, not in the air.
Daytime air
24 to 38°C The cool end, away from the lamp.
Night air
18 to 24°C
UV index at the basking spot
2.9 to 9.5 Zones 3 to 4. Open or partial sun basker, thermoregulator
Humidity
30 to 60%
Daylight hours
13 h in summer, 11 h in winter
Winter
Brumation Torpid for weeks, through the winter.
Where it lives
Foliage or shrubs, Grassland or savanna, Semi-arboreal
Adult length
45 to 61 cm
What it eats
Omnivore
When it is active
Diurnal
How it lives
Terrestrial
Typical captive life
12 years

Our reading of the literature, not veterinary advice. Animals vary, and so do rooms, so take these figures, and any setup the builder puts together, as a starting point, and ask a reptile vet about your own animal. Where the figures come from.

From the catalogue

Gear that suits a bearded dragon

Chosen for desert basking lizard. The setup builder puts the whole kit together, sized to the animal, with the reason for each piece.

Build the whole kit

Same care group

Kept the same way

Where it comes from

Australia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria)

Breeding: Lays up to 24 eggs a clutch, sometimes several clutches a year; eggs hatch in 55 to 75 days at about 29 °C.

Where the figures come from