Bearded Dragon Setup Checklist: Everything Before Day One
| Setup run-in time | 48 hours minimum before arrival |
| Priority item | UVB tube (T5 HO 10.0–12%) |
Buy in this order
Enclosure first, then heating and lighting (basking bulb, thermostat, UVB tube and fixture), then thermometers and a hygrometer, then substrate and furnishings (platform, hide, water dish), then feeding supplies (tongs, calcium and multivitamin powder).
Run it before the dragon arrives
Set the full enclosure up and let it run for at least 48 hours before bringing a dragon home. This lets you confirm the basking spot actually reaches 95–110°F and the cool side genuinely sits lower, rather than finding out with a stressed new arrival already inside.
The one non-negotiable
If you can only get one thing exactly right before day one, make it UVB — a correctly specified, correctly positioned T5 HO tube with no barrier between bulb and dragon. Everything else can be adjusted after arrival; UVB deficiency compounds silently over weeks.
See the full care guides guide, or browse all 467 info pages.
A single adult bearded dragon needs a minimum 4ft x 2ft x 2ft enclosure, with 6ft x 2ft x 2ft increasingly recommended as best practice — plus a linear T5 HO UVB tube, an overhead basking bulb on a thermostat, a real thermal gradient, a sturdy basking platform, and a shallow water dish.
Hatchlings can start in a 20-gallon long tub, juveniles need to move to roughly a 40-gallon breeder footprint by a few months old, and adults need a minimum 4ft x 2ft x 2ft enclosure, with 6ft x 2ft x 2ft recommended.
Basking surface temperature should run 95–110°F depending on age (hotter for hatchlings, cooler for adults), with a cool side around 75–85°F, all provided by an overhead basking bulb on a thermostat — not a heat mat or heat rock.
Bearded dragons need a linear T5 HO UVB tube at 10.0 or 12% output, running the length of the basking third of the enclosure with nothing between bulb and dragon, replaced every 6–12 months regardless of whether it still produces visible light.
Bearded dragons should be kept at roughly 30–40% ambient humidity. Sustained humidity above 50% significantly raises the risk of respiratory infection in this dry-climate species — brief daily misting or a shallow soak handles hydration and shedding needs without pushing ambient humidity up long-term.
Bearded dragons typically live 8–12 years in captivity with correct husbandry, and well cared-for individuals have been documented living past 15. Obesity, inadequate UVB, and poor temperature accuracy are the biggest preventable factors that shorten lifespan.