If you live in a cold country and have electricity issues, you may have difficulty keeping your pet bearded dragon warm all the time. Moreover, you might have known that there are different ways of keeping body temperature stable between warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals.
Since bearded dragons fall into the category of cold-blooded reptiles, the owners may get curious to know- do bearded dragons get cold at night?
Bearded dragons can get cold at night because the temperature can slightly decrease during the nighttime. As these reptiles are ectothermic, they can not regulate the body heat on their own.
Hence, these pets can not keep their body warm without external heat sources when the temperature falls. As a result, the body temperature of bearded dragons is highly dependent on the rise and fall of the temperature of the surroundings.
You might have lots of questions in your mind regarding your bearded dragon’s getting cold. In this article, I’ll give a complete portrayal of the required temperature, ways of warming up, and other related questions.
So, in case you are curious to know what to do if beardies get cold at night, you are in the right place. Let’s go through this article to know the details.
Why Does My Bearded Dragon Feel Cold At Night?
Bearded dragon can feel cold at night due to several reasons such as brumation period, power loss, incoordination of temperature in the tank or room, sickness, and so on.
The very first thing that you should know is bearded dragons are cold-blooded reptiles. Hence, the body temperature of your bearded dragons is not self-regulating. Hence, they can not keep a constant body temperature like the endothermic animals.
It is pretty natural to fall down the temperature at night time. As a result, the temperature in the tank of your bearded dragon bounds to decrease.
Besides, if you do not keep any heat sources to make the bearded dragon tank warm at night, there will not be any options left for bearded dragons to absorb heat. Sometimes, the electricity can go out for several hours in the night of winter.
Since the body temperature of beardies fluctuates along with the surroundings, your bearded dragon can feel cold at night.
Proper Temperature For Bearded Dragons
As bearded dragons hail from warm regions of Australia, they require a warm environment in captivity too. Besides, the temperature requirement varies according to the age of bearded dragons.
Baby bearded dragons tend to grow pretty quickly. Hence, the babies require a good amount of energy from heat. On the other hand, adult bearded dragons do not require as much heat as baby bearded dragons.
Besides, the temperature of the basking area should be slightly different or higher than the cooler zone of the tank. It is crucially significant to keep two zones of different temperatures to help your beardies thrive.
| Bearded Dragons | Ideal Temperature Range In Basking Area | Ideal Temperature Range In Cool-down Area |
|---|---|---|
| Baby Bearded Dragon | 95-110 degrees Fahrenheit | 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Juvenile Bearded Dragon | 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit | 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Adult Bearded Dragon | 90-93 degrees Fahrenheit | 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit |
In the nighttime, the temperature of your bearded dragon’s enclosure can drop down to 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. But, this fall down of temperature at night is significant for all stages of bearded dragons to help them rest.
How Cold Is Too Cold For Bearded Dragon?
To maintain a cycle of day and night, dropping down the temperature at night is pretty essential for bearded dragons. But, if you live in a cold country, you should know how cold is too cold for your beardies.
Generally, 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit or less than this temperature is too cold for bearded dragons.
In the wild, the bearded dragon can tolerate the temperature at night when it drops down to 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. So, you should not let the temperature of the bearded dragon’s enclosure decrease to less than 70 degrees Fahrenheit in captivity.
What’s The Coldest Temperature A Bearded Dragon Can Get At Night?
At night, the lowest safe temperature for your bearded dragon should be 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Your bearded dragon can thrive well even at 65 degrees Fahrenheit, or 18 degrees Celsius.
But, if the temperature drops down to 15 degrees Celsius or less than this temperature, you must adjust any heating element or sources quickly.
However, if this decrease of temperature is for only a few hours, this will not affect your bearded dragon.
What Temperature Is Too Hot For A Bearded Dragon?
The researchers and experienced owners recommend keeping around 88-100 degrees Fahrenheit in the tank of bearded dragons during the daytime. Also, you should keep a higher temperature in their basking spot.
The temperature above 110 degrees Fahrenheit is too hot for a bearded dragon of any stage.
However, the temperature of the basking spot should not be similar to the other parts of the tank. Such is because this hot basking spot is there for helping out their digestion.
So, in the case of a basking spot, the temperature is safe up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
How Do I Know If My Bearded Dragon Is Too Cold At Night?
A common suggestion for all bearded dragon owners is to keep a digital thermometer and a thermostat in the tank to monitor the temperature. But, sometimes, your thermometer or thermostat can give a wrong result which may mislead you.
Regardless of keeping a thermometer, you must know the signs of a cold bearded dragon. Otherwise, you won’t know whether your bearded dragon feels cold at night or not. So, let’s go through the signs.
1. Turning Black: What Colors Do Bearded Dragons Turn When They Are Cold?
The easiest way to identify a cold bearded dragon is by noticing its color changes. Usually, you may notice such a change in coloration early in the morning that determines getting cold of your bearded dragon at night.
If your pet bearded dragon gets cold, he will turn black. Such change in coloration is nothing but a mechanism of thermoregulation. So, bearded dragons turn black when they seek warmth or heat sources.
Turning into black aids bearded dragons to absorb higher amounts of wavelengths of lights as well as heat. So, when your beardie gets warmed up, this sudden change in coloration gets vanished.
2. Becoming Motionless
If your bearded dragon remains cold for a long time, he will get motionless and immobile. Due to lack of heat, your bearded dragon may lack energy. Besides, the metabolism rate of bearded dragon gets slow down, and so your beardie loses its appetite.
So, noticing the motionless and immobile state of your bearded dragon, you can figure out his getting cold.
3. Shallow Breathing
If your bearded dragon gets severely cold for a long period, his breathing will be shallow. It may look scary to you. Besides, your bearded dragon may seem dead to you.
4. Unresponsive
Another sign of bearded dragons’ becoming cold is being unresponsive. Your bearded dragon tends to become idle and weak when the temperature of the tank remains low for a long time.
5. Physical assessment
You can readily assess by touching your bearded dragon to check if your beardie is cold. The body of your bearded dragon becomes cold in such a case.
6. Displaying Basking Behavior
If your bearded dragon gets too cold at night, he will search for more heat under the basking light during the daytime.
As a result, your beardie may show basking behavior which may seem weird to you. Such as- a cold bearded dragon tends to flatten his body in the basking zone to soak heat as much as possible.
What Happens When Your Bearded Dragons Get Too Cold?
Sometimes, many indifferent owners leave their homes for several days without settling out proper heating adjustment for their bearded dragons. If the temperature drops down too low, your bearded dragon may get severely cold at night.
Besides, the electricity can get cut without any advanced notice. Thus, you may become forced to leave your beardie in cold temperatures.
If your bearded dragon remains in cold for a long period, he will suffer in many ways. In worst cases, your beardie may die. Generally, the health of your beardie gets negatively affected whenever he remains under 65 degrees Fahrenheit for a long time.
Let’s shed some light on the crucial results when your bearded dragon gets too cold.
1. Slow Movement
Because of being in a cold temperature for a long time, the normal activities of your bearded dragon will get slower. Usually, bearded dragons love to roam around their tank or the room.
But, staying at a low temperature for the entire night can make your beardie too weak. Also, your pet bearded dragon may seem lethargic to you due to the cold.
Hence, your beardie will display slow body functions in catching prey, going to bathrooms, playing, etc.
2. Complexity In Digestion
One of the common side effects of such a situation is the complexity of digestion. You might have known that bearded dragons require heat to digest their food. Hence, they tend to spend time in their basking space.
But, remaining at a low temperature for over 24 hours make it hard to digest the food. Because of being cold-blooded reptiles, bearded dragons can not generate heat by themselves to digest the food.
As a result, the consumed food will remain stuck and rot in the gut due to a lack of external heat. Hence, this will result in impaction.
On the other hand, no digestion means no absorption of nutrients. So, a cold bearded dragon is bound to become pretty weak.
3. No Responses
Staying in under 65 degrees Fahrenheit over 24 hours can make your bearded dragon too cold. It may make them weak and suffer complex indigestion. As a result, your cold bearded dragon may show no responses when you touch or call him.
4. Respiratory Infection
When your bearded dragon is kept in excessively cold temperature, there are chances of his getting a respiratory infection. Besides, the humidity tends to get lower when the temperature drops down than the ideal range.
So, you may notice several symptoms of respiratory infection in your cold beardie. Such as bubbles from the mouth, sneezing, shallow breathing, discharge from eyes, etc.
5. Not Waking Up
You might experience such situations where your bearded dragon is not waking up after being cold. However, getting into the sleeping mode or not waking up is a natural response from a cold bearded dragon.
Such is because bearded dragons tend to get into a sleeping mode in the low temperature of winter. Hence, this brumation period helps them avoid the extremely cold environment.
To survive in the low temperature of the tank, your bearded dragon may apply this process. So, your cold beardie may choose to sleep. As a result, you may have to struggle to wake up your cold bearded dragon.
How Can I Warm Up A Cold Bearded Dragon Fast?
If you find your bearded dragon cold waking up after a chilly night, you may become panicked. Sometimes, the heat sources may not work overnight suddenly. Or, the electricity can get cut in a night of winter.
In such cases of accidents, you have to be prepared to warm up your cold bearded dragon faster. If you want to the tricks, you should take a look at the following tips.
1. Body Heat
Without wasting any time, you should keep the cold bearded dragon close to your skin. Do not forget that you are also a heat source being an endothermic creature. So, there will remain the fastest way to warm up your friendly, ectotherm pet by your body heat.
2. Keeping Under A Heat Source
Whenever you find out the cold state of your beardie, you should immediately put him under a heat source. It will help your bearded dragon to warm up naturally.
But, depending on the amount of time of staying cold, your bearded dragon needs time to get warmer again under heat sources. Besides, using a heat mat is also a great option to keep your bearded dragon warm.
3. Try A Lukewarm Bath
You can bathe your cold bearded dragon with lukewarm water. In such a cold stage, your bearded dragon may not be able to move much. So, you should ensure to keep his head up above the water.
After soaking for 20-30 minutes, you have to dry your bearded dragon off with a warm towel. Then, keep your beardie under the basking zone or heat lamp. Gradually, your bearded dragon will get warmer and continue regular activities again.
4. Use A Grain Pillow
Another way to warm up your bearded dragon faster is using a grain pillow. You can make such a pillow by stuffing grains like corn, rice, etc. Then, you need to heat the grain pillow by keeping it in a microwave for 20-30 seconds.
After heating the grain pillow, you have to place this pillow underneath your cold beardie. Make sure that the grain pillow is not too hot.
How Can I Keep My Bearded Dragon Tank Warm At Night?
If you want to make the bearded dragon tank warmer, you can do it in many ways. You can increase the bulb wattage, add several types of light, and so on. But, you need to choose selective ways to keep the tank warm at night.
However, fitting any type of light in the tank may hamper the sleep routine of your bearded dragon. Let’s take a look at what I have found out to keep the bearded dragon tank warm at night.
1. Ceramic Heat Emitter Bulb: Can I Use A Ceramic Heat Emitter For My Bearded Dragon?
Many people may suggest adding any reptile basking light or white household bulb in the bearded dragon tank. These lights help keep the tank warm during the daytime. But, you can’t keep these bulbs on at night.
The best option to keep the bearded dragon tank warm at night is adjusting ceramic heat emitter bulbs. These bulbs emit the required heat without any light. Hence, people call these bulbs non-light emitting bulbs too.
As a result, the ceramic heat emitter bulb will not only keep the tank warm but also ensure the sound sleep of your beardie without any disturbances.
Another advantage of using a ceramic heat emitter bulb is that you can run this bulb 24/7. So, you don’t have to worry about adjusting different lights in the tank for day and night. Also, you should choose 10” fixtures so that they can spread the heat better.
If you’re looking for a reliable ceramic heat emitter bulb, I would recommend the one from Simple Deluxe. It doesn’t cost much and according to the reviews, is pretty much reliable!
2. Night Glow Lamps
If you want to go for a cheaper option, you can choose night glow lamps instead of ceramic heat emitter bulbs. But, these night glow lamps may not last long.
3. Heat Mats: Can I Use A Heating Pad For My Bearded Dragon?
To prevent your bearded dragon from getting cold at night, you can keep a heat mat. It will aid in keeping the tank warm at night. So, heat mats are perfectly fine for your bearded dragons as long as you regulate the heat with a thermostat.
But, do not make the mistake of adjusting a heat mat under the substrate. Since bearded dragons tend to dig up the substrate, this may lead to an accident. Also, their belly may get burnt while absorbing the heat.
So, it will be better if you fit the heat mat to the back wall of the bearded dragon tank.
However, you should not rely upon only heat mats to ensure keeping the tank warm. Besides the heat mat, you must fit a ceramic heat emitter bulb or any other heating option.
The heat map from iPower is my favorite one for bearded dragon. It comes with a digital temperature control thermostat too! Click here to check the latest price on Amazon!
4. Multiple Heat Sources
It depends upon the size of your bearded dragons. If the tank size is too large, only one heating element can not fulfill the required amount of heat. In such cases, you have to fit or adjust multiple heat sources.
Otherwise, when the temperature drops down at night, your bearded dragon will get cold despite having a heating source. You need to ensure that every inch of the tank is getting enough warmth.
5. Increasing The Room Temperature
Another trick to keep the bearded dragon tank warm at night is increasing the room temperature. If the room remains too cold, it will certainly affect the tank of your beardie. Also, your beardie may get cold at night.
Hence, you need to take steps to warm the room where you keep your bearded dragon’s tank. However, keeping the room temperature around 80-100 degrees Fahrenheit is safe for your bearded dragon.
6. Fixing Ventilation
If your bearded dragon lives in a mesh tank, there may have chances of losing heat out of the enclosure. Mesh tanks are not a good option for hot desert animals like bearded dragons. For this reason, keeping multiple heat sources can not retain the tank of your beardie warm at night.
Hence, you can choose such enclosures made of wood or glasses. Such is because these enclosures tend to hold the heat and prevent heat loss.
7. Accurate Temperature Readings
Make sure that the thermometers or thermostats are giving accurate temperature readings. Otherwise, you will not realize when the temperature gets too low and your beardie is cold.
How Many Watts Does A Bearded Dragon Need At Night?
You might have known that the temperature should not drop down below 70 degrees Fahrenheit at night. So, your focus should be to keep at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
For bearded dragons, you should fix night bulbs of around 15-75 watts. These wattages of bulbs will aid in keeping the bearded dragon tank warm at night.
As a result, your beardie will not get cold at night.
Do Bearded Dragons Need A Heat Lamp At Night?
It is not a good idea to keep the heat lamp on overnight. It may result in providing high temperatures and heat throughout the night. Besides, you should keep in mind that bearded dragons do not get extra heat sources at night in the wild.
Since bearded dragon needs slightly lower temperature at night, leaving the heat lamp on overnight disrupts the sleep of your beardie. So, bearded dragons do not need a heat lamp at night.
However, you should ensure that the heat lamp is placed in such a way that it remains out of the reach of your beardie. To prevent any unusual accident, you should keep the heat lamp at 12” above the basking zone.
Are Heat Rocks Good For Bearded Dragons?
Since bearded dragons thrive for absorbing heat from outer sources, many people suggest keeping heat rocks. It is another option for your bearded dragon to warm up themselves laying over the heat rocks.
But, using heat rocks is not safe for the bearded dragon at all. Besides, there can be extremely hot spots, which are unrecognizable for bearded dragons, on the heat rock.
So, this can cause serious burns to your bearded dragon. Also, if the burn is severe, it can cause the death of your bearded dragon too.
How Do I Know If My Bearded Dragon Is Warm Enough?
Measuring the temperature with a digital thermometer is the easiest way to know about this. Besides, you can see your bearded dragon gape his mouth often.
When your bearded dragon is warm enough, he starts roaming and playing around. Also, you may notice your beardie to surf the glass.
As bearded dragons are pretty friendly towards their owner, a warm bearded dragon makes responses readily. In a word, the bearded dragon will get back into his normal routine and regular activities.
But, you should ensure not to make your bearded dragon too hot. Overheating the bearded dragon terrarium can cause severe health complexities of your bearded dragon.
Why Do Bearded Dragons Need Basking Light?
Basking light is a must-to-keep item in the enclosure of your bearded dragon in captivity. If you are a new bearded dragon owner, you may be curious to know why your beardies need basking lights.
The experienced bearded dragon owners suggest keeping a high-temperature zone in the enclosure. This zone is a basking spot. Also, the temperature of a basking spot should be around 90-110 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the age of your beardie.
So, you need to adjust a basking light to provide adequate heat and warmth in the basking zone. No wonder there are several reasons for keeping a basking light in the bearded dragon enclosure.
These are-
- Regulating their day and night cycles
- Giving space to absorb warmth when your bearded dragon feels cold
- To help your bearded dragon regulate the body temperature
- Increasing the appetite
- To help the digestion of your beardie
- Preventing impaction and other unwanted diseases
However, there are plenty of options for choosing a basking light for the basking spot.
On another note, you can help your bearded dragon enjoy the sunlight. For this, you should check out the best playpen for bearded dragons.
Can I Put A Blanket In My Bearded Dragon Tank?
Although many people suggest wrapping up a cold bearded dragon with a blanket, I will not recommend doing so. You should not put a blanket in your bearded dragon tank.
That is because your bearded dragon is a cold-blooded animal. So, he needs to absorb the heat from the surrounding. If you put a blanket over your beardie or the tank, your beardie will not get the necessary heat to remain warm.
We, humans, tend to put a blanket on us whenever we feel cold. Since humans are warm-blooded creatures, a blanket helps us remain warm by not letting the heat of our body temperature escape.
But, in the case of bearded dragons, putting a blanket in your bearded dragon tank can make your bearded dragon feel cold.
Should I Turn My Bearded Dragons UVB Light Off At Night?
Providing the light of UVB for 12-14 hours is perfect and safe for bearded dragons. So, you can keep this UVB light on during the daytime. Not to mention you should turn off the UVB light of the bearded dragon tank at night.
What Time Should I Turn Off My Bearded Dragons Light?
There is no specific timing to turn off the lights of your bearded dragon tank. However, there is a general rule of thumb to maintain the lighting schedule.
You have to provide 12-14 hours of UVB and heat in the basking area a day. In summer, 12 hours can be alright. But, during winter, you should keep the lights on for at least 14 hours.
After certain hours, you can turn the bearded dragon lights off. However, you should not forget to keep the ceramic heat emitter lights on at night to keep your beardie warm.
How To Keep My Bearded Dragon Warm When The Power Goes Out?
As all heating elements are dependent upon electricity, a power cut for several hours can make your bearded dragon cold. Moreover, if it is a chilly night and the power goes out, your bearded dragon will surely suffer in coldness.
Hence, you should take preparation from beforehand to keep your beardie warm when the power goes out. I’ve summed up a few ways to apply in such a situation. Let’s take a look.
1. Rechargeable Heat Pack
You should not worry about keeping your beardie warm without electricity if you have a rechargeable heat pack. These heat packs last for 8-10 hours. So, keep them charged always.
Otherwise, you can charge this heat pack from somewhere and place it inside the terrarium. Besides, these heat packs are also portable. So, you need not worry about keeping your beardie warm while traveling, or when the power goes out.
2. Hot Water Bottle
Another trick to keep beardie warm is using a hot water bottle when the power goes out. Firstly, keep boiled water in bottles. Then, keep the bottles around the bearded dragon tank.
Besides, you can wrap the hot water bottle with a cloth to safety and let your beardie sit above the bottle. This aids in keeping your beardie gets warmed up like a heat mat. But, there are chances of burning.
So, you should avoid directly placing your bearded dragon above the hot water bottle.
3. Gas Generator
You can manage to keep a gas generator to run all-electric heat elements of your house. So, when the electricity goes out, the gas generator will aid in running all heating sources. As a result, your bearded dragon will not get cold at night.
4. Getting In The Car
In this way, your bearded dragon will get warm fast. You need to turn on the car and put your beardie under the heating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are bearded dragons cold-blooded?
Bearded dragons need to bask in the sun or under a heat lamp to raise their body temperature, and they also require cooler areas in their habitat to retreat and cool down when necessary.
Their ability to adjust their body temperature by moving between warm and cool areas is an essential part of their thermoregulation.
What temperature will kill a bearded dragon?
Similarly, extremely low temperatures below 65°F (18°C) can result in hypothermia and other health issues.
How to keep a bearded dragon warm without a heat lamp?
1. Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE): A ceramic heat emitter is a non-light-emitting heat source that can be used as an alternative to a heat lamp. It provides infrared heat, which helps maintain the ambient temperature in the enclosure. Ensure you use a ceramic fixture and a thermostat to control the temperature.
2. Under Tank Heaters (UTH): Under tank heaters are heating pads or tapes that can be placed underneath a portion of the enclosure. They provide heat from below and can help create a warm area for your bearded dragon. However, it’s important to note that UTH alone may not be sufficient as it doesn’t offer a basking spot.
3. Heat Rock or Tile: You can place a heat rock or heat-absorbing ceramic tile in the enclosure to provide a warm surface for your bearded dragon to bask on. Ensure that the surface temperature is controlled using a thermostat to prevent overheating and burns.
4. Natural Sunlight: If the climate permits, you can allow your bearded dragon to spend supervised time outdoors in a safe, enclosed area to bask in natural sunlight. Natural sunlight provides beneficial UVB rays along with heat, which is essential for their overall health. Make sure to monitor the temperature and provide shade as needed.
Final Words
I hope this article enlightened you on why bearded dragons get cold at night. Besides, you must have learned several ways to keep your bearded dragon warm at night. So, apply these tricks in real life and keep your beardie happy.
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