What is the best lights for a bearded dragon?

Question

and how do i keep one side cooler than the other?

Answer 1

petco should carry something called a t-rex uva light, its a heat producing artificial sunlight bulb. they are a little spendy, i bought one 4 years ago for $90, but it still works.

    to keep oneside cooler set the heating element on the opposite side this should create a temp difference. i don't know what exact % for humidity, but for mine i always misted the tank once a day

Answer 2

A combination of a basking light that produces UVA light waves and gives them a temp about 110-120 degrees Fahrenheit to bask under, and a fluorescent reptile strip light like a Reptisun 8.0 to produce the other necessary UVA and UVB spectrum required by beardies for vitamin synthesis.

A combination fixture like a Zilla Desert Series 50 Halogen/Fluorescent Combo Fixture would be an ideal choice.

Oh and for the supplements they require calcium that you can sprinkle or spray onto their veggies, or dust onto their crickets.

You will want to have a designated hot and cool side of the tank, and have equally effective hides for the beardie on either side so he doesn't need to chose between security and temperature regulation.  You will want the heating pad and the basking light to be on the same side of the tank to create basking a spot that reaches the high temperature (110-120) with a gradient down to about 90 degrees.  On the cool side you want about 75-85 degrees to be the gradient.  The fluorescent light doesn't produce much heat so by changing the location, distance, or wattage of the basking bulb you can regulate the heat.

I checked out the calicium with d3 and it seems like it would be a good choice. Synthesis of vitamin D3(from UV lights)  in turn promotes calcium absorption from the diet.

I also forgot to mention the how great gutloading insects is for your beardie. I feed the crickets I give to my Golden Gecko "Cricket Yummies" which feeds (gutloads) and waters the crickets for a few days.