So you’re looking to create the perfect bearded dragon house? Whether you’re setting up your first bearded dragon house or looking to upgrade your current setup, here is everything you need to know.
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Why Your Bearded Dragon House Matters More Than You Think
I get it – walking into a pet store and seeing those pre-made setups looks tempting. But here’s the thing: your bearded dragon house is more than just a container. It’s your pet’s entire world! Just like you wouldn’t want to live in a tiny studio apartment with poor ventilation and weird lighting, your beardie needs a proper home that meets all their needs.
Choosing Between Indoor and Outdoor Bearded Dragon House Options
The first big decision is whether you are keeping your bearded dragon indoors or outdoors. For most, living indoors is a good option where you can keep an eye on them and control their environment much better.
Can I Keep my Bearded Dragon Outside? Yes, you can keep your bearded dragon outside in the right weather.
A second house outdoors is the perfect world for your bearded dragon where it can have access to full unfiltered sunlight in fair weather forgiving so many invisible health mistakes that we can make with indoor lighting. Outdoor enclosures can be built in to the environment or be something easily transportable to move around the garden.
Indoor Bearded Dragon House Benefits
- Easier to control temperature and lighting
- Better protection from predators
- More opportunities to interact with your pet
- Year-round comfort regardless of weather
Outdoor Bearded Dragon House Advantages
- Natural UVB from the sun (which is awesome for their health!)
- More space to explore
- Closer to their natural habitat
- Great for enrichment activities
What’s your plan? Are you going to build your own or buy your bearded dragon house? Tell us below in the comments.
Size Matters: How Big Should Your Bearded Dragon House Be?
Let’s cut to the chase – bigger is better! But you’re probably wondering about the minimum requirements. Here’s the scoop:
For a single adult beardie, you’ll want at least:
- Length: 100cm (40 inches)
- Width: 80cm (32 inches)
- Height: 80cm (32 inches)
Pro tip: go bigger if you can! A 6-foot (180cm) long enclosure will give your beardie more room to explore. And don’t worry about starting small with babies – they’re perfectly capable of handling a large space from day one.
Large housing has been linked to better physical health and less injuries in reptiles (Wilkinson 2015).
“…many companion lizards are housed in minimalistic enclosures where convenience and simply keeping the animal alive is the main priority.”
The Animal Behavior Management Alliance (2015)
Why we Should be Generous in Housing Size
Clearly as beardie parents, we all want the best for our animals. Large enclosures and natural accessories provide a great foundation for encouraging natural behaviours. A poor environment creates behavioral issues such as self harm, unnaturally increased or decreased appetite and repetitive movements. You may have seen evidence of self harm in some pictures where a bearded dragon has rubbed its nose (called rostral damage) or been glass surfing.
Small environments will:
- End up with a much higher concentration of pathogens which encourages disease and creates more work for you to clean. We can only imagine what it is like to have to eat, poop and play in the same area and wait for someone else to come sort out our mess before we get sick.
- A small bearded dragon house cannot provide a good thermal gradient. Either they will never be able to get away from the heat or it won’t be hot enough.
Six foot indoor housing is a great starting size, even if you are rearing a juvenile.
There is no need to start a baby bearded dragon off in small sized housing. They are perfectly evolved to be able to care for themselves in the vast expanses of Australia immediately after hatching.
Don’t spend your money on small enclosures for babies and juveniles that will grow out of them faster than you will want to replace the housing. It is simply more money you have to spend later.
Height is Going to Give you so much more Useable Space in your Bearded Dragons House
Something that we don’t always consider is how high our bearded dragon house should be. Did you know that bearded dragons are semi-arboreal?
The vertical space can add so much more area, activity and opportunities for our bearded dragons. They will climb up branches, choose the best place for themselves to get heat and UVB and when they want a change they scurry back to the ground and do what they want to do there.
“When it comes to space, there is no upper limit. It is far better for a reptile to have more space than it requires, than to require more space and not have it. Unfortunately, most reptile housing appears to based on convenience, budget and, in some cases, ignorance of the true spatial needs of reptiles.“
Scales and Tails The Welfare and Trade of Reptiles Kept as Pets in Canada
Building Materials: What’s Best for Your Bearded Dragon House?
1. Wooden & Melamine Bearded Dragon House
Wood and melamine are great materials for a bearded dragon habitat. However, as it can soak up fluids the surface will likely need some waterproofing.
Pros:
- Excellent heat retention
- Easy to customize
- Usually more affordable
- Provides privacy when needed
- Great for mounting accessories
- Sealed panels (melamine) are easy to clean.
- Easy to fix accessories securely so they will not fall on the occupant.
- Easily fix new levels (shelf) within the housing to make greater use of vertical space.
- Easy to add further ventilation if needed.
- Great for DIY building your own enclosure!
Cons:
- Needs sealing against moisture
- Can be heavy to move (Watch this one. My first build was so heavy with the fake rock wall it took 4 of us to lift it)
- Melamine edges and wood require sealing.
- May be difficult to disinfect the wood well depending on sealants.
- Readily available sizes are small.
- Some sides of the housing will be solid impacting viewing from multiple angles.
2. Glass Enclosures
Honestly? They’re not my first choice, and here’s why:
- Poor heat retention. Not a good insulator (doesn’t keep heat in well).
- Usually smaller than recommended sizes required for beardies.
- Harder to mount accessories.
- Traps moisture and gasses, harder to address excessive humidity
- Reflection issues can stress your beardie. Some reptiles have problems with clear glass and will glass surf, rub their noses on it trying to get out (Wilkinson 2016). Their reflection in the glass can cause distress when our pets cannot tell the difference between its own reflection and that of another bearded dragon.
- Limited ventilation. Difficult to add further ventilation to. Excessive humidity is quite problematic and it is really difficult to reduce excessive humidity, it is best to avoid.
- Difficult to attach accessories safely. Typically limited to suction caps which do not always stick.
- Often the readily available sizes are too small.
- Typically come with mesh tops can easily be broken through.
But, glass is waterproof and can be easily cleaned! The market for glass tanks is not driven by what is good for our pets but by manufacturers and pet shops who can mass produce and sell standardised sizes at low cost keeping them in the market of selling more products.
| US gallons | Inches L x D x H | Meets Minimum Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | 30 x 12 x 22 | No, wide but not deep enough |
| 40 (breeder) | 36 x 18 x 16 | No, wide but not deep enough |
| 45 | 36 x 13 x 24 | No, wide but not deep enough |
| 50 | 36 x 18 x 19 | No, wide but not deep enough |
| 55 | 48 x 13 x 21 | No, wide but not deep enough |
| 65 | 37 x 18 x 24 | No, wide but not deep enough |
| 90 | 48 x 18 x 24 | No, wide but not deep enough |
| 120 | 49 x 24 x 24 | Yes |
| 135 | 72 x 18 x 24 | No, wide but not deep enough |
| 150 | 60 x 24 x 24 | Yes |
| 180 | 73 x 25 x 26 | Yes |
| 200 | 96 x 24 x 20 | Yes |
3. PVC Enclosures
The new kid on the block:
Pros:
- Lightweight and durable.
- Easy to clean.
- Good insulation.
- Waterproof.
- Easy to fix accessories securely so they will not fall on our pets.
- Easy to add further ventilation if needed.
- Some privacy/security provided by solid walls (cannot be seen through).
- Roof is likely to be solid. Particularly useful was a barrier to cats.
- But can be pricey!
Cons:
- Often expensive.
- Likely to require additional ventillation to prevent trapping excess moisture.
- Scratch easily detracting from its aesthetic appeal over time.
- May bend over time or with continued exposure to heat. (This is not necessarily true of a good design with well placed support.)
4. Vision Cages
Pros:
- Durable and space-efficient
- Easy to clean
- Great for stacking setups
Cons:
- Often smaller than recommended
- Stacking can reduce ventilation
- Less visually appealing than custom options
Setting Up Your Bearded Dragon House: The Essential Guide
Lighting and Heating (The Non-Negotiables)
Your beardie needs:
- UVB lighting (crucial for vitamin D3 synthesis)
- Basking lamp for heat
- Proper temperature gradient (95-105°F basking spot, 75-85°F cool end)
Skip those colored lights – your beardie doesn’t need blue or red bulbs! And heat mats? They’re not ideal as primary heat sources, have been associated with burns and are not a natural heat source for bearded dragons.
There are many options available on the market for lighting and heating. The problem is that lighting and heating can be quite expensive and the pet industry has almost no regulation over it. To avoid getting caught in some poor lighting, buy from suppliers with a good reputation. Especially since you are the one that has to wear the vet bills if it isn’t right.
Mind you, just a little plug for outdoor time again. Outdoor enclosures do help provide us a little safety net for mistakes with poor indoor lighting, ones we don’t even necessarily know exist. Unless you have the tools to measure UVB light, you cannot actually tell if your lamps are working because they will still show white light. The second enclosure outdoors, or even just some outdoor time with you, will help reduce the risks and improve their lives.
See the post on Simplifying Lighting and Heating Setup which goes into depth on the subject.
Monitoring Equipment
You’ll need:
- 2 thermometers (hot and cool end)
- 1 hygrometer for humidity
- A thermostat for safety
Pro tip: Don’t rely on those stick-on thermometers from pet stores – they’re notoriously inaccurate!
Creating the Perfect Layout in Your Bearded Dragon House
Essential Accessories
Time to furnish your beardie’s palace! Here’s what you need:
- Basking Spots
- Large, flat rocks
- Secure branches
- Multiple levels for temperature choice
- Hiding Spots
- Natural caves
- Stacked wood and rocks
- Premade hides
- Cardboard boxes (especially if ill and need frequent cleaning)
- Plant cover (artificial or safe live plants)
- Enrichment Items
- Climbing branches
- Rocks
- Different textures to explore
Here’s the thing with accessories for your bearded dragon house. We already know they great for our beardies, giving them things to do, letting it get itself to just the right height, at just the right place that it wants to be at any moment.
But aside from that, here are two other benefits. First is that with accessories, we can make use of that verticle space that would otherwise be wasted, makes the enclosure that much bigger!
On top of that, setting up your beardies accessories in its house can be really aesthetically pleasing for us as well, to be able to ejoy our creation as a natural part of our home.
Set up rocks, branches and vines to make perches, climbing spots, basking platforms and hiding spaces. Make use of the entire cage horizontally and vertically. Let your creative side come out and make it a beautiful addition to your home as well.
The Right Substrate
Substrates are always a hot topic. We look at the substrates options for your bearded dragon house in detail in the post but in short here is the best option:
- Tile (easy to clean, maintains nail health) with dig box
- Natural substrates (with proper precautions)
Maintaining Your Bearded Dragon House
Keeping things clean is important for all animals. Here is how we do it for bearded dragons:
- Daily spot cleaning
- Weekly deep clean of accessories
- Monthly substrate change (if using loose substrate)
- Regular disinfection of surfaces
Special Considerations for Your Bearded Dragon House
Keeping More than One Bearded Dragon Together?
There are circumstances that you can keep two or more bearded dragons together. If you’re housing more than one bearded dragon, you’ll need:
- 50% more space per additional beardie
- Multiple basking spots
- Extra hiding places
- Careful monitoring of interaction
The Cost of Setting Up a Bearded Dragon House
Let’s be real about the investment:
- Basic enclosure: $300-500 (although I have built them for less money, especially when using reclaimed cupboards).
- Premium enclosure: Where do you stop? Can be hundreds to thousands.
- Lighting and heating bulbs and lamps could be anywhere from a couple of hundred onwards.
- Ongoing costs: $20-40 per month plus (calculator for the costs of keeping a bearded dragon and calculator for electricity costs).
But remember – investing in quality now saves money (and stress) later!
Common Mistakes to Avoid with Your Bearded Dragon House
- Going too small to save money. Not worth trying to skimp on the essentials.
- Skimping on UVB lighting.
- Poor temperature gradient setup.
- Insufficient ventilation.
- Wrong accessories that could be dangerous.
- Wrong substrate.
Final Thoughts on Creating Your Bearded Dragon House
You and I know that setting up the perfect bearded dragon house isn’t just about following a checklist – it’s about creating a space where your beardie is happy, healthy and easy for you to interact with. Take your time, do it right, and remember that our beardie’s house is their entire world.
Questions about your bearded dragon house setup? Drop a comment below!
References and Further Reading
- The Animal Behavior Management Alliance 2015 Annual Conference “See the World through Behavior” , Denmark
- Wilkinson, S. L. Reptile Wellness Management. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice Vol 18, Issue 2, May 2015, Pages 281-304
