An appropriate habitat for bearded dragons has a lot of requirements. Most people know that the lighting can be a little bit tricky and that you need a huge tank for bearded dragons. But what about humidity? What are the right humidity levels for bearded dragons?
During the day, the humidity inside the bearded dragon tank should be between 30% – 40%. During the night, the humidity in a bearded dragon tank should be around 55%. Incorrect humidity levels can lead to shedding problems or various diseases.
Why is the right humidity even important and what can you do to increase or decrease the humidity in a bearded dragon tank? Continue to read to learn more.
What Are The Right Humidity Levels For Bearded Dragons?
As I said, during the day, you should have a humidity level of 30 to 40% in a bearded dragon tank. This is the same humidity they have in their home, Australia.
Normally this is pretty easy to achieve if you do not live in an area with very high or low humidity levels.
During the night it should be a little bit higher, but it should never be higher than 60%.
Do Bearded Dragons Need Humidity? Why?
Bearded dragons definitely need humidity. Too low humidity can lead to serious health problems, same as too high humidity.
What Happens If The Humidity Is Too Low
Bearded dragons that live in a tank with too low humidity will suffer from shedding problems eventually. Reptiles need to get rid of their old skin from time to time and higher humidity can really help them with this.
That´s why a lot of people give bearded dragons a bath during shedding. The dead skin gets soaked and soft and will fall off easier. You can even rub the old, soaked skin off gently to help your bearded dragon with that.
What Happens If The Humidity Is Too High
Bearded dragons that live in a tank with too high humidity for a long period of time will suffer from respiratory infections and similar diseases eventually.
As always, moisture combined with warmth is perfect for bacteria to thrive. Bearded dragons are not used to high humidity and are very sensible to this. So this can lead to diseases in your bearded dragon extremely quickly.
Don´t get me wrong, a little bit too high can be okay for a while, but a humidity of 60% over a long period of time definitely will make your bearded dragon sick.
How To Measure Humidity In A Bearded Dragon Tank?
Measuring humidity in a bearded dragon tank is actually pretty easy. Simply get a hygrometer and put the sensor at the back in the middle of your tank. Many people also use two hygrometers to measure the humidity in the warm zone and in the cooler zone in the terrarium.
I recommend to get a digital hygrometer. You don´t have to spend a fortune on it, but it should definitely be a digital hygrometer as those are way more accurate. If you want to get the hygrometer I recommend, click here.
How To Raise Humidity In A Bearded Dragon Tank?
There are several ways to raise the humidity in a bearded dragon tank. You can mist the tank on a regular base, put a water bowl inside the tank or use moist substrate.
However, what is the best way to increase the humidity in a bearded dragon tank?
I´d say that using a bigger water bowl is the best way to do this.
Why? Because the water bowl is best to raise the humidity in a very controlled way.
If you see that the humidity gets too high, simply remove the water bowl, reduce the water in the bowl or choose a smaller water bowl. With a water bowl you can easily experiment what works best to get the right humidity levels.
Why Not Misting?
Misting can also be a very good way to increase the humidity. However, if you constantly have low humidity levels you would have to mist on a daily base, which is not good. This could lead to diseases in your bearded dragon as well.
Besides that, not all bearded dragons love misting and are annoyed and stressed quickly by that.
What About Moist Substrate?
I don´t like using moist substrate as it does not really belongs into the natural habitat of a bearded dragon. Further, if the substrate is too wet, it could raise the humidity higher than you actually wanted and you might even have to remove the moist substrate again.
So In my opinion, the water bowl is the way to go.
What About Plants?
Plants can help to create a microclimate in your terrarium. So even if the humidity is pretty low, there can be a microclimate near the plants that has higher humidity.
The problem is that there are not a lot of desert plants that can help you achieving that. If you want to learn which plants you can use for your bearded dragon tank, click here.
How To Lower Humidity In A Bearded Dragon Tank
To lower humidity in your bearded dragon tank, get a tank with sufficient ventilation or remove the tank´s cover. You should only use a screencover for your tank and nothing else. Further opening the front doors of your tank can really help to lower the humidity.
Just make sure that your beardie can´t escape.
In addition to that, removing any moist parts in your bearded dragon tank will help to lower the humidity. For example, get a smaller water bowl for your bearded dragon or fill the existing bowl with less water.
Remove moist substrate from the tank. If you want to use it, some people put the moist substrate in the oven and bake it to get it dry.
I don´t recommend such experiments. Just get a new substrate.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a couple of more questions people have on this topic. Here are the answers.
Do Bearded Dragons Need A Humid Hide?
Bearded dragons do not need a humid hide inside their tank. For leopard geckos, for example, a humid hide is very healthy, but for bearded dragons a too moist environment will cause health problems.
Do Bearded Dragons Need A Humidifier?
For reptiles like bearded dragons that come from a very dry area, a humidifier is completely unnecessary.
Conclusion
As you see, having the right humidity levels for bearded dragons is extremely important as it has influence on their health.
Luckily, the right humidity can be achieved with a couple of tweaks easily.
If you have any questions, leave a comment below!
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