Are you looking for ways to enrich your pet’s habitat with a bearded dragon perch?
Have you heard how perches are good for bearded dragons and want to learn more?
In the wild, bearded dragons get plenty of exercise and activity.
However, in captivity, they are at risk of sitting around and doing nothing.
Inactivity and boredom are bad for bearded dragons’ physical health and mental health.
Every creature needs excitement and purpose in its daily life, and bearded dragons are no exception.
Bearded dragon owners can do a lot for their beardies by providing an interesting and enriching habitat for their pets, such as a perch.
We looked at many options and found the best 5 for you to check out.
Of them all, we like the Zilla Basking Ramp the best.
The Zilla Basking Ramp is a bearded dragon perch with an eye-catching look and specifically designed to stay warm and comfortable with reptiles such as beardies.
Table of Contents
Bearded Dragon Perches In This Review
Guidelines For The Best Bearded Dragon Perch
When shopping for a perch, it’s best to avoid the all-in-one reptile setups offered at many pet stores.
While they sometimes offer a nice variety of enrichments such as perches, plants, caves, and even tanks, they frequently don’t provide sufficient lighting and heating and often aren’t made of durable material.
It’s better to create your decor, making a unique and interesting habitat for your bearded dragon.
Perches for bearded dragons should be:
- Tall enough to allow dragons to be within 10″ inches (25 cm) of their basking light.
- Wide and smooth enough for bearded dragons to rest comfortably on them.
- Sturdy and solid so they don’t break or tip over.
- Sterilized before being placed in the terrarium.
To sterilize wooden perches, boil or bake them before introducing them to beardies.
Why Do Bearded Dragons Need A Perch?
The best enclosures are designed to mimic the environment a captive animal might encounter in the wild.
Perches are often made of materials similar to those found in bearded dragons’ natural habitats.
Perches offer a form of exercise and enrichment.
Additionally, they allow bearded dragons to get close to their basking and UV lights.
A good bearded dragon habitat allows the animal to regulate its body temperature by providing various hot and cool spots throughout the enclosure.
And if you’re looking for multiple avenues of enrichment check out our post on enrichment ideas for bearded dragons to get a spark of inspiration.
What Kinds Of Bearded Dragon Perches Are There?
There are many kinds of perches, including:
- Hammocks
- Swings
- Rocks
- Ramps
- Branches
- Platforms
Anything sturdy which provides tiers for bearded dragons to relax is considered a perch.
Review Of The Best Bearded Dragon Perches
The following five perches are great options for a bearded dragon tank.
We’ve included various perch types in this list to give you a good idea of what each has to offer.
Penn-Plax Lizard Lounger
- COMFORTABLE FOR ALL CLIMBERS: Our Lizard Loungers provide a safe, fun, and interactive space for your reptile to climb around on! These handwoven, 100% natural seagrass hammocks allow your pet to self-regulate their temperature by moving closer or further from a basking light, when on an incline. They’ll know how high to climb!
- VERSATILE AND ADJUSTABLE MOUNTING: The provided 2.5” suction cups easily attach to glass, plastic, and acrylic terrarium walls. For a strong bond, please clean and wash suction cups with water before placing inside the habitat. Our Lizard Lounger Corner Triangles can be placed at any height, providing an elevated vantage spot for your pet.
- KEEPING THINGS CLEAN: For optimal use and longevity, our Lizard Loungers should be spot cleaned on occasion. This prevents debris and dirt buildup on the natural seagrass fiber. Use a vinegar and water mixture on the lounger, spot clean where necessary, then immediately dry completely before letting your pet climb back on.
Made from seagrass fibers, the Penn-Plex Lizard Lounger is a great way to add different levels to your beardie’s enclosure.
It offers installation on an incline and more than enough room for a bearded dragon to bask comfortably.
This hammock is easily installed and re-installed with strong suction cups, which work especially well when soaked with warm water before pressing onto a cleaned glass tank surface.
The Lizard Lounger has a triangular shape and comes with a ladder for easy climbing.
Pros For The Lizard Lounger:
- Made from durable seagrass fibers.
- The sturdy construction supports the weight of an adult bearded dragon.
- Affordable compared to other perches and enrichments.
- Incline installation allows bearded dragons to regulate their body temperature by basking closer or further away from their light.
Cons For The Lizard Lounger:
- Suction cups are a concern for some reptile enthusiasts; sometimes they unstick from glass tanks.
- The fibrous nature of the hammock makes it hard to clean.
- Mold will grow on the hammock in tanks with high humidity. This shouldn’t be an issue for bearded dragon enclosures, but it’s worth mentioning.
Zilla Basking Ramp
- Stepped design that promotes climbing activity
- Wide, flat top surface that provides an adequate basking area
- Recreates the look of natural river rock, appropriate for aquatic turtles
This ramp offers a rock-like design with steps leading up to a wide and flat platform.
The Zilla Basking Ramp has three size options: small, large, and jumbo.
For an adult bearded dragon, the jumbo is the best choice.
The steps on this ramp allow a bearded dragon to climb to the platform or relax at an incline safely.
Pros For The Zilla Basking Ramp:
- The ramp is a good color for the desert decor of bearded dragon habitats.
- Material is smooth with no sharp edges.
- Easy to clean.
- Step design allows for different distances from the basking light.
- Uniform shape allows multiple ramps to be placed side-by-side to create wider platforms.
- Stable support; won’t roll or tip over.
Cons For The Zilla Basking Ramp:
- Customers have complained of brittle material breaking during shipping.
- Paint may chip off.
- Jumbo size may still be slightly small for some adult bearded dragons.
Habba Hut Hideaway
Made of real fir wood, this hollow and arched half-long doubles as a perch and possible hideout.
There are five sizes to choose from: small, medium, large, X-large, and giant.
Pros For The Hideaway:
- The real fir wood mimics a bearded dragon’s natural habitat.
- Very sturdy and durable.
- Wide enough for comfortable basking.
Cons For The Hideaway:
- May not be tall enough also to be a hide for a bearded dragon.
- May become moldy in high humidity.
- Bark may come off, which is a risk of impaction if bearded dragons consume it.
Koyal Wholesale Grapewood Branch
- Naturally shaped over time
- Offered in 4 sizes to create unique centerpieces
- Grape wood branches vary due to mother nature - each branch is unique
This naturally dried wood doesn’t come in any standard shapes. It makes for a beautiful, eye-catching addition to a beardie’s habitat.
These branches come in four different approximate sizes.
The sandblasted grapewood is smooth and clean. Each branch has a unique shape.
Pros For The Grapewood Branch:
- Mimics a bearded dragon’s natural environment
- Sturdy and durable wood.
Cons For The Grapewood Branch:
- When purchasing, it’s the luck of the draw since each piece is different.
- Relatively expensive compared to products marketed explicitly as reptile perches.
Fluval Mopani Driftwood
Like the Koyal Grapewood, the Fluval Mopani Driftwood is sandblasted for a smooth and clean surface.
Sandblasting creates a less-porous surface.
This allows for easier sanitation and less living space for unwelcome creatures like mites and ticks.
This natural driftwood is offered in three sizes: small, medium, and large.
Pros For The Mopani Driftwood:
- More affordable than many other natural-wood products.
- Sturdy and durable wood.
Cons For The Mopani Driftwood:
- May be too small for some bearded dragons.
- It doesn’t offer a wide and flat surface, so it may not be the most comfortable basking platform for long periods.
- The lightweight of driftwood might make it more difficult to secure the branch from tipping or rolling fully.
FAQs
What Are Things To Avoid In Bearded Dragon Perches? – Watch out for the following hazards in terrarium decor:
- Sharp edges
- Slippery or unstable surfaces
- Built with unsafe materials like chemical-laden plastics
- Too tall for the tank size
- Too large for the tank size, which may block important UV lighting to too many parts of the enclosure.
Are There Special Considerations For Baby Bearded Dragons? –
Starting with smaller perches is a possibility for babies.
Just keep in mind, you’ll have to upgrade as your beardie grows up!
The same types of perches are great for beardies of any age.
Appropriate substrate, on the other hand, will differ depending on the maturity of your dragon.
We recommend avoiding using loose materials for substrates (bedding), such as calci-sand.
It is much better to use solid flooring, such as reptile carpet, for baby bearded dragons.
Solid substrate will reduce the risk of your baby beardie ingesting anything harmful.
How Can I Secure A Perch? – One of the main considerations of a bearded dragon perch is its stability.
Here are a few tips to ensure the safest possible perches:
- Check on suction cups often to make sure they’re holding.
- Use ties to further secure hammocks and swings.
- Set ramps, branches and rocks on level flooring.
- When angling branches at an incline, use rocks or ties to avoid any possibility of shifting or rolling.
- Make sure any platform is wide enough for your pet’s size. This will reduce the risk of your beardie falling from a high place.
The last thing you want is your beardie becoming injured because of a nasty fall from a seemingly safe place in its enclosure!
Conclusion
Now you know about some great options for a bearded dragon perch.
Perches mimic a natural habitat, provide a safe place to exercise, and allow a beardie to climb closer to its basking light when it needs to warm up.
These are all important environmental considerations to help your bearded dragon stay enriched, active, and happy!
