Dragon refusing to bask after hot spot?

A hot spot over 120°F will absolutely teach a dragon to avoid its basking area — and once they learn that spot burns, they stay away even after you've changed the bulb. That thermal aversion is a real problem, and it takes a consistent, correct setup to rebuild their confidence. Bad lighting is actually the most common husbandry mistake with bearded dragons; wrong UVB or basking temperatures lead to metabolic bone disease and chronic illness that owners often don't notice until real damage is done. To help you properly: what size is the enclosure, what bulbs were you using before (brand and wattage), and how old is the dragon?

That makes complete sense. Unbranded halogen spots are notorious for inconsistent output — they can spike way beyond their rated wattage at the beam's centre, which is exactly how you end up with 120°F+ hot spots even from a 100W bulb. At 2 years old she knows what she's doing; she's not being awkward, she's remembering. The good news is that a diffuse, flood-beam bulb rather than a tight spot beam spreads the heat more evenly and eliminates that scorching central point. What are you using for UVB at the moment, and is it a T5 or T8 tube?

The Arcadia T5 6% is exactly right for a bearded dragon — good choice there. So the UVB isn't the issue; this is purely about rebuilding her trust in the basking zone with a bulb that produces even, predictable heat. My recommendation is the Arcadia Halogen Flood 75W. It's a true flood beam rather than a spot, which spreads radiant heat across a wider area — surface temperatures stay consistent rather than spiking in one point. In a 4x2x2 at the standard 30–40cm mounting distance, 75W should give you a basking surface around 105–110°F, which is exactly where a 2-year-old adult dragon needs to be. It's also a well-manufactured bulb with stable output, so it won't behave erratically the way unbranded bulbs do. I'd suggest positioning the new basking rock or branch slightly further from the bulb than usual to start — maybe 40cm — and letting her approach it in her own time over a few days.

I'd move it — not dramatically, but enough that it doesn't feel like the same spot. Shift the basking platform or branch a few inches to one side, or change its height slightly. You're essentially creating a new context for her so the previous negative association is less immediate. Dragons are more spatially aware than people give them credit for. Also verify your surface temperature with a temperature gun rather than an ambient thermometer — ambient readings routinely underestimate basking surface heat by 15–20°F, which is how people end up with accidental hot spots in the first place. Aim for 105–110°F on the basking surface, and make sure the cool end stays around 80–85°F so the thermal gradient is clear and useful to her.

You're well set up — the Arcadia T5 UVB is solid, and once the Halogen Flood is in and she's had a few days to investigate without getting burned, she should come back to basking on her own. Give it up to a week; don't be tempted to force the issue. If she's still avoiding it after 10 days with confirmed correct temperatures, come back and we can look at whether there's a positioning or enclosure layout factor at play. Good luck with her.