Post by Luthien on Sept 9, 2010 17:26:06 GMT -5
Name: Bearded Dragon
Size: 16-20 Inches Long
Ease of Care: Easy to Medium
When you decide to buy a Bearded Dragon, whether from a breeder or Pet store, look it over carefully. Some things you should notice right away is how alert and active the Dragon is, you don't want a Beardie that can't lift it's head or looks lethargic. When you walk up to the enclosure the Beardies should be watching you with interest and should have bright and alert eyes. You also want to check them for sores, burns, external parasites or any deformities. Make sure there is no pus or other gunk built up in the eyes, nose or mouth area also. Many Beardies will be missing toes or bits of their tail, especially if housed with other Beardies, this will not cause them any discomfort as long as the wound looks healed and shows no sign of infection. One of the most important things in my eyes is to look at the size of the Beardie. I do not recommend Beardies under 6 inches in total length to people that have never owned one before, baby Beardies can be very fragile and more apt to become ill or overly stressed. It's much easier to care for a more developed Bearded Dragon if you are just starting out.
Housing
Young Beardies under 10 inches in length can be housed in a 20gal long aquarium. This will last them for a few months only though as they grow quickly. Adult Dragons should be housed in nothing smaller than a 40gal breeder tank. I prefer using 55gal aquariums due to the extra length it gives them to run and they are easily found at most Pet stores. Screen lids should be used for the top of any aquarium style cages you use. Do not use glass, plexiglass or wood to cover your cages. This will not allow enough air circulation and will also trap humidity in the cage. Screen tops allow air flow, allow your lighting and heat sources to work correctly and also allow humidity to escape. If you wish to make your own terrarium that is fine as well, wood, plexiglass, hinges, catches and mesh are all you need. I made my own and it works quite well, I'll include a picture of it.
Lighting
Bearded Dragons require full spectrum lighting for 12-14 hours a day. There are brands such as Reptisun, Reptiglo or lumichrome bulbs. These fluorescent bulbs should stretch the length of your Beardies enclosure and your Beardie should be able to come within 6-8 inches of the light. The UV light should be placed over the cage and not directed through the glass, glass will deflect the UV rays. Follow the directions on the package of the bulb for replacement frequency.
Heat and Temperature
To produce heat and a basking spot in your enclosure you can use either a ceramic heat emitter or a reptile basking light(red, blue or white). The best fixture for any of these choices is a porcelain dome light fixture. This type of fixture is a must with a ceramic heat emitter due to the amount of heat they produce. The temperature for this basking spot you created should be around 110f for juveniles and can be around 95-100f for adults. Although I don't recommend any temps above 110f, within a few degrees of these basking temps will be sufficent.
The cool side of the enclosure should be around 85f during the day. Once again within a few degrees of this temp is just fine.
Night time temperatures can fall as low as 65f. It is fairly easy to keep your night temps above this even in the winter. If you can't keep your temps above this you may want to consider buying an under tank heater (UTH) for night time use. Using this just during the evening hours will help create a warm spot for your Dragon to sleep. DO NOT use heat rocks as these can cause serious burns on your animals underside.
A thermometer on the "hot side" and one on the "cool side" will make sure that your temps are in the range they should be in (make sure the thermometer is inside your tank).
Substrate
For baby to juvenile Bearded Dragons I prefer and recommend either newspaper, paper towels, butcher paper or reptile carpet. These choices are cheap, easy to clean and hold no health risks to your animal. DO NOT use sand, shavings or any other loose substrate for baby to juvenile Beardies. They can be very clumsy eaters and they are also very curious and like to taste everything. Any kind of loose substrate holds serious health risks to your Beardie. If they eat a loose substrate they can become impacted, which is a blocking of the intestines, and die.
For adult Dragons I prefer either the grass repti carpet or playsand. Washed playsand is much cheaper than all those fancy colored reptile sands and looks just as good. You can buy this playsand at most larger Hardware stores for under $4 for 50lbs. It would be good for your Beardie to also add a bit of calcium sand as the injest the calcium through their skin.
Crushed walnut shell is dangerous and should only be used to clean up oil spills. This substrate is NOT digestable and if too much of it is eaten it will cause impaction. I have seen this occur first hand with reptiles ranging from lizards to tortoise. Stay away from this product please.
Feeding and Diet
Bearded Dragons are omnivorous, meaning that they eat both animal and plant matter. Any and all food items that your Bearded Dragons eat should be no bigger than the space between their eyes. If the food items are bigger than the space between their eyes it can cause impaction and/or hind leg paralysis. Either way your Beardie will suffer horribly.
Baby and juvenile Beardies should be offered appropriately sized crickets two-three times a day. Offer as many as your Beardie will eat in a 5-10 minute time frame. When your Beardie stops eating, stop offering. Young Bearded Dragons can eat anywhere from 20-60 small crickets a day. Your Beardie should also be given fresh greens daily. Spraying the greens with water will help them last longer and will also help keep your Beardie hydrated. Please do not feed your Beardie after 2 hours before his/her lights go out, the heat from their lamps are what help them digest their food.
Sub-adult to adult Beardies only need to eat prey items once a day along with fresh greens. Once they are this age you can also offer them Locusts, Cockroaches, Mealworms, Waxworms, Zophobas worms, Silkworms, Butterworms, Red worms, Earthworms and just about any other worm available. All these should be used as treats though with crickets and greens being the stable part of your Dragons diet. DO NOT feed your Beardie insects that you have caught in your backyard. These bugs could have parasites that could be passed on to your Beardie or they could have been exposed to poisons that could kill your Beardie. Lightning bugs can also kill your Beardie so it is much safer to stay away from wild caught insects.
Prey items should be dusted once a day with a calcium/vitamin D3 supplement such as Rep-cal makes. All prey items should be dusted once a week with a multivitamin supplement such as Herptivite, also made by Rep-cal.
Any uneaten prey items should be removed from your Dragons enclosure.
There is a wide variety of greens that are available that are good for your Beardie. Dandelion greens, Collard greens, Mustard greens, Bok choy, Kale, Turnip greens, Escarole and Chicory are among the easiest to find and the best to use. If the greens you are wondering about say Lettuce anywhere in the name avoid them. Most types of lettuce are composed mostly of water and hold little or no nutritional value. With the wide variety of other greens out there it is better and easier to just avoid any type of lettuce. Spinach should also be avoided as calcium binds to it and will not be digested by your animal. DO NOT feed your Beardie Romania lettuce as it is poisonous to them if given in great amounts.
A wide variety of vegetables can also be offered to your Beardie. Butternut squash, Yellow squash, Spaghetti squash, Acorn squash, all other varieties of squash, Green beans, Parsnips, Sweet potato, Snow peas and Carrots. Carrots should only be used as a treat though due to the high amounts of vitamin A. Any food with high amounts of vitamin A should be avoided as reptiles do not absorb alot of vitamin A. Feeding your Beardie alot foods such as Carrots will end up in a condition called Vitamin A toxicity which is deadly. Squashes will either have to be cooked or microwaved before feeding them to your Beardie. This will soften them up and they can then be minced and eaten easier.
Fruits can also be used, just avoid any citrus fruit such as oranges and grape fruit. DO NOT feed your Beardie Bannana's, yes they love them but that's just the problem. They love them too much! Once you start feeding your Beardie Bannana's you will have a VERY hard time getting them to eat anything else.
Water
Fresh water should be offered daily in a shallow bowl. This water bowl should be disinfected once a week to avoid any bacterial build up. Many Beardie's may not drink from a water bowl so you may have to drip the water slowly onto your Beardies snout. Wiggling your finger in the water may also get their attention. Beardies like things that move so creating ripples in the water may get their attention.
Bathing
Bathing your Beardie once a week will help keep them hydrated and will also aid in shedding. Bath water should be warm on your wrist and not hot, much like bath water for a small child. Make the water only as deep as your Beardies chest or half way up their front arms. I usually use a sink for my juveniles, just fill the sink until the water reaches the first knuckle of your finger. For adults a bath tub is nice, to the second knuckle on my index finger works for me. Never leave your Beardie unattended in the bath, accidents only take a second to happen. It's also a good idea to disinfect your tub when the bath is over because Beardies will often defecate in the water. Don't be suprised if your Beardie doesn't like the water at first and tries to climb out, leave him there for awhile and I garentee he will start swimming soon.
Salmonella?
Many people are afraid of Salmonella poisening from their Beardies. Do not be afraid of this as the only way you can get Salmonella from a Beardie is by handling it's feces. The heat that your Beardie is kept in burns away any diseases and makes your Beardie safe to handle for all ages. I usually leave my Beardies feces in the cage for 24-48 hours before cleaning it out, this gives the heat a chance to work and makes it safe. Just remember to wash your hands after cleaning your new little pet.
~ Sincerly hakulover ~
Size: 16-20 Inches Long
Ease of Care: Easy to Medium
When you decide to buy a Bearded Dragon, whether from a breeder or Pet store, look it over carefully. Some things you should notice right away is how alert and active the Dragon is, you don't want a Beardie that can't lift it's head or looks lethargic. When you walk up to the enclosure the Beardies should be watching you with interest and should have bright and alert eyes. You also want to check them for sores, burns, external parasites or any deformities. Make sure there is no pus or other gunk built up in the eyes, nose or mouth area also. Many Beardies will be missing toes or bits of their tail, especially if housed with other Beardies, this will not cause them any discomfort as long as the wound looks healed and shows no sign of infection. One of the most important things in my eyes is to look at the size of the Beardie. I do not recommend Beardies under 6 inches in total length to people that have never owned one before, baby Beardies can be very fragile and more apt to become ill or overly stressed. It's much easier to care for a more developed Bearded Dragon if you are just starting out.
Housing
Young Beardies under 10 inches in length can be housed in a 20gal long aquarium. This will last them for a few months only though as they grow quickly. Adult Dragons should be housed in nothing smaller than a 40gal breeder tank. I prefer using 55gal aquariums due to the extra length it gives them to run and they are easily found at most Pet stores. Screen lids should be used for the top of any aquarium style cages you use. Do not use glass, plexiglass or wood to cover your cages. This will not allow enough air circulation and will also trap humidity in the cage. Screen tops allow air flow, allow your lighting and heat sources to work correctly and also allow humidity to escape. If you wish to make your own terrarium that is fine as well, wood, plexiglass, hinges, catches and mesh are all you need. I made my own and it works quite well, I'll include a picture of it.
Lighting
Bearded Dragons require full spectrum lighting for 12-14 hours a day. There are brands such as Reptisun, Reptiglo or lumichrome bulbs. These fluorescent bulbs should stretch the length of your Beardies enclosure and your Beardie should be able to come within 6-8 inches of the light. The UV light should be placed over the cage and not directed through the glass, glass will deflect the UV rays. Follow the directions on the package of the bulb for replacement frequency.
Heat and Temperature
To produce heat and a basking spot in your enclosure you can use either a ceramic heat emitter or a reptile basking light(red, blue or white). The best fixture for any of these choices is a porcelain dome light fixture. This type of fixture is a must with a ceramic heat emitter due to the amount of heat they produce. The temperature for this basking spot you created should be around 110f for juveniles and can be around 95-100f for adults. Although I don't recommend any temps above 110f, within a few degrees of these basking temps will be sufficent.
The cool side of the enclosure should be around 85f during the day. Once again within a few degrees of this temp is just fine.
Night time temperatures can fall as low as 65f. It is fairly easy to keep your night temps above this even in the winter. If you can't keep your temps above this you may want to consider buying an under tank heater (UTH) for night time use. Using this just during the evening hours will help create a warm spot for your Dragon to sleep. DO NOT use heat rocks as these can cause serious burns on your animals underside.
A thermometer on the "hot side" and one on the "cool side" will make sure that your temps are in the range they should be in (make sure the thermometer is inside your tank).
Substrate
For baby to juvenile Bearded Dragons I prefer and recommend either newspaper, paper towels, butcher paper or reptile carpet. These choices are cheap, easy to clean and hold no health risks to your animal. DO NOT use sand, shavings or any other loose substrate for baby to juvenile Beardies. They can be very clumsy eaters and they are also very curious and like to taste everything. Any kind of loose substrate holds serious health risks to your Beardie. If they eat a loose substrate they can become impacted, which is a blocking of the intestines, and die.
For adult Dragons I prefer either the grass repti carpet or playsand. Washed playsand is much cheaper than all those fancy colored reptile sands and looks just as good. You can buy this playsand at most larger Hardware stores for under $4 for 50lbs. It would be good for your Beardie to also add a bit of calcium sand as the injest the calcium through their skin.
Crushed walnut shell is dangerous and should only be used to clean up oil spills. This substrate is NOT digestable and if too much of it is eaten it will cause impaction. I have seen this occur first hand with reptiles ranging from lizards to tortoise. Stay away from this product please.
Feeding and Diet
Bearded Dragons are omnivorous, meaning that they eat both animal and plant matter. Any and all food items that your Bearded Dragons eat should be no bigger than the space between their eyes. If the food items are bigger than the space between their eyes it can cause impaction and/or hind leg paralysis. Either way your Beardie will suffer horribly.
Baby and juvenile Beardies should be offered appropriately sized crickets two-three times a day. Offer as many as your Beardie will eat in a 5-10 minute time frame. When your Beardie stops eating, stop offering. Young Bearded Dragons can eat anywhere from 20-60 small crickets a day. Your Beardie should also be given fresh greens daily. Spraying the greens with water will help them last longer and will also help keep your Beardie hydrated. Please do not feed your Beardie after 2 hours before his/her lights go out, the heat from their lamps are what help them digest their food.
Sub-adult to adult Beardies only need to eat prey items once a day along with fresh greens. Once they are this age you can also offer them Locusts, Cockroaches, Mealworms, Waxworms, Zophobas worms, Silkworms, Butterworms, Red worms, Earthworms and just about any other worm available. All these should be used as treats though with crickets and greens being the stable part of your Dragons diet. DO NOT feed your Beardie insects that you have caught in your backyard. These bugs could have parasites that could be passed on to your Beardie or they could have been exposed to poisons that could kill your Beardie. Lightning bugs can also kill your Beardie so it is much safer to stay away from wild caught insects.
Prey items should be dusted once a day with a calcium/vitamin D3 supplement such as Rep-cal makes. All prey items should be dusted once a week with a multivitamin supplement such as Herptivite, also made by Rep-cal.
Any uneaten prey items should be removed from your Dragons enclosure.
There is a wide variety of greens that are available that are good for your Beardie. Dandelion greens, Collard greens, Mustard greens, Bok choy, Kale, Turnip greens, Escarole and Chicory are among the easiest to find and the best to use. If the greens you are wondering about say Lettuce anywhere in the name avoid them. Most types of lettuce are composed mostly of water and hold little or no nutritional value. With the wide variety of other greens out there it is better and easier to just avoid any type of lettuce. Spinach should also be avoided as calcium binds to it and will not be digested by your animal. DO NOT feed your Beardie Romania lettuce as it is poisonous to them if given in great amounts.
A wide variety of vegetables can also be offered to your Beardie. Butternut squash, Yellow squash, Spaghetti squash, Acorn squash, all other varieties of squash, Green beans, Parsnips, Sweet potato, Snow peas and Carrots. Carrots should only be used as a treat though due to the high amounts of vitamin A. Any food with high amounts of vitamin A should be avoided as reptiles do not absorb alot of vitamin A. Feeding your Beardie alot foods such as Carrots will end up in a condition called Vitamin A toxicity which is deadly. Squashes will either have to be cooked or microwaved before feeding them to your Beardie. This will soften them up and they can then be minced and eaten easier.
Fruits can also be used, just avoid any citrus fruit such as oranges and grape fruit. DO NOT feed your Beardie Bannana's, yes they love them but that's just the problem. They love them too much! Once you start feeding your Beardie Bannana's you will have a VERY hard time getting them to eat anything else.
Water
Fresh water should be offered daily in a shallow bowl. This water bowl should be disinfected once a week to avoid any bacterial build up. Many Beardie's may not drink from a water bowl so you may have to drip the water slowly onto your Beardies snout. Wiggling your finger in the water may also get their attention. Beardies like things that move so creating ripples in the water may get their attention.
Bathing
Bathing your Beardie once a week will help keep them hydrated and will also aid in shedding. Bath water should be warm on your wrist and not hot, much like bath water for a small child. Make the water only as deep as your Beardies chest or half way up their front arms. I usually use a sink for my juveniles, just fill the sink until the water reaches the first knuckle of your finger. For adults a bath tub is nice, to the second knuckle on my index finger works for me. Never leave your Beardie unattended in the bath, accidents only take a second to happen. It's also a good idea to disinfect your tub when the bath is over because Beardies will often defecate in the water. Don't be suprised if your Beardie doesn't like the water at first and tries to climb out, leave him there for awhile and I garentee he will start swimming soon.
Salmonella?
Many people are afraid of Salmonella poisening from their Beardies. Do not be afraid of this as the only way you can get Salmonella from a Beardie is by handling it's feces. The heat that your Beardie is kept in burns away any diseases and makes your Beardie safe to handle for all ages. I usually leave my Beardies feces in the cage for 24-48 hours before cleaning it out, this gives the heat a chance to work and makes it safe. Just remember to wash your hands after cleaning your new little pet.
~ Sincerly hakulover ~
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