Bearded Dragon caresheet

[Lewb]

Bearded dragons can make great pets if given the right environment and care. They are a decent size, very tame, and resillient to most common illnesses given the right lifestyle. Most seem to enjoy being handled and adapt well to frequent handling sessions. They make good lizards for a beginner, perhaps this is the reason why so many beginner reptile keepers run into problems caring for their pet.

Setting up your new dragons vivarium

For a young dragon under 12 months, a tank sized 36" long and 15" deep will last a dragon for a large portion of its life. For hatchlings and babies less than a few months some may use a 24" tank, but this is not recommended as achieving the wide temperature gradient needed will be next to impossible in this sort of size. Housing more than one bearded dragon together is not recommended. By nature, bearded dragons are solitary animals who only come together to breed, and then go their seperate ways. They get very territorial and in many cases have been known to fight (sometimes to the death) over a particular area in the tank. Also, housing young dragons together often results in tail and toe nips. Although this seems like a minimal problem, the act of one dragon biting another is very stressful for both of the dragons, and may cause many health problems other than the obvious. If you are adamant that you want to risk housing your dragons together, then make sure they are over 6 months and are sexed accurately so you can ensure they are both female. Housing a male and female, or male and male is just asking for trouble.

For an adult dragon a vivarium sized 48" by 18"+ is recommended, although many have success housing their dragons from hatchlings in 40 gallon breeders, which measure 36" by 18". It is up to you how you decide to decorate your vivarium, but ensure there is enough room to run around while mainting the few vital landmarks of a bearded dragon enclosure: A basking spot, usually a raised rock or branch, a UV tube: Repti-sun 10% or Repti-sun 5% or a Repti-glo 10% are recommended, and a hide. Hides give the lizard security, lots of dragons will spend most of their time here when in shed or at night time.

Substrates

A substrate is what you fill the bottom of your vivarium with. This is a highly controversial topic amongst keepers. For hatchlings, housing them on any particle based substrate is a major cause for concern. Due to the nature of bearded dragons eating habits, some is likely to be ingested, and if the lizard doesn't choke on it, it will impact them which usually results in death at a young age. Also, particle substrates absorb the feces and act like a litter tray, which is very unhygienic for the lizard. A list of good substrates to choose from include: ceramic tiles, reptile carpet, sifted and washed childrens playsand for beardies over a year.

Diet

Dragon under 12 months: You should feed them your staple livefood 2-3 times a day, in each session, put in a couple of livefoods until they are eaten for 10-15 minutes. If your feeding in the beardies enclosure then make sure you remove every bug after they are done feeding. You need to dust 1 feeding a day with calcium powder with no phosphorus. D3 calcium powder can be used, but it is easy to overdose the d3, most keepers agree that D3 given in the form of a UV tube is safer. Dust with a multivitamin once a week, with the ratio of vitamin a:b:d of 100:10:1. I recommend reptivite. You should offer your beardie fresh greens every day. Good staples include: Mustard greens, collard / spring greens, dandelion greens, chard, etc. Do not feed any fruits with citric in them. Feed other fruits such as apple only as a treat.

Adults: You need to limit the amount of livefood an adult eats. Too much protein will cause liver disease which shortens their life greatly. Offer 20-25 crickets (or equivalent in other staples) per week. You can offer them all in one day or over the week, whatever you and your dragon prefer. Dust 3 times a week with calcium and once with a multivitamin. Offer fresh veggies daily as you do with juveniles.

If you want to feed your dragon pinkie mice, make sure you feed them scarcely. Once a month or less often works well to put weight on dragons, but pinkies can be hard to digest and have a huge fat / protein content.

Temperatures

For basking lights the best choice is a flood bulb, par 38 works well. The light is focused enough to heat up just the basking spot, but also wide enough to cover the whole dragon. Narrow Spotlights are not recommended as they may heat up part of the basking surface to 130, while the rest is just 100-110. Make sure your basking light produces bright white light. Red, ceramic, or blue heat bulbs don't work well as bearded dragons, like most lizards, associate light with heat. To ensure your lizards health is optimal, for a baby set your basking SURFACE temperature to 110*, using a dimming thermostat. You must measure this temperature with a digital thermometer with probe or a temperature gun, and put it right onto the surface. Dial thermometers only measure air temp and can be up to 20* off. For an adult, cool the temps to 105*. The cool end should be 80* give or take 5* due to room temperature fluctuations.

UV Lighting

UVB rays are essential for the health of your dragon. They improve colour, activeness, and appetite. Without it a dragon will diminish quickly, go off their food, and eventually get MBD (Metabolic Bone Disorder) which will result in paralysis, if the dragon still survives.

Your UV tube must be within 6 inches of the dragon, and should cover the length of the tank. The best UV tube is a repti-sun 10%, followed by the repti-glo 10%. Don't always trust the percentages measurement, as the repti-glo 5% produces significantly more UV than the repti-glo 8%.

After 6 months you will need to replace your tube, by this time its output will have decreased by 70% than when it was brand new.

Mercury Vapour bulbs can be used in enclosures that are very large. They must be over 12 inches away from the dragon, and 18 is optimal. They provide extremely focused amounts of UV in a small area, usually the basking site.

Refer to this graph for the output of different brand tubes:



Hydration

For good hydration, bathe your dragon 2 or 3 times a week for 15 minutes. The water should be shoulder length or a bit lower to start with. Measure the water temperature and aim for 95*, give or take 5*, some dragons prefer higher / lower temperatures. If your dragon is scared of baths, put a flannel along the surface for him to grip on, and keep your hand in the bath with him.

Now you've got all your husbandry sorted... its time to choose your dragon!

How to choose your dragon

If you are buying your new pet from a petshop, ask the sales assistant as much as you can about the lizard you are interested in. Ask about his age, his parents, how well he has been eating, his / her gender, and check the overall conditions he has been kept in. Once you have got the answers to all these questions you can proceed to ask to handle him. If he does not run about when trying to be picked up, he may be unhealthy. If he feels cold, come back when he has been basking for a few hours. Cold reptiles will act lethargically and not have the same character as when they are warmed up. When your ready to buy your new dragon, ask the shop assistant to offer food to the dragon, and make sure it eats a fair amount. If you cannot find a healthy dragon in a shop, look around for a private breeder, the conditions will probably have been better and you will get more advice afterwards.

Thankyou for reading and hope this helped in some way.

[mary walters]

Have you any objection to me printing and keeping this article please????

[Becky]

Mary yours is a newt remember lol!

[Lewb]

Originally Posted by mary walters

Have you any objection to me printing and keeping this article please????

Nope thats fine.

[Deadeye]

This is soooo helpful .

The sizes ~ are the inches ?

[Lewb]

Originally Posted by Deadeye

This is soooo helpful .

The sizes ~ are the inches ?

Yeh they are in inches. Glad you thought it was helpful

[Deadeye]

Yea thanks.

[Lostcorn]

How many hours per day should the UV be on?

[Lewb]

Originally Posted by Lostcorn

How many hours per day should the UV be on?

Some alter it from summer to winter, but 12-14 per day is fine. It should go off along with any bright lights you are using, at night time.

[beginner.craig]

when setting up a vivarium for bearded dragons can you use a couple of mercury vapor bulbs for both a basking lamp and a UV lamp or doesnt that work?