Bearded dragon care sheet

[beardie_4]

Hopefully nobody thinks this is way off, this was just a "fast type" (as in 2 1/2 hours worth of typing) care sheet, so there may be a few things I missed, so please point them out... :wink:



Bearded dragons (Pogona Vitticeps)




Introduction


Bearded dragons make good pets for anyone who is willing to care for them… Bearded dragons make good pets for both beginners, and advanced reptile keepers. Bearded dragon love attention, therefore I would recommend having a beardie if you have a small child willing to play with him/her. However, these bearded dragons are very delicate and can be harmed very easily, so I would suggest having them handle the dragon with adult supervision. These small creatures have become very famous over the years. They are very tame, and docile creatures, this is highly recommended to have…



Choosing a Bearded Dragon for a pet



Whether or not if you get it from a breeder or pet store, always look for a bright eyed, alert, and active beardie. You don’t’ want a beardie who can’t lift his head or looks legarthic. Here are a few tips I would highly recommend you do. You can ask the breeder/pet store owner to drop a couple crickets in there, and see which bearded dragon eats the crickets; you can also ask the owner to let you hold it, see if he’s active, etc.


Things to AVOID


Try not to get a baby that is on sand (especially calci-sand), wrong temps, not enough food, small cage, sores, burns external parasites, any sign of deformities, too many babies in one tank (over 5-6 babies is the max.) Many babies will have nipped tails and nipped toes and under weight bearded dragons at the pet store, this is why I would not recommend getting a beardie from the pet store. Please be sure to follow these simple instructions for the health of your new bearded dragon…



Vet check up

You should always get a vet check up done 2-3x a year; this will also be done if needed. Therefore you need to get a fecal exam, and a general health check up. A good place to start is by finding a good vet for your beardie. Not all vets are considered good, so find the right now before you trust him. It’s not going to be easy finding a trusted vet; however, it is necessary for your dragon’s safety. Here is a good site with listing of good vets near your area: Anapsid.org. Bearded dragons can get many different kinds of parasites, as a result if left untreated, can seriously harm your dragon, or kill him, so this is very vital to your bearded dragons care and health. A fecal exam is the easiest way to solve this problem.





Longevity


A well cared for bearded dragon will usually live 6-12 years in age. The younger age dragon is the most important part of the bearded dragon’s life. If not cared for properly, that will most likely cut the years short of your precious bearded dragon’s life. If fed properly, getting enough UV rays, vitamins, and minerals, and of course, a healthy balance of everyday living, this will enable a long happy and healthy life.



Sexing


Bearded dragons are rather easy to sex as long as the correct age. Bearded dragons are sexed easily after 6 months of age. The males will have two bulges right above their vent, and their femoral pores are more pronounced. However, females are a little different; they have one (or no) bulge, and don’t have as pronounced femoral pores. The best way (IMO) to hold your bearded dragon when making this check is to place your dragon in one hand, at the right angles to your fingers, and facing away from you. Place your thumb over the back to hold them in correct place. With your other hand lift the tail up to approximately 90 degrees. Be very careful!!! You may hurt your beardie if done incorrectly.


Caging


Younger bearded dragons approximately ten inches and smaller can be housed in a 20 gallon tank. This will probably only last a few months, if fed properly they will grow very fast. Adult dragons can be housed in a 40 gallon breeder tank. I would recommend using a bigger tank, I’ve heard 65 (48 x 18 x 1 gallon is the best recommended for one adult bearded dragon, as is more room to run around the tank, it is also found in most pet stores. Be sure to use a screen top for the lid, as it can easily get oxygen in the tank.
I would not recommend using the following for a lid: Plexiglass, glass, wood, or anything that will cover the tank without getting ventilation.



Substrate


There are many different substrates provided for bearded dragons, however, not all are good. Here is a list of the following good substrates: Tile, shelf liner, reptile carpet, paper towels are good for younger bearded dragons or sick, and newspaper is also good for sick or younger bearded dragons or any or other safe non particle substrate is recommended for your safety of your bearded dragon.

You can also use play sand, however, I would not advise it, it can harbors infections, etc.


Substrates to avoid are the following: Calci-sand is a very common product used for bearded dragons, however, this is very dangerous it can cause impaction which can cause them to become paralyzed. Crushed walnut shells are of the same side effect, it can cause SERIOUS impaction; it can also cut their throat, etc. Bed a beast, and bark, if anything that can be ingested is in the cage please take it out immediately.

To clean your bearded dragon cage is really simple, all that’s needed is a Clorox wipe (not pine scented), or wash with 1:10 bleach solution, this can be sprayed once a week. You should rinse, dry, and replace the substrate.


Water


Water can be provided many ways for beardies, this can be done by bathing, or misting. If misting, I would recommend misting babies/juvies everyday, they will get dehydrated very easily, so I would recommend this. Bathes can be done 2-3x a week on the minimum; however, I personally bathe mine everyday for proper hydration.


Bathing



Bearded dragons have so much time having fun in the bathtub; this is one thing they will always count on…

Here are some instructions on how to bath your dragon


Bathing your bearded dragon everyday to 2-3x a week will help keep them hydrated and will also help when going through a shed. Bath water should be warm on your wrist and not hot, much like bath water for a small baby. Make the water only as deep as your bearded dragon chest or half way up their arms. Never leave your beardie unattended to in the bath; accidents will only take a second to happen. It's also a good idea to disinfect your tub/Tupperware when the bath is over because bearded dragons will often poop in the water.

Diet


Bearded dragon are omnivores, they eat both live food, and plant matter. Most food items should be 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 one of these mentioned above can cause your beardie to suffer horribly. They eat lots of live food when young, and eventually eat more veggies when older. The diet should consist of an 80% live, and 20% greens when younger dragons, however, once grown, that should be completely turned around, the diet should be 80% greens, and 20% live. They eat crickets, silkworms, locusts, and roaches (lobster, hissers, dubias, and just about any other roach out in the market) make wonderful staple diets. Here are some good treats, superworms, butter worms, and wax worms, these all play a roll in your beardies diet, however, these are not recommended staples.


Babies/juvies/sub-adult should be fed lots of protein to help grow, so in order for this, they will need lots of bugs, they can eat up to 100 crickets a day, however, usually they eat 50-75 a day. Younger bearded dragons should be fed 3x a day with in a 10-15 minute period. Once they have reached the adult stage they will no longer need anywhere close to as much protein, so the feeders will be limited to 10 crickets every other day. DO NOT feed any bugs caught from your backyard, these bugs could have parasites, and pesticides or other poisons which can cause your beardie serious harm or death. Lightning bugs/ Fire flies are also a very dangerous bug to feed, I would strongly recommend not feeding anything caught from the wild.

Feeders should be dusted with calcium (with D3 and no phosphorus) 5x a week for smaller dragons, along with a multivitamin which is dusted 3x a week, however, with adults it should be 3x a week for calcium (with D3 and no phosphorus), and 1-2x a week for multivitamin. I would recommend using Rep-cal calcium D3 no phosphorus (pink label), and Rep-cal multivitamin (blue label).


Any uneaten food items should be removed from your bearded dragon cage


Calcium/vitamin deficiency


Sadly, this is one of the most common problems with bearded dragons today. They are not getting anywhere near enough sunlight, etc. This can have a permanent effect on your dragon. I would advise using the vitamin supplements given above in the order given, so this problem will not happen. Too little D3 is used, this is what causes MBD (metabolic bone disease), so be sure this does NOT happen to your bearded dragon(s).

Greens and veggies


There is a big variety of vegetables out there, however, not all are fed to bearded dragon, here is a list of good staples, Collard greens, Mustard greens, Turnip greens, Escarole, and Dandelions. Here is a most trusted nutrient chart, http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtrem...Nutrition.html Be sure to stay away from any citrus fruit such as oranges, tangerine, lime, and grape fruit.

Here you will find many greens, fruit, vegetables, and feeders for your bearded dragon(s).




Lighting


Bearded dragon need full spectrum lighting for 12 hours a day. I would recommend using a UVB florescent light of 8.0 or 10.0, these are the best for bearded dragon. UVB lights are VITAL for bearded dragon, and will also help calcium metabolism. It helps for better activity, better appetite. This bulb should be 6-8 inches away from your beardie. Be sure to replace this light every 6 months as it will wear out, and not produce anymore UV rays. Note, UV rays do not penetrate through glass or plastic.


Heating and Temps



To give off enough heat for proper digestion basking spots should be made. One basking spot will be fine; however, two basking spots are better (IMO). These basking spots should be 105-110F for babies and juvies, however, once the adult stage is reached the temps should go down to 95-105F. A regular house hold light will be fine, its better then buying one from the pet store, so I would recommend this. The cool side of the cage should be 80-88F during the day. Night temperatures should not go lower then 65F, if the temps go any lower, you should use a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) to get the temps higher. I would not suggest using a UTH (under tank heater), bearded dragons do not feel heat from under their bodies, so they can actually get burned from the heater. Also never use any heat rock, as mentioned above, they sense heat with a “third eye” located on top of their heads. Be sure to keep a thermometer on each the cool side, and hot side for both temperatures.


Use a temp gun, or a digital thermometer for accurate temp usage. Stick thermometers aren’t accurate at all, so be sure to get one of those. A digital thermo can be purchased at Walmart or another comparable store. A temp gun can be purchased online or maybe at a pet store.



Brumation

Brumation is a form of hibernation your bearded dragon will most likely do during his first year of age in the winter. It is not a complete hibernation; however, it’s a semi inactive state that your beardie will most likely do after his first year of age. It comes naturally to most dragons, so don’t be alarmed if this happens. This is usually caused by the temps dropping in the house. Do not force your dragon to go into brumation if they choose not to. Your dragon will eat less and less until they go into brumation, however, that’s not always the case in some bearded dragons. They are probably responding to the new season change.


Never brumate a sick beardie, or one that has recently been diagnosed with parasites, etc. they may not make it through brumation. If you want to be on top of brumation, I would advise you to stop feeding for about two weeks before the following brumation. Give him two weeks to get rid of all his stomach substance, and lower the temperature of the lights to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure to keep the lights on a daily schedule of an 8-9 hour period. Then you can turn off the lights (be sure to keep the UV lights ON their schedule). I did this for 2 weeks, and then turned OFF the Uv light and left the cage covered with complete darkness, of course, I kept checking on them once or a week to be sure they were looking ok. Once they have gone into brumation, this will last 2-3 months. I’ve only gone through this experience once; however, this is how I did it. Keep in mind they will loose weight; however, this is not a concern once they have woken up. After the 2-3 month period is over, you can start turning on the lights again, and start beginning to feed again. Once you see your dragon is completely awake, turn on the lights (gradually) turn the lights to it’s normal time schedule.

[sam t]

i think your advice was rilly good but ive saw alot of people use calcium sand for there beardies



and iwas just wandering if you would give me any idea on how to breed bearded dragones


sam t

[luke123]

Originally Posted by sam t

i think your advice was rilly good but ive saw alot of people use calcium sand for there beardies



and iwas just wandering if you would give me any idea on how to breed bearded dragones


sam t

calcium sand can kill beardies. this is a guide given to me by hadesdragons, a member on here.

I'm going to writing a full guide over the next few months about how I do it - unfortunately it's likely to take me that long to get the pictures I want!

Starting with the basics - it will cost you around £1,000 to get them to the point where they can be sold - if you do things responsibly, to minimise the risk of tail / toe nips and fights etc.


When a male and female are introduced, it usually only takes a few days to a couple of weeks for the male to "do his thing" - sometimes less. You will see him biting the back of the female's head, then climbing on top of her:



There's likely to be a lot of head bobbing / arm waving accompanying all this. It's common for the female to end up with missing scales, and small cuts are also seen sometimes if the males get too aggressive. As long as they are small and not oozing, they are fine to be treated with tamodine / tea tree cream. They will heal, but the female may end up with small scars. A female who has spent a week with an average male is unlikely to win any beauty contests.


Once mated, a female will usually lay a clutch of eggs after 4 weeks of being gravid. She will usually eat a lot more than usual during this time. Another clutch usually follows around 4 weeks after that. I use a washing up bowl full of damp sand for the females to lay in.

Eggs need incubating at between 82-86f. Don't turn them at any time - be careful when transferring them to the incubator, as they are quite fragile. The exact temperature isn't important (as long as it's within the range), but it is important that it stays the same - once you've picked a temperature, stick to it. Humidity should be fairly high, but not so high that condensation forms above the line of vermiculite / perlite that you are using for incubation. Getting a line of condensation level with the top of the substrate should give you optimal humidity. Given that your female will probably lay a second clutch before the first one, you may need two incubators. If you buy ready-made ones, they can cost up to £100 each.

At 84f, the hatch time is usually around 7-9 weeks. Babies will poke their heads out of the egg, and rest for up to 24 hours before breaking their way fully out.

Once out, they need leaving in the incubator for 24 hours, in individual tubs, with high humidity. This lets them absorb their yolk sacs fully; if they can't do this, they may be slower to grow.


They need housing in groups of five at the most; any more than this, and you run the risk of toe / tail nips. Each group of five needs a full setup - heat and UV. This is where most of your money will go; the second clutch will hatch before you can sell the first. As average clutches are usually 20-30 eggs, you need to prepare for up to 60 babies; that means 12 full setups, 12 UV tubes, 12 UV controllers etc. You might want to work out how much it will cost you to house the babies before you even consider breeding...

Babies need feeding 2-3 times per day, and can eat up to 50 crickets each per day. This is where the rest of your money will go - you have to feed up to 60 hungry babies for the next 6 weeks. Believe me, they eat a lot of crickets. A lot of food means lots of poo - up to twice a day depending on the baby, so they need cleaning out at least once a day. That's 12 full cleans per day, as well as 24-36 feedings (2-3 per cage...)

You will probably make a loss the first time you breed - the amount you sell the babies for is unlikely to cover the cost of the housing and food you need to buy, let alone the time you have to spend looking after them. If you're not going to be around during the day, it will be very hard to make sure they get enough food. Depending on the level of demand in your area, you may struggle to sell the babies to people - I know people who have not been able to sell all of their babies until they were 3 months old; they had to pay for food etc for that whole time. If you decide to sell to petshops, make sure you check them out first and are happy with them. You should also expect to receive a lot less per baby if you sell them to a shop (£15-£20 each, compared with £25-£30 each privately). If you work out what it will cost you, not including equipment, you will struggle to cover your costs if they are sold for £15 each. Remember to take into account the electricity that 12 setups will use during the 6 weeks that the babies are with you...


That's the "basics", which is all I have time to write just now. PM if you have any specific questions about it all...

Hope it made sense.

Andy

hope ive helped

to the OP; ive never read about going to the vets 3 times a year if theres no problem with your beardie...ive never took mine to the vets.

[bikesfred54]

your care sheet helps alot but i getting a pair of adult beardies can you tell me what the pair would need to be feed on a day and any thing else they will need.

[mjp1pink]

Hi, can you help, got a baby bearded 12weeks old, fed it a few mealworms last night and at lunch today he has brought them all back up. Read your care sheet and nothing was mentioned about mealworms, are the ok to feed a baby or should I be worried about him being sick.
Regards
Melanie.

[luke123]

Originally Posted by mjp1pink

Hi, can you help, got a baby bearded 12weeks old, fed it a few mealworms last night and at lunch today he has brought them all back up. Read your care sheet and nothing was mentioned about mealworms, are the ok to feed a baby or should I be worried about him being sick.
Regards
Melanie.

babys cant digest mealies, and either poo them out undigested or sick them up. its not advised to feed them.

[sundia]

Just wanna say a BIG!!! thank you

i think thgis is a really good care sheet and has helped me with a few last things before i get my bearded dragon

just one question for 2 bearded dragons what size VIV would you suggest (adults)

[petro69]

hi there
what's better for 13year old boy beardie or butterfly lizard

[geordieass]

fab care sheet, its the feeding im worried about, my BD is 7mnth old will not eat salads though offered every day and will eat cricketts is I catch them for her, she has hunted 2 on her own, iv only owned her a few days. Any advice please please pm me!!

Ta

[DeeNJai]

Hi

My dragon is hibination at the moment, should I check him everyday. He is covered up and all I do is have a quick look to see if he looks ok. what do you do with the food whilst they are a sleep. I have loads and loads of roaches. I will have get a couple more boxes as there so so many of them now. This is his first time he has done this as he is around 15months old.

Dee