Care Sheet for Bearded DragonsAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 0 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 02/22/2011 |
Main Category: | Lizards |
Sub Category: | Bearded Dragons |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | Z.Z. |
Years Experience: | Under 1 Year |
Species: | Bearded Dragon |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | NONE |
Sexing and Characteristics: | It is almost impossible to sex babies under about 6 months, but in some cases it is possible, so most will all look like females. Males will have two bulges above their vent and females will only have one bulge or none. |
Mostly Active During: | Day |
Substrate and Water Needs: | For babies under 8 months, use newspaper, paper towels, repti-carpet, or anything solid and non-toxic will work. For adults, I highly recommend using the same substrate as you will for babies, plus tile, or splinter-free wood chips. Never use sand, as it can cause impaction (deadly constipation) and a slow, and painful death. |
Lighting and UVB: | UV lights are very important for Bearded Dragons. Without proper lighting, they can get metabolic bone disease (MBD) which distorts the bones, and causes your reptile to shake. MBD is a slow and painful process of death, so don’t let it happen. These particular reptile needs a 10.0 bulb. The light and fixture should cover at least half of the top of the enclosure. |
Temperatures and Humidity: | Basking temps should be from 105 degrees F to 115 degrees F. The warm side of the enclosure should be somewhere in the 90s. The cool side should be in the low 80s or high 70s. Humidity should fall between 30%-20%. I personally raise the humidity to about 40% when my Bearded Dragon is shedding to help it shed. |
Heating and Equipment: | If your house is around 60 degrees F, I recommend a 100 watt bulb. You want to make sure you light fixtures can support the wattage of your bulb. There is typically a little note inside the fixture that says the maximum wattage you can use without starting a fire. |
Caging Provided: | For babies, use a 29g long until they take up about half of the enclosure. For adults, a 75g long is pretty much MINIMUM. The bigger the better, but if you follow that rule, you have to remember to keep the cage at a size that doesn’t stress out your Bearded Dragon or impairs it’s hunting. |
Diet: | Omnivorous |
Description of Diet: | As babies, they need 80% meat and 20% greens in their diet. That can be done by feeding mostly crickets (always dust crickets with calcium), and about a weekly serving of meal worms, phoenix worms, or silkworms. Wax worms are more of a treat as they are very fattening. Greens such as collard, dandelion, mustard, squash, and romaine lettuce are really the only recommended greens for them. Never feed iceberg lettuce. You should always spray down greens before feeding them to you Bearded Dragon. For adults, the food doesn’t change much except you should substitute crickets for roaches (roaches are practically in nutritional terms super crickets). NEVER FEED BABIES ROACHES THOUGH. |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | If you are using tube-style UV lighting (which is recommended) use calcium powder with vitamin D3. Once a week dust with multivitamins. |
Maintenance: | You should spot-clean the enclosure every day and totally clean the whole enclosure every month (but you can do it more if you wish). |
Some Words on this Species: | Bearded Dragons are one of or the easiest reptile to care for. What makes them so popular in the pet trade is that they are easy to breed, are great for beginners, they all have a unique personality, and they are just plain awesome! They make body movements such as head bobbing which means, I’m gonna kill you, and arm waving which indicates a submission. Wild Bearded Dragons can be found in the deserts and plains of Australia. |
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