Bearded Dragon Care Sheet

Introduction

Bearded Dragons orginate from desert and sub-tropical parts of Australia. They are relatively easy to keep, but they do require a more extensive set up than snakes or geckos. They usually grow to between 18-24 inches and can be expected to live to around 7-10 years. Bearded dragons are very active lizards and have great characters. If handled regularly they become very tame and docile.

Housing

The minimum size Vivarium for any bearded dragon should be 48”x15”x15”. As “Beardies” are a desert species, they require a fairly hot basking area in their Vivarium. This will be obtained by using a spot bulb controlled by a dimming thermostat. Doing this should enable you to create a thermal gradient in the Vivarium (A hot end and a cool end). Bearded dragons also need a drop in temperature at night time, and as most modern houses are fairly warm, you simply need to switch off the heating at night. Bearded dragons also require strong UVB lighting. This can be obtained by using a 10% UVB fluorescent tube, which should run for around 12 hours a day. This combined with vitamin and calcium supplements will ensure they get adequate calcium for healthy bone development. You should also provide plenty branches, vines and hides to create a more stimulating environment for your beardie.

Maintenance

Bearded Dragon Vivariums are easily kept clean. You should “spot clean” the Vivarium daily and remove any obvious mess. The Vivarium should be cleaned out around once a month. The chippings should be discarded and the whole Vivarium and all decorations should be disinfected. (Cascade reptile disinfectant is ideal)

Feeding

In the wild, bearded dragons are omnivores (eating both animal and plant matter). They should be provided with a balanced diet of crickets and locusts, as well as greens and prepared bearded dragon dry food. The majority of a young bearded dragon’s diet should consist of mostly insects, with some veg, while an adult will require much more veg than insects. Your insects will need to be “dusted” with a vitamin supplement such as Nutralbol. When young, bearded dragons should be fed as many insects as they can eat in one sitting every day. Take care not to over feed, as this can lead to a build up of bugs inside the Vivarium. Bearded dragons will require a constant supply of fresh water, which should be kept at the cool end of the Vivarium. You can also use a spray bottle to lightly “mist” the Vivarium of a young dragon, as they are known to drink droplets of water from leaves.

Shedding

As with any reptile, bearded dragons will regularly shed the outer layer of their skin. This will usually come off in patches and is usually consumed by the lizard. Don’t be tempted to soak the Vivarium of the lizard, as the high humidity can lead to respiratory diseases. If after a few days any skin remains, you can place your dragon in a container with damp sphagnum moss for a couple of hours.

Our set-up includes:

Bearded Dragon starter kit includes
48” Vivarium
Habistat Dimmer Stat (Temperature thermostat)
Exo Terra Heat Glo Spot bulb and bulb guard
Arcadia single light controller with Exo Terra 10.0 ReptiGlo
Beech chippings
2 Hides
Exo Terra water dish
Vetark Nutrobal
Bearded Dragon book

Recommended Extras:

Replace Arcadia light unit for Exo Terra double light unit to combine a ReptiGlo 2.0 for a much higher visual output.
Exo Terra Termite Hill cricket feeder
Plenty vines, branches and plants

ANOTHER CARE SHEET

Bearded Dragon (Pogona Vitticeps)

Bearded dragons originate from Australia they are known to live in sub - tropical forests and also deserts. Bearded Dragons aren't either the smallest or the largest of the lizard family and are known to grow on average 16-24 inches from nose to tail.
Bearded dragons are among the tamest of all lizards, and their outgoing personalities, activity level, appetites and interesting social behaviours make them a very captivating lizard to observe. They have a very rapid growth rate, so the 4" hatchlings can grow to their adult size within a year.
Most bearded dragons adapt easily to handling and are calm enough to perch on their owner's shoulder, or be placed on a countertop, or enjoy the view from a windowsill.
 
Housing
 
The minimum size cage for up to 2 adult dragons should be 48" x 24" x 24". Several basking sites should be provided under the hot spot and the UV lighting. Bearded Dragons need to bask and they need high temperatures to help with the digestive process. Basking area should be about 100 degrees Fahrenheit with an ambient temperature of 75F and then dropping to about 65F at night time.

Bearded Dragons need to have UV running along the top of the tank. In the wild they bask in the sun to absorb the vitamins from their food. Obviously in a tank they won't receive much sun so a UV will act as the sun. Bearded Dragons need to tell the difference between night and day, to do this you need to have your UV bulb on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours. The UV must be within 12" of the bearded Dragon to enable the dragon to get the full benefit of the UV bulb. Your UV bulb will need to be changed once a year as it loses its efficiency. You will need a ceramic heating bulb and a pulse thermostat to control the temperature of the tank. You will also need a thermometer inside the tank so that you can check they are being kept at the right temperature. Some people use 2 thermometers, one at the cooler end and one at the hotter end to monitor the temperature range. If you use only one thermometer then place it in the middle of the tank towards the bottom.
A substrate is known as the material to line the bottom of the tank and these can range from newspaper, bark, and sand for reptiles.
Never use hot rocks, as they are widely known to cause belly burns.

Feeding

Bearded Dragons like fruit and vegetables as well as meat. They like a large variety of live insects, which include black and brown crickets, locusts, mealworms and wax worms. A good measure of the size of live insects to feed is that they must not be bigger than the size of the dragon's head. Do not feed mealworms to baby dragons as they contain chitilin which is hard to digest. Do not feed them insects from your garden, as you do not know if they have been sprayed with anything that can be harmful to your dragon. Fresh fruit and vegetables must be offered daily and remember that they like variety. They like to eat Chicory, Watercress, Broccoli, Courgettes, Carrot, Peas, Apple, Banana, Kiwi and grapes. Try to avoid spinach and kale as they are calcium binders and affect the dragon's bones. Another thing to avoid is iceberg lettuce, as this has no nutritional value to the dragon. Make sure to chop the food into small bite size pieces to avoid choking.

Bearded dragons grow very fast and this means that they require extra calcium for their bones to remain strong and to develop at the normal rates. Bearded Dragons also need extra Vitamin D3; this vitamin is needed just as much as calcium. This vitamin is needed for your Bearded Dragon's body to absorb the calcium.
All you need to do to maintain your Bearded Dragon is to dust your live food every other day with a vitamin and mineral supplement like Nutrobal. Water can be offered in a shallow dish but it is advisable to spray the cage once a day, as in the wild the dragons would drink the dew from the plants.

General Information

Natural sunlight is very beneficial and should be provided if possible. Bearded dragons should never be placed outside in a glass enclosure. The animal could easily overheat and die.

Bearded Dragons live for an average of 4-10 years depending on their quality of lives, if they have had good lighting and temperatures maintained as well as a good balanced diet then you could expect your dragon to live longer than a dragon that hasn't. But if you have a female that has been repeatedly bred then her life span can be expected to be quite short.

Beardies will keep you amused for a long time. Just observing and interacting with them is fascinating.There are 2 things that the Beardie does; one is to nod its head (which is a sign of dominance) and the other is the arm waving (this is a sign of submissive behaviour). When they sit with open mouths this is their way of cooling down their body temperature

It is not advisable to keep two males together as they will probably fight; more so if a female is present. If you would like to keep more than one Beardie then make sure that there is only one male in the cage.

Do not mix other reptiles with Bearded Dragons, as it is an accident/fatality waiting to happen.

Poducts you may need for your Bearded Dragon

Exo Terra Heatwave Desert Mat

Exo Terra Glass Terrariums

Exo Terra Desert Sand

Livefood Silent Brown Crickets

Sand Scoopers

Terrarium Disinfectant

Exo Terra Feeding Rock (Cricket feeder)