CARE INFORMATION

Bearded Dragons make amazing pets that live from 7 to 12 years if they are cared for properly. They have great temperament and males, more than females demonstrate personality. They are curious creatures that want to explore their environments at any given opportunity. They are also resilient, attractive, easy to care for and make great pets for children and adults.

Feeding

Baby bearded dragons should be fed 2 to 3 times daily; greens in the morning, 1 hour after the lights are turned on and 2 servings of ¼ inch crickets during the course of the day. Give the baby bearded dragons 1-2 hours to digest their food before turning off the lights. An estimated portion is 2 – 5 crickets per baby dragon, increasing as the dragon grows. Remove uneaten crickets before the lights go out at night as crickets tend to bite the dragons.

Greens are vital to bearded dragon’s health. We recommend romaine, chicory, mustard greens, collard greens, escarole, chard, endive and turnip greens. Remember to always remove the hard veins when chopping the greens. You can also use grated carrots, zucchini, squash, kale, chopped peas, and red cabbage over green salad. Occasionally, fruits like apple, grapes, banana with the skin, strawberries, and blue berries are also chopped and served to dragons.

It is normal for adult dragons to eat more greens, while hatchlings eat more insects. Therefore, we give the adult dragons greens 4 times per week and live prey 3 times per week. Babies are offered greens daily in smaller portions but they are given more live insects.

Bearded dragons eat a variety of prey namely, crickets, super worms, dubia roaches, locus, wax worms, goliath worms, silk worms, butter worms, phoenix worms, etc. “A good rule of thumb is the prey item should be no longer then the width of the dragon’s mouth,” or the space between the eyes. This goes for the size of the chopped greens as well.

It is debatable whether or not to give bearded dragons water. We offer the greens wet and we soak dragons once a week in lukewarm water up to their elbows. This takes care of the water intake and hydration. Bearded dragons also get their water from the food they eat.

Never feed the following: fire flies, iceberg lettuce and Meal worms.

Supplements

Every time you feed your dragon, it is a good practice, to dust live prey and sprinkle veggies with phosphorous free calcium powder with vitamin D3. Multi- vitamins, example Herptivite, may also be used once a week. Failure to use calcium can result in metabolic bone disease (MBD). It is also wise to gut load live prey before offering them to the dragons. Some of our choices for gut loading included blended dry cat food, fish food, carrots and apples.

Enclosures

Bearded dragons are considered to be medium-sized lizards. Adults can grow to about 27 inches (German Giants) depending on the breed. Baby beardies can be kept in a 20 gallon tank, however the ideal space for 1 adult bearded dragon is a 40 gallon breeder tank. Two or three dragons can be housed in a 4 ft Long x 2ft x 18 inches high enclosure the equivalent to a 75 gallon glass tank. Over crowding the enclosure can lead to disease and other complications therefore, it is not recommended.

Substrate

We use newspaper in most enclosures. Babies and adults are raised on newspaper because it eliminates impaction. In the glass display enclosures sand is used but dragons are fed in separate tanks to avoid the risk of getting impacted.

Cleaning

Newspaper should be changed daily and feces must be scooped out of the sand. Once a week, the enclosure should be cleaned with a solution of 10% bleach to 90% water. Always make sure the enclosure is rinsed and dry before replacing the dragon back into it. As a rule, every time you see feces remove it from the enclosure.

Light, Heat and Temperatures

For an accurate growth rate baby bearded dragons need 12 to 14 hours of light a day. Two different lights are required, a UVB source and a heat source. We use full spectrum UVB Repti Sun 10.0 lights that are suspended 8 to 12 inches form the dragon. The heat light should be place in an extreme end of the tank. This will allow the dragon to retreat to the cooler end after basking. Temperature under the basking/ heat light should be about 100 - 105 degrees Fahrenheit and 80 to 85 degrees at the cooler end. Humidity is also important and should be about 35%.

Please note that the materials found in this care sheet are methods we have found to be successful in raising our bearded dragons. For expert advice read "The Bearded Dragon Manual" by Philippe de Vosjoli, Robert Mailloux, Susan Donoghue, V.M.D, Roger Klingerberg, D.V.M., and Jerry Cole. "Bearded Dragons and Frilled Lizards" by Andree Hauschild and Hubert bosch.