Bearded Dragon Care Sheet

Bearded Dragons make a wonderful addition to any family especially if you have kids that want a reptile.  These lizards are great for begginers and expert reptile hobbyist.  Bearded dragons are very docile in captivity and are becoming more popular as pets because bearded dragons are easy to breed in captivity.  But you do need to undertsand that Bearded Dragons do require some special attention and is a serious commitment as they can live between 6-12 years.

Choosing a Bearded Dragon can be very fulfilling and exciting, but you do not want to buy a bearded dragon off an impulse.  There are some things you need to look at before buying a bearded dragon to make sure it is healthy.  Now it does not matter if you are going to buy from a breeder or the pet store, you are going to be looking for the same things in a bearded dragon.  Here is a list:

• A bearded dragon should be very alert and curious with bright eyes and should be able to lift it's head up. When you are in front of a bearded dragons enclosure, they should be looking at you with interest.
• Make sure the bearded dragon is not lethargic (very skinny).  If it is, this means it is not eating or has a disease.  A bearded dragon's belly should be roundish.  
• Look at the mouth, eyes,"butt area", and nose on the bearded dragon to make sure there is nothing built up.  These areas should look clean.
• Check for any signs of disease, external parasites, sores, look at the bearded dragon's toes to make sure it has all of them, and look at the tail to make sure it is straight and not bent in any area.
• Do not get a bearded dragon that is under 5 inches long, I prefer 6 inches in length, because baby bearded dragons can be more prone to illness due to stress and some baby bearded dragons die due to natural causes.

Housing your Bearded Dragon.  Baby bearded dragons can be housed in a 20-30 gallon enclosure and adult bearded dragons need to be housed in a minimum 40 gallon breeder enclosure but larger is always better.  Now bearded dragons grow so fast, I just bought the 40 gallon breeder to save money from buying two tanks.  Use a screen top, as they provide circulation and let the humidity out.

Search For Reptile Tanks on Amazon.com

Bearded Dragon Lighting.  Bearded dragons require 12-14 hours a day of uvb light to process calcium and vitamin D3.  You can also use unfiltered sunlight, which is the number one best way.  Many people can't provide their bearded dragon with unfiltered sunlight, so they use uvb flourescent tubes which is perfectly fine as long as the bearded dragon can get within 5-6 inches of the uvb light and the uvb light is not going through glass, glass will reflect the uv rays and the uvb tube will be useless for your bearded dragon.  You should replace the uvb flourescent tube every 4-6 months.

 Here are the products that I personally use:

For the light fixture, I suggest the Low Profile Desert Reptile Light Fixture - 2 x 36 in. Lamps - T-5
For the UVB light, I suggest the Zoo Med Reptisun UVB 10.0 HO Light 36in


Heating For Your Bearded Dragon.  As with any other reptile, bearded dragons can't digest their food without heat.  A bearded dragon's basking spot should range between 100-110 degrees farenheight for baby bearded dragons to sub-adults and 95-100 degrees farenheight for adults.  The cool side of the cage should be around 85 degrees farenheight.  Bearded dragons thermoregulate, so it is very important that there is a cool side in the enclosure.  Night time temperatures can fall down to 65 degrees farenheight but not below that.  You can use a heat lamp with a ceramic socket with a reptile basking bulb or a house bulb to give your bearded dragon it's heat.  An important note; Never use heat rocks, they will burn your bearded dragon.

I use 8.5 inch Dimmable Heat Lamp w/ clamp with Zoo Med Repti Basking Lamp 75 Watt for Reptiles.

Substrate For Your Bearded Dragon.  For baby bearded dragons, it is best to use paper towels, newspaper, or repti-carpet.  As they reach adult hood, you can use play sand but I prefer to keep using repti-carpet.  You do not want to use sand for baby dragons because they can get compaction from it.  But it is not only sand that can cause compaction, any loose substrate can cause it.

I personally use Green Reptile Terrarium Liner 55gal.

Feeding Your Bearded Dragon.  Bearded dragons are omnivores so there is a variety of live food items that you can feed to your bearded dragon.  Some of these food items are healthier than others.  The healthiest food you could feed to your bearded dragon are dubia roaches.  An alternative to dubia roaches are crickets.  The rule for feeding live food to your bearded dragons is the width of the food item should be no larger than the width between your bearded dragon's eyes.  If it is larger than your dragon's eyes, it could cause impaction.  You can also feed your bearded dragon mealworms, superworms, and wax worms as a treat.  You should feed a baby dragon 3 times a day, a sub-adult 2 times a day, and an adult once every other day.  Do not feed wild bugs because they could have parasites or pesticides that can harm or kill your dragon.
A bearded dragon also needs to be fed greens and vegetables everyday starting a week after it was born.  Here are some healthy greens and vegetables you can feed; Dandelion greens, Collard greens, Mustard greens, Bok choy, Kale, Turnip greens, Escarole, Chicory, Butternut squash, Any form of squash, Green beans,  and Parsnips.  You should not feed spinach because it causes calcium to bind and won't be digested.  Greens and vegetables should be diced up to be smaller than the width between your bearded dragon's eyes.



Supplements For Your Bearded Dragon.  Bearded dragons need calcium with D3 and multivitamins to live long healthy lives.  If your bearded dragon does not get enough calcium, it will develop MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease).  For baby dragons to sub-adults, there food should be dusted 7 times a week with calcium and 2 times a week with multivitamins.  For adults, their food should be dusted with calcium 5 times a week and with multivitamins 2 times a week.

I use Fluker's 4 oz Repta Calcium.

Water For Your Bearded Dragon.  Most bearded dragons will not drink from water sitting in their cage, so it is not necessary to have a bowl of water in their enclosure.  They will receive most of their water from baths and live food.

Baths For Your Bearded Dragon.  Bathing your bearded dragon is extremely important.  Baths will hydrate your bearded dragon.  You should give them a bath at least once a week for 15-20 minutes, you can't overdue giving them a bath so don't worry about that.  The water should be warm enough for a human baby to go in, you can test it with your wrist or elbow.  Bathing also aids in shedding, so if you see your bearded dragon having a little trouble with a shed, give him a bath for 10 -15 minutes.  Bathing can also help in digestion, if a bearded dragon is compacted bathing them might help loosen their bowel up.  Now be prepared, as your bearded dragon will most likely poop in the bath, this is normal and makes clean up alot easier.

I hope this Bearded Dragon Care Sheet helped you.  Leave comments if their is something you don't agree with, if you would like me to add something, or if you just want to say thank you.  I will answer any questions you ask.

If you would like to browse other items related to bearded dragons such as guide books, Search Amazon.com for bearded dragon