Other Geckos

Bearded Dragon Care


Table of Contents:
1 General Information
2 Housing
3 Cleaning
4 Feeding
5 Disease


General Information

Bearded Dragons are diurnal (meaning they are awake during the day, like humans) reptiles that were originally found in the rocky and arid areas of Australia. The scientific name is Pogona Vitticeps, but are commonly known as Bearded Dragons (because of when they puff out their neck for defense). Beardies have a large triangular head and flat bodies with pointed ridges along the side. Many people now breed Bearded Dragons, and you can purchase them at a local pet store (or through breeders). Beardies are omnivorous, meaning they eat both fruits/vegetables and insects. They may live up to 10-20 years if properly cared for, and reach an average size of 15-24 inches when they reach adulthood, but as a hatchling, they are only 3-4 inches.



Housing

You need many materials to house your Bearded Dragon. They include:
Your terrarium should be quite large for your Bearded Dragons. They can get very large as adults, and they need a lot of room. There should be a hot and a cool side of your terrarium to create a temperature gradient for your lizard. During the day, the hot side should be maintained around 110-115F and the cool side 80-85F. During the night, the temperatures should be kept above 65F. The UVB light should have a percentage of above 5. As an alternative to a UVB and heat emitter, you can use a mercury vapor bulb which includes both in one bulb. For heat, you shouldn't use an under tank heater (UTH), because Bearded Dragons feel heat from above, but don't feel the heat from below. So if there is a lot of heat coming from the ground, they won't feel it, but they will burn. If you use a loose substrate (like bark, sand, or others), your pet could get impacted, choke, and die. Instead, you should use paper towel, newspaper, or tiles. Your reptile should be given a bath twice every week, because when they swim they can absorb a lot of water through their vents. You should only house one Bearded Dragon per cage, as they are territorial and will fight with other males.


Cleaning

This section is short, but very important. Bearded Dragons eat a lot of food, making a lot of poo to clean up. Every day, the poo and leftover vegetables should be thrown away. The food bowl and substrate should be checked for poo and cleaned every day as well. All of your decor items and the terrarium, should be cleaned about once a week to twice a month. If you do all of this, it should narrow the chances of your Beardie catching a disease.


Feeding

Remember, Bearded Dragons are omnivorous, meaning they eat plants and insects. They seem to live they healthiest when they are fed a varied diet consisting of mostly vegetables. You should always chop your vegetables, and the smaller the reptile, the finer the chop. A good vegetable diet consists of chopped:
 Beardies will eat just about any insect, commonly fed roaches, silkworms, mealworms, superworms, crickets, and waxworm. All insects should be gut loaded before fed to your reptile. Gut loading consists of feeding the insect healthy nutrients before feeding it to your pet. This way, the insect passes on the healthy nutrients to your reptile. The insects should also be dusted with calcium and vitamin D3 supplements every week, to maintain your Bearded Dragon's health.

   You have a lot of options when it comes to reptile foods to feed your reptile.  It is important to find something your pet likes and feed him or her that reptile food on a daily basis to grow close with him or her.  From personal experience, my leopard geckos and bearded dragons have always preferred live reptile food.  You can always purchase reptile food online and have them shipped to you on a weekly or monthly basis, what ever suits you best.


Disease

Bearded Dragons are very hardy animals, and can live along time. But even with proper care, they can get sick. It is important to have a reptile vet nearby that you know treats Bearded Dragons, so please check out this list of reptile vets. Some common diseases are:
  • Genetic Disease - a gene passed down through birth, can create limb defects.
  • Lack of Calcium and Vitamin D3 - occurs with a lack of vitamins or calcium, can create brittle bones, stunted growth, and seizures.
  • Overfeeding Babies - this can cause paralysis in the rear, and sometimes is fatal.
  • Discoloration - a lack of color can occur when a Bearded Dragon doesn't receive enough carrots and yellow vegies.
  • Respiratory Infection - signs are heavy breathing, runny nose/mouth, and gasping for breath. Usually caused by low temperatures, high humidity, or both.
Call or visit a vet right away if you notice a sign that relates to one of the diseases above! Or even if they are acting abnormal, there is usually something. Just remember it could save your Beardie's life.

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