Housing:
The larger the better when it comes to enclosures for adult bearded
dragons. Hatchlings can be housed in as small as a 10-gallon enclosure,
but a minimum size for an adult is a 50-gallon terrarium. Rubbermaid
tubs also work well for groups of young dragons. We suggest a
minimum 15 gallon tall tub, with the lid turned into a screen
top. Cut a large hold in the top, and use Liquid Nails to glue
the screen to the plastic top. Enclosures should typically be
longer than they are high. Groups of adult dragons should be housed
in larger enclosures with numerous logs for basking. Glass is
a great choice for display of adult bearded dragons, allowing
for optimum vision and brightness, but hatchlings often do better
in enclosures that limit vision. It is also thought by many keepers
that dragons display better color when housed in enclosures that
they cannot see out of. Please be wary of housing young females
with males. Dragons may mate at young ages and run into complications
with egg binding.
Substrate/cage
decor:
Although sand has been used for many years, I recommend strongly
to my customers to use wheat bran for bearded dragons above 6
month of-age. We suggest housing young bearded dragons on newspaper
or paper towels to prevent problems with impaction. With newspaper,
be aware that crickets will hide beneath the paper. We suggest
that you replace the old paper with new paper nightly, allowing
hidden crickets to be removed or eaten for a late night snack.
Left over crickets can harm young dragons, so be careful. If there
are extra crickets in the enclosure, provide them with food, so
they do not nibble on your dragon at night. Basking logs should
be placed within the enclosure to allow your dragon to thermoregulate
and feel secure. Decorative rocks and fake plants may also help
to liven up the enclosure. Do not use heat rocks. Bearded Dragons
sense heat and light using a detector located on top of their
heads. They are not as aware of heat coming from below and can
badly burn their bellies without knowing it. For this reason we
advise to not use a heat rock or place rocks too close to the
basking light. Use wood logs for basking zones instead. Live plants
may also be an option. (But live plants must not be toxic, as
they will likely be dinner).
Lighting/heating:
Bearded dragons like it HOT! The key to heating your enclosure
is providing a temperature gradient from a hot basking zone, to
a cooler area. Basking temps should reach well over 100 degrees
F. The cooler zone should be around 85 degrees.
The brighter the light, the better. Dragons thrive under a good
full spectrum UV source. We recommend active UV/heat or mercury
vapor bulbs. These bulbs work double time to give your dragon
quality UV and producing heat at the same time. You may also use
fluorescent UV full spectrum tubes, although they do not produce
the same UV quality. The colors and health of your lizard depend
on good heat, bright light and UV. Your dragon will also benefit
from natural sunlight and we recommend bringing your lizard outside
in an outdoor basking enclosure. However the more natural sunlight
you expose them to, the less supplements you should give, especially
vitamin D3 (this may also be the case when using the active UV/heat
bulbs). We also think that younger dragons may become stressed
when taken outside, and therefore suggest holding off on outdoor
excursions until your dragon is older .
Sexing:
Sexing dragons, especially young dragons, takes a lot of trial
and effort. We personally feel it is not possible to 100% guarantee
sex on young dragons. However there are differences between male
and female dragons. Generally the male has a larger head, wider
tail base, larger pores, and most noticeably, hemipenal bulges.
Young male dragons have two bulges, with a slight space between
them just behind the vent. Lifting the tail and twisting gently
may allow for the hemipenal bulges to appear more pronounced.
Females generally have one central or no bulges where the hemipenes
would be. However its not uncommon for what is thought to be a
female, to turn out to be an undeveloped (at the time of sexing)
male, and vice versa.
Behavior:
Bearded Dragons are generally not aggressive towards people, but
will attack other dragons, and many other species of lizards,
frogs, etc. Never put a small dragon with a larger one, as the
small dragon may end up dinner. Beardeds tend to spend the day
running from one heat zone to the next, and often searching for
food. A happy healthy dragon is alert, fast, and active. Young
dragons can be kept in groups without too many problems associated
with stress, but older males should be kept one to a cage. Breeding
groups of 1 male and 2-5 females are not uncommon. Males will
aggressively bob their heads at the females, while the females
will wave their arms in circles back. Males and some females will
also turn their beard jet black. These are part of the breeding
rituals and territorial behaviors of bearded dragons. Adult Bearded
dragons enjoy basking lazily on their logs. Your dragon may "vent"
(open mouth breathing) while basking, this is very normal and
not a sign of distress. It is also not uncommon to find a dragon
sleeping at night in what appears to be the most painful position
on earth.
Longevity:
A well cared for dragon will live from 6-12 years, maybe longer.
The early years of a dragons life are often the most important.
A young dragon that is not properly cared for is likely to have
life long lasting problems. Proper exposure to uvb, vitamins,
and minerals along with a well balanced diet in every stage of
a dragon's life will help enable your dragon to have a long and
healthy life.
Colors:
Many things influence a dragon's color including stress, genes,
and time of day. Many dragons seems to show there best color when
sleeping, or soaking in water; others may show their best color
when they are basking, excited, or for older dragons, after they
have been exposed to natural sunlight. Any dragon can have color,
but you are more likely to get a high color animal from breeding
animals with high color. Many breeders have worked with line breeding
and today you can find a variety of colors of dragons (the most
famous being the sandfire line of colored dragons). It is actually
a bit harder to find a "common" dragon these days then
a colored one. Many dragons will show more color with age, but
that is not always the rule. Color is generally best on healthy
happy dragons.
Also be aware that high color is often achieved by inbreeding
to different degrees. In order to achieve some of the flashy high
color that fetches high dollar in the market today, many breeders
use inbreeding to "fix" genes. It is controversial as
to how much damage inbreeding does to the health and hardiness
of a dragon, and if there are methods of inbreeding that are more
"safe" than others. Problems that have often been associated
with inbreeding include general weakness and longevity issues,
increased cancer rates, sight and neurological problems, size,
and behavior. As little as 3-5 years ago, average hatchling size
was cited at about 4.5 inches. Today, it is not uncommon to see
2-3 inch hatchlings, with just over 3 inches as an average. (Some
of these issues may also be attributed to many people breeding
females at too young an age. A female should be at least 18 months
old prior to breeding.)
Color "fixing" is handy for dealers in that it ensures
that most of the clutches will turn out with similar high color
(ie. all bright orange), and often straight out-of-the-egg high
color. This can only be consistently achieved throughout an entire
clutch by limiting the genetic diversity. If a clutch is genetically
diverse, there should be a wide range of colors and patterns apparent
in the hatchlings. Because of these issues, many breeders today
chose to outcross their color to different color or "normal"
dragons in order to "beef up" the genepool and increase
the size and hardiness of the hatchlings.
We highly recommend outcrossing as much as possible. And remember,
just because you acquired your dragons from different sources,
does not mean that they are not related. If you cannot trace the
lineage of your dragons, it is always safer to breed different
colors together (ie. a dragon showing red coloration to one showing
gold, or orange x normal, instead of red x red). We also find
it is more exciting when we get a bunch of surprises with each
group of hatchlings, instead of a bunch of look-alikes!
Feeding/supplementation:
Bearded dragons are omnivorous and should feed on both vegetation
and protein. Crickets, mealworms, superworms, and a salad mixture
should be staple food sources. Never feed your dragon too large
of a prey item. We suggest feeding prey 1/2 to 3/4 the size of
the space between your dragons eyes.
Dragons require a variety of greens including collard greens,
red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, mustard greens, turnip greens,
and dandelion greens. Stay away from iceberg lettuce, large amounts
of kale, cabbage, or spinach. We also suggest a variety of vegetables
such as carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, peas, corn, and fruits
offered in small amounts. Other specialty additions can include
cactus fruit, dandelion flowers, and hibiscus flowers. This salad
mix can be offered daily using different combinations of ingredients.
When feeding crickets, make sure your source of crickets is clean.
You may gutload your crickets with commercial cricket and/or we
suggest offering your crickets fresh fruit, greens, and water.
Remove all old food from your cricket container. Mold can be toxic
to your lizards. We suggest using a moistened paper towel/sponge,
citrus, or carrots to provide water for your crickets.
Whenever possible try and provide a variety of appropriate sized
prey items for your dragon including super worms, silk worms,
roaches, grasshoppers, preying mantis, and a variety of other
bugs (not fireflies). However we strongly suggest not using bugs
found outside, as they may have pesticides that can kill your
dragon. Also, use waxworms in limited amounts, if at all. They
contain little nutritional value, and although relished by the
dragons, contain high amounts of fat.
You can also feed rep cal pellets to your dragons at a young age.
The best method we have found to start dragons on the pellets
is to moisten the pellets, and drop them like crickets onto a
paper plate in front of the dragons. This will generally trigger
a feeding response from the dragons. Generally they will only
eat a couple of pellets in the beginning, but with patience and
age they will start to feed heavily on the pellets. The pellets
have less risk of parasites, associated with much live prey.
You can also feed pinky mice/rats to adult dragons; this is especially
good for females during the breeding season.
We feed all of our hatchlings a minimum of three times a day to
ensure optimum growth and health. As dragons get older, their
appetite will decrease. For adult dragons, you can offer greens
daily and crickets or worms 3-4 times per week. As dragons get
older, you may decrease the amount of protein offered.
We suggest misting your dragons once a day, especially as hatchlings.
Dragons will drink during spraying and may also be "trained"
to drink and soak in a water dish inside the enclosure. They also
enjoy an occasional warm (not hot) bath.
Supplementation:
There are many different and often contradictory opinions/views
on supplementation. Calcium, D3, and vitamin supplementation are
necessary for your dragons. However, supplementation will depend
on what you feed your dragons, the bulbs you use, and how much
natural sun they receive. Many sources recommend supplementing
small dragons daily and decreasing to once or twice per week for
adult dragons. But both too little and too much supplementation
can lead to problems. Therefore, we recommend going over this
with your vet to find a schedule that suits the specific needs
of your dragon. We suggest you supplement your young dragons daily
with a ratio of 1 part Rep-Cal Herptivite to 3 parts Rep-Cal calcium
with Vitamin D3.
Diseases
& Disorders:
Bearded dragons are one of the hardiest reptiles available in
the pet trade, yet they still can succumb to numerous diseases
and problems.
We are not veterinarians; please do not use this information as
a replacement for taking your lizard to a vet. This information
is meant to raise your awareness of signs and possible problems.
If you notice that your lizard is ill, do not hesitate to make
an appointment with a reptile specialist.
Several pointers to ensure optimal health for your lizard:
Follow all housing, heating/lighting, and feeding/supplementation
requirements for your lizard.
Quarantine all new reptiles.
DO NOT HOUSE YOUR BEARDED DRAGON WITH ANY OTHER SPECIES OF REPTILE.
Different reptiles come from many different environments requiring
different needs in captivity. Even animals that come from similar
environments can cause stress and pass parasites onto your dragon,
costing the life of your lizard.
Do not house bearded dragons of different sizes together--this
is a sure problem for the smaller dragons' health.
We recommend housing males separately. You may even need to prevent
males from seeing each other across cages.
Keep your cages and food CLEAN! Clean and sift poop often. Remove
all old food.
Wash your hands before and after handling your lizard. Be sure
to sanitize hands in between handling different reptile species.
(Hand sanitizer is a good thing to have handy).
Calcium/vitamin
deficiency:
This is a serious problem that can have permanent effects on the
life of your bearded dragon. Too little D3 and calcium can lead
to metabolic bone disease. Some early symptoms of this problem
include the shaking, twitching, or stiffness of limbs (especially
rear legs), separation of the mouth, and difficulty chewing food.
If this problem is caught early enough, supplementation and exposure
to natural sun can be good remedies. Calcium deficiency is often
seen in older dragons, or under supplemented dragons. There is
also the possibility of over supplementing your dragons, causing
a myriad of problems all its own.
Parasites:
There are numerous parasites that can become a problem for a bearded
dragon. Many dragons live with these parasites without problems,
but symptoms can often be triggered by stress (such as contact
with an other dragon or animal, change of enclosures, hibernation,
breeding, etc.) Parasites often come from insects, greens, and/or
unclean cage conditions so that it is imperative to keep proper
hygiene in these areas. Clean cages often, sift feces out daily,
make sure that your insects are in clean environments, and remove
all old food from your enclosure and your cricket/worm containers.
Even fresh greens and fruit can harbor parasites, so wash them
well. If you feed your dragon live insects it is probable that
your dragon carries some level of coccidia and maybe pinworms.
The idea is to keep the levels low.
Symptoms of a problematic parasite infestation include consistently
runny and smelly stool (more foul smelling than normal), an inability
to retain weight, loss of appetite, loss of weight. Do not hesitate
to bring your lizard to a vet if you see these signs. Treatments
are relatively easy to administer and successful, especially if
the parasite is caught early.
Because of the high probability of your dragon carrying parasites,
many vets recommend deworming dragons 1-2 times per year as a
preventative measure similar to dogs and cats. However, new research
does indicate that it might be best to only use medication if
your dragon shows outward symptoms such as weight loss or lack
of appetite. This is especially the case with antibiotics such
as albon and with young dragons. It is a good idea to have medications
on hand and we also recommend Parazap as a natural preventative
and treatment. www.parazap.com.
Personally, we are against medicating young dragons unless absoultely
necessary. We believe that the treatments can sometimes do more
damage than good. However, we realize this is a controversial
subject and much research still needs to be done. You must decide
what works best for you. Be aware that parasite levels may hike
during acclimation to a new home. We believe that if left alone,
a young dragon can control and lower these levels on their own
through "stress management".
Mites:
Since all bearded dragons are captive bred, mites should not be
a problem. Although some pet stores keep less than sanitary conditions
and mites may spread from animal to animal. These are small bugs
that can be seen on the dragon. There are several products on
the market that can take care of the problem. We recommend checking
with your vet before administering these products.
Adenovirus:
This is a virus that we know
little about at this point. It seems to most strongly affect hatchlings
and is deadly. To prevent infection, follow strict quarantine
procedures for all new animals. Adenovirus has the potential of
devastating entire collections. Along with Adenovirus,
"yellow fungus" is an other concern that may or may
not be related to adenovirus. This affliction also seems to affect
young dragons and can be quite contagious and deadly. Again, little
is known about this problem. If you see unusual spotting that
does not disappear with sheds, bring your dragon to a vet for
a culture. Inform the vet that the culture for yellow fungus takes
longer and traditional antibiotics do not work. Anti-fungal or
yeast medications seem to be the best. More information on these
problems is available on the internet. www.reptilerooms.com would
be a good place to start.
Egg Binding:
Egg binding can happen for several reasons but is more likely
to happen during the first breeding cycle with infertile eggs.
This can be a serious problem and should be discussed with a vet.
Suggestions for prevention include making sure the female is old
enough, big enough, and healthy enough to breed; making sure that
proper supplementation has been in place during her growth period,
making a suitable lay spot available, and avoiding stress to the
animal.
Respiratory
Problems:
Clogged nostrils, the presence of mucous and open mouth (often
raspy) breathing (do not confuse this with venting due to heat)
are signs of respiratory problems. These problems are often due
to low heat conditions and excessive moisture. Be sure to check
your temperatures and humidity levels, and contact your vet for
treatment.
Brumation:
A brumation or hibernation period is considered necessary for
breeding cycles. Many bearded dragons will brumate or slow down
eating and activity during winter months even without initiating
any change in lighting and heat conditions. You may winter your
dragons for approximately a two month period. We suggest following
the natural light cycle and wintering during December-February.
A slow reduction in daylight hours until you reach 8-10 hours
of light per day helps to ease dragons into a brumation period.
A temperature drop should also occur gradually until day temps
are between 75-85 degrees F and night temps can drop to around
60 degrees F. Bearded dragons can safely tolerate temps down to
the 50s. Before putting a dragon "down", be sure that
your dragon is healthy and is free of undigested food. You may
choose to provide a space in the enclosure for burrowing (we find
aspen works well for this). Often dragons will dig and bury themselves
for the winter. If you notice your dragon up and about, small
amounts of food can be offered. A heavy hibernation period may
not be necessary for many bearded dragons. When the winter period
is over, slowly raise temperature levels to suggested highs and
increase the photoperiod until it is around 14 hours of day to
10 hours of dark.
Breeding:
*Note: Bearded dragon females may cycle infertile eggs without
breeding.
Breeding often requires a period of hibernation or brumation prior
to the breeding season (see section on hibernation). When bearded
dragons emerge from hibernation, breeding usually takes place
quickly, so it is important to be prepared…
We suggest that your dragons (specifically females) be at least
18 months-old prior to breeding. Any small, sick, or young females
should be separated from all males to prevent cycling, breeding,
and potentially a loss of life. Dragons that are bred too young
can wind up with serious health problems including death from
egg binding. We cannot stress enough how important it is to have
a healthy, mature female. Dragons bred before maturity will divert
energy used for growing and maturity into making eggs, disrupting
her growth process and altering her health. Female dragons bred
too young and/or often will live shorter lives.
We also highly suggest steering clear of inbreeding, especially
siblings.
Breeding behavior often appears violent. Head bobbing and black
beards are among the breeding behaviors associated with males
(*note: these behaviors are also typical of territorial disputes
between males). Females often perform arm waving and slow head
bobbing. The male usually bites the female around the neck to
secure her and attempts to get the female to lift her tail for
copulation.
Gravid females will get quite large and often appear lumpy. Feed
gravid females often and supplement with calcium more frequently.
The eggs can often be felt in the female's stomach when she is
close to laying.
As soon as you see breeding behavior it is a good idea to have
a lay area in place and an incubator prepared.
A good lay area is imperative to ensure that your bearded dragon
does not egg bind. Lay areas may consist of a large area filled
with one foot of a mixture of moist, somewhat packed sand and
soil, peat moss, or bed-a-beast. You may set up this lay area
inside the enclosure or prepare a separate lay enclosure to place
the female in when you notice digging behavior. Females will tunnel
into this area to deposit their eggs. Some dig for several days
before they decide to lay. They like to be fully protected by
their burrow (cat litter pans with an opening work well for this
cave-like structure). Only her head will stick out while she deposit
their eggs. After laying, the female will emerge and bury her
eggs back up.
Females may lay clutches as often as 3 weeks apart and can retain
sperm for several clutches.
Incubation:
Unearth the eggs GENTLY. Fertile eggs should be a nice white color
and leathery in texture. If candled, fertile eggs will appear
pink and a round embryo should be detectable. If the eggs appear
yellow when candled or gelatinous, they are probably infertile
(this is somewhat common for a first clutch of eggs).
Fertile eggs should be placed in a dish with moist vermiculite
(and perlite if you wish) about one inch apart. This dish is then
transferred to your pre-calibrated incubator. We suggest a "Hovabator"
incubator. (You can find these at some pet stores, feed stores,
and online). Make sure that your incubator is set at least 24
hours prior to use to avoid drastic fluctuations in temperature.
We recommend incubating at around 84 degrees F. Do not let temperature
range out of the 80s. Spray egg containers to maintain moisture
level in the vermiculite. Eggs should hatch about 60 days after
incubation.
Hatchling
care (new!):
--Only house hatchlings of similar size together.
--Quarantine all new animals from different sources, especially
with the new information on adenovirus in hatchlings.
--Make sure to supplement every day with calcium and vitamins.
Small dragons can stress easily, especially when acclimating to
a new environment. Vitamin B is a great stress combatant and helps
the acclimation process. If your young dragon still seems stressed,
administer vitamin b drops such as "stimulap", but try
to leave them alone as much as possible. We recommend a 1.3 ratio
of vitamins to calcium offered once daily to babies. See the supplementation
section of the care sheet for more info.
--House hatchlings in an enclosure that they cannot see out of
to limit stress.
--House hatchlings on paper towels or newspaper to prevent problems
with impaction.
--Spray hatchlings 2 times daily.
--Feed babies 2-4 times per day. Steer clear of mealworms, they
can be hard for young dragons to digest. Stick to small crickets
and finely chopped greens.
--We know that these little guys are cute, but when first adjusting
to a new home (the first couple days), handle these babies minimally.
--Because food sources are likely carriers of parasites, we recommend
using Parazap as a preventative. We suggest only using medication
as a last resort for babies.
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