How to Care for a Bearded Dragon
Owning a bearded dragon can be a great experience, as they are a very interesting lizard. They are named for the way they can puff out the skin below their jaw when disturbed. The bearded dragon can grow up to two feet in length but requires only basic routine care.
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Things You'll Need
- 55 gallon aquarium
- Aquarium lid
- Cage substrate
- Heat lamp
- Full spectrum lighting system
- Cage decorations for hiding places
- Thermometer
- Shallow water dish
- Vitamin and mineral supplement
Instructions
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Purchase an aquarium to house your bearded dragon that is at least a 55 gallon tank for one or two adult dragons. Also purchase a secure screen top for your tank.
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Add a small layer of reptile sand or sanitized children's play sand in the bottom of the cage. You will need to scoop the feces similar to a cats litter box every few days.
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Provide rocks, branches and hiding places for the bearded dragon in the cage.
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Heat one side of the aquarium to 130 degrees Fahrenheit and the other to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This thermal gradient is important so the dragon can move from more to less heat as desired.
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Illuminate the cage with full spectrum lighting to your dragon so that it may properly synthesize calcium and other vitamins. This type of lighting can be purchased at any local reptile dealer.
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Fill a shallow dish with non-chlorinated water. Place it in the aquarium and keep it full and clean at all times.
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Offer both fresh vegetables and insects to your bearded dragon. Provide them with dark leafy greens like kale and collards as well as insects like crickets, meal worms and wax worms.
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Tips & Warnings
Dust any insects you feed the dragon with a vitamin and mineral supplement before feeding.
Avoid substrates with larger chunks as these could be ingested by your bearded dragon and result in terminal ingestion.
If you notice your dragon cannot walk and has its rear legs extended outward, seemingly paralyzed, it may be suffering from terminal ingestion, meaning it ate something too large for its body. You need to try to induce a bowel movement by soaking the dragon in warm water. If this does not work your dragon will die.
Resources
Comments
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mel1981
Apr 01, 2008
oh my! 130 degrees? i thought this was about bearded dragons, not uromastyx lizards! the hot spot should be kept around 95 degrees, cool spot around 75. also, a 55 gallon is not wide enough for an adult beardie to comfortably turn around in-let alone to house 2 adults!!! (unless they were rankin's dragons) a 40 breeder aquarium would be much more sufficient-FOR ONE. other than that, your info was correct. -
mel1981
Apr 01, 2008
oh my! 130 degrees? i thought this was about bearded dragons, not uromastyx lizards! the hot spot should be kept around 95 degrees, cool spot around 75. also, a 55 gallon is not wide enough for an adult beardie to comfortably turn around in-let alone to house 2 adults!!! (unless they were rankin's dragons) a 40 breeder aquarium would be much more sufficient-FOR ONE. other than that, your info was correct.
