Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps) Care Sheet
Bearded dragons are excellent first pets. They are one of the best lizards for a family, as they appeal to adults and children alike.
When you have a beardie it is more like owning a cat than a lizard. A baby dragon is like a kitten, with a two second attention span, constantly wanting to be the centre of attention. An adult dragon is like an old ginger tomcat, who will quite happily sit on your knee and watch T.V. Bearded dragons used to be considered difficult to keep, but advances in technology now make them ideal for beginners, providing they have the correct set up.
Heating and Lighting for Your Bearded Dragon
In nature bearded dragons are sun loving reptiles. The sun provides both the heat they need to stay active, and the UVB rays that are essential to keep them healthy. In captivity we use two lamps to replicate the sun.
A spot light plugged into a thermostat is used to heat the tank.
A thermostat is essential to control the temperature. Without one the tank may be too cold, or more dangerous, too hot. A bearded dragon needs to bask at temperatures between 40°c – 42°c, and the cool end of the tank should be around 24°c. At night the temperature can safely drop to around 18°c.
The sensor for the thermostat needs to come into the tank about 12" from the cold end and hang down to 3" from the floor. Set the thermostat to 28°c. This estimate should give you a starting point for setting and regulating the tank. The thermostat will allow the lamp to heat the point where the sensor is to 28°c. Directly under the bulb the tank will be considerably warmer, and at the cool end several degrees cooler.
Allow the tank to settle for two hours then check the temperatures. If the basking and cool end temperatures are not correct then tweak the thermostat slightly, leave for a further two hours and recheck the thermometers. Do not make large adjustments to the thermostat as a small change can make a large difference to the tank temperature. Keep checking and adjusting until the tank is the correct temperature. Always leave at least two hours between checks to allow all the temperatures to settle down.
Most modern houses will not drop below 18°c at night even in winter so the heater can simply be turned off. If you have a particularly cold house, use a red lamp as a heater and turn your thermostat down to minimum at night, and back up to the basking setting in the morning.
A strip light (desert rated 12% UVB are the best) is used to provide the UVB.
The UV output is only effective for a limited range, the animal must be able to get within twelve inches of the tube in order to utilise the benefits of the UV. The optimum position for the UV is directly above the animal. With the limited range of the UV it is advisable to use a reflector. This nearly doubles the available output of the tube, and increases the range to around 18". UV tubes have a short effective lifespan. They will still be producing light after a year, but the UV output will have dropped to zero. UV tubes must be replaced every six months in order to remain effective.
Feeding Your Beardie
Bearded dragons eat a mixture of live insects and vegetables.
A young dragon will require about 90% insects to about 10% veggies. As the dragon grows it will eat more vegetables, an adult bearded dragon will have about 50% insects and 50% veggies.
A bearded dragon should be fed fresh vegetables and get fresh water every morning.
Young dragons will sometimes drink droplets of water from a small spray mister.
Baby bearded dragons need insects every day.
When a dragon is ready for sale it should only need to be fed insects once per day. When the dragon is six months old, drop down to feeding bugs every 5 days. Drop another day off every three months until you are feeding insects two or three times per week.
Look after the crickets as you are what you eat.
The live food will last longer if kept in a larger well aired tank like a cricket keeper, and fed spider water and cricket food.
A full spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement (such as Nutrobal) should be added to the food twice per week, and a pure calcium supplement should be added a further three times per week.
As the dragon grows and starts to eat bugs less frequently adjust the number of supplemented feeds so that the ratio remains the same. An adult bearded dragon should be getting the full spectrum supplement once per week, and the pure calcium once or twice per week. To dust the crickets place 8 - 10 appropriate sized insects in a large jug or clear plastic bag. Add a pinch of powder and shake to coat the insects. Feed these to the dragon. If these are all eaten and the dragon is still hunting, feed another 2 - 3 insects, keep adding more bugs until the dragon is full. This extra food does not need to be dusted.
Cleaning Your Beardie Tank
Spot clean the vivarium every day and remove any obvious mess.
If you keep on top of the spot cleaning then the tank will only need to be fully cleaned about once every four weeks. When doing a full clean out put the dragon somewhere safe. Remove and clean all decoration and dishes from the tank. Remove all the old substrate and clean the tank. When the tank is dry, put in clean substrate, and replace the décor. The dragon can then return home.
When cleaning the tank do not use household detergents and disinfectants as these can be toxic to reptiles. There are a range of reptile specific cleaners available.