Care Guide
Your dragon’s future is up to YOU!
Housing your bearded dragon:
An adult beardie will need at least a 40-gallon tank, while as babies and juveniles can be housed in a 20 gallon temporarily. Bearded dragons will grow as long as they feel they have the space to do so until they reach adulthood. If the tank gets too small their growth could be stunted. Dragons need a basking area, things to climb on, and a hiding place. You can have fun with these items as there are many items to choose from. We recommend refraining from buying products that are plastic as they can emit harmful toxins within your dragons cage and potentially harm your dragon.
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When it comes to substrate, I cannot say it enough, do not use sand or other small edible materials. We do not recommend using such substrate as it has been known to cause impaction in bearded dragons. The safest and best substrate material that I recommend is newspaper or paper towel lining in the tank. Other materials that can be used is tiling and reptile carpet. I would not recommend sand, wood shavings, walnut bedding, or rocks/pebbles. These materials can lead to impaction which might require major surgery.
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Heating and Lighting:
Your beardies enclosure should have a basking side and a cool side. In order for your dragon to digest their food properly the basking side needs to be between 95-105 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool side of their enclosure should be between 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit. I always suggest getting a digital thermometer to get the most accurate temperatures. The temperature of their enclosure is very important for your dragon’s health. Many people have asked about heat rocks, we recommend staying away from these. In a beardies natural environment they take in heat from above, not the ground. A heat rock can cause burns to the underside of your dragon as they cannot sense heat on their stomach. Temperature at night should fall anywhere between 68-75 degrees Fahrenheit. If your house is colder than that you many choose to use a heat emitter. These bulbs emit heat in a small area perfect for night time warmth.
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UVB is just as important for your dragons health as their heat source is. Coil bulbs are sold at every pet store and will sometimes be recommended to you. UVB coil bulbs Do NOT release enough UVB that your dragon requires to stay healthy. Strip UVB lights are best for your dragon. 10.0 dessert lights can be found online or in pet stores. Without UVB your dragon can develop MBD-metabolic bone disease which can be fatal in reptiles. Recommended strip UVB light brands are Zoo Med Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 or Arcadia 12% UVB T5 HO. These are the bulb brands that we have been using for awhile and stand behind, Please note that UVB bulbs do have expiration dates and do not continuously emit the same amout of UVB after being used for a long period of time. The UVB bulb needs to be replaced as often as recommended, you should be able to find the expiration date or recommended changing date on the packaging of the UVB bulb or on the website of the brand you bought the bulb from.
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Feeding and Supplements:
Beardies proteins include dubia roaches, crickets, super worms, silk worms and wax worms. Appropriate size of the insects being fed to your beardie is important, make sure their prey is not too big. A young beardie should be fed multiple times a day with proteins. Greens or "salads" as we call them can be offered throughout the day. As your beardie grows they will need to eat less proteins and more vegetation. “Salads” can be a variety of chopped up vegetables and fruits. We feed Dandelion Greens, Mustard Greens, and Collard Greens Daily. We give fruits and other veggies on occasion. Please note that some fruits or veggies such as blueberries, strawberries, squash, etc. if given often or multiple days in a row can cause your dragon to have runny stools as they contain more moisture than their normal salads do.
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Supplements are a very important staple in the development and wellbeing of your dragon. Dusting with calcium powder should be done 3-4x a week for juvenile. Dust proteins or greens well and offer to your beardie. The calcium supplement provides ample nutrients for your dragon to develop. The use of a multivitamin in your beardies diet also ensures that your dragon is getting all the nutrients it needs. Dusting with a multivitamin should be done 2-3x a week on proteins or greens.
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If you have any questions or concerns that are not answered on this care guide feel free to contact us via email.
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