Bearded Dragon Care Sheet

Bearded Dragon Care Sheet

Pogona Vitticeps

Bearded dragons make a great beginner’s first reptile. They usually attain a size of 60cm head to tail. Bearded dragons come in a large variety of colours and morphs. They are usually very tame but can become very territorial of their vivarium. They are not very social and do a lot better on their own. With the correct handling and patients these reptiles make great pets. Their average life span is around 10 to 12 years, but many do much longer.

Origin and History

Bearded dragons originated ininland Australia. They can be found in arid, rocky, semi-desert regions and the arid open woodlands. They are diurnal (out during the day), but often spend the hottest part of the day in underground burrows and are well adapted to cool desert nights. They are semi-arboreal, meaning they are adept climbers of braches, bushes and fence posts. Beardies are social animals, often very interested in their surroundings, which they use their tongues to explore.

Bearded dragons, aka beardies, have gained in popularity immensely from their first introduction to the United States in the 1990s. They are now one of the most popular and sought after reptiles due to their gentle nature and wide range of colour variations. They are also relatively easy to care for compared to other reptile species.

Dietary Requirements

Bearded dragons are omnivores. They need a balanced diet of insects and vegetation. Hatchling bearded dragons diets will mainly consist of insects, be careful not to feed to large a prey item and work on the assumption that no food item should be larger than the measurement between the animals eyes. As they grow you will need to introduce and start to feed more vegetation. Once they reach 2-4 months old their diet needs to be around 80% insects and 20% vegetation. As they then get older you should try to evenly split the insects and vegetation. Ensure the insects are gut loaded before feeding to your bearded dragon. Gut loaded means they are fed with nutritious and vitamin rich foods which are beneficial to your bearded dragon. You can feed the insects things like carrots, dried cereals, dried commercial fish food. Always provide fresh food and water daily to your bearded dragon.

Main Dietary Items

• Crickets - Leafy Salads - Butternut Squash
• Locusts - Watercress - Bell Peppers
• Dubai Cockroaches - Curly Kale
• Dandelion - Spring Greens
• Clover - Rocket
• Honeysuckle - Carrot

Fine in Moderation

• Mealworms
• Waxworms
• Calci Worms
• Parsley
• Bok Choy
• Pumpkin
• The occasional pinkie

Special Treats Only

• Blueberries
• Cooked Sweet Potato
• Strawberries
• Raspberries

Housing

Bearded dragons do best in a wooden or glass vivarium. You are better to house juvenile bearded dragons in a smaller set up and increase the size as they grow. The minimum vivarium size for a juvenile bearded dragon would be 60cm x 45cm x 45cm. As they reach adult size which is usually around a year old they will need to be placed in a bigger vivarium of at least 120cm x 60cm x 60cm. If you can supply a bigger vivarium this would be better. Bearded dragons like height, so if you are able to, create different heighted levels within the vivarium to encourage their natural behaviour. The best kind of substrate to use for a bearded dragon is desert sand or Pro Reps Beardie Life substrate. This will be the closest thing to their natural substrate they live on in the wild and encourage natural foraging and burrowing behaviour. There are very mixed reviews on using sand for bearded dragons as a lot of people think it causes blockages inside the stomach, this is easily prevented by providing your Dragon with plenty of fibrous plant material. This helps keep their gut in tip top condition allowing sand to pass through without harming the animals. However try to prevent your Dragon from eating a lot of the sand by feeding them in a low shallow bowl if you are feeding pellets, greens or mealworms.

Bearded Dragons are cold blooded animals which originate from the hot deserts of inland Australia; this means we must provide a heat source for them. Here is a list of the equipment you will need to include to your set up:

• 100W – 150W Heat Bulb or Ceramic heater used with a thermostat to ensure the correct temperature.
• Heat bulb/ceramic heater electrical fitting
• A Fluorescent 10% UVB Bulb with the light unit
• Thermometer to ensure the correct temperature at all times.

Bearded dragons like their vivarium to be very warm. So during the day you need to create a basking temperature of around 36 degrees C to 40 degrees C, creating a thermal gradient meaning the cooler end is around 22 degrees C to 26 degrees C. These should be on for at least 10 hours of the day. Ensure you use a thermostat to make sure the temperature is stable. You must also provide your bearded dragon with a UVB light. T5 bulbs produce more UV lighting and will last a lot longer than T8 bulbs, following this link will give you an insight into modern uvb needs http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/An-In-Depth-Look-At-UV-Light-And-Its-Proper-Use-With-Reptiles/. You do not need to have any heat on during the night as in their natural habitat the temperature can drop pretty low often hitting average room temperatures, as long as they are not in any actives the natural room temperature will help to keep the vivarium from cooling down too much. Because bearded dragons love to climb, ensure their heat bulb and unit isn’t hanging down to low or make sure there is a heat guard to protect your bearded dragon from burning themselves.

Maintenance

Make sure you spot clean daily and that you are full cleaning with disinfectant at least once a month. This will stop any infections or bad bacteria from building up in the substrate. If you keeping the bearded dragon in a bio active enclosure you can spot clean and monitor the enclosure.

Enrichment

Rearrange their enclosure, if they see the same thing every day, it can get boring. Changing things up can stimulate them mentally, giving them new things to look at. Change the background paper, add new climbing material.

Give them time for running around the house. They enjoy lounging in their favourite spot or climbing up the couch. You may want to frequently let them out to stretch their legs before returning them to their tanks to warm up and get their UVB light. Mine love sitting on the windowsill (separately, of course) especially when the windowsill warms up to 100+ degrees in the summertime. (They could sit there forever watching the outside if I let them! They very much enjoy that). Allow for bonding time, beardies definitely love cuddling up with their humans! Your body temperature will keep them nice and warm/cosy and they'll feel safe and comfortable with you. Use a laser beam for them to chase. Much like a cat, if you put a laser pointer aimed at the ground next to your bearded dragon, they may chase it/try to eat it. This is good for mental stimulation.Bonus tip:Aim the laser on their greens and watch them accidentally eat their greens that they so stubbornly refuse to.

Common Health Problems

Common health conditions of pet bearded dragons includemetabolic bone disease, infectious stomatitis ('mouth rot'), parasites, respiratory infections, and adenovirus infection. "If they are well looked after, with a good diet and proper environment, bearded dragons are reasonably hardy animals."

Temperament

These members of the reptile species are often quite tame and require little in terms of active training. When handling your bearded dragon make sure to gently scoop up your dragon with your hand under its belly. Dragons tend to be very trusting of their handler and will not necessarily hold on, so always take care to support your dragon. They do not like being firmly held. Rather, let them rest in your palm with your fingers gently curled over their back. Although generally quite friendly, if they feel threatened, they have been known to scratch or bite their handlers. Please take caution if your bearded assumes a defensive posture such as puffing out or “displaying his beard” by pressing his body flat and opening his mouth.

Difference between Male and Female

Males are larger than females, have two hemipenal bulges, bigger femoral pores and heads, thicker tails and darker beards. They are also more likely to hiss, stamp, beard fluff and head bob. Sexing a bearded dragon is important to make sure you do not house two males together

Special Requirements

Bearded Dragons must have a supplement of vitamins and calcium (Vetark Nutrobal) which you can buy from most good reptile stores. Add this to their Vegetation and Insects to ensure they are receiving enough through their diet every day. They need this for healthy bone development. If they are not provided with the correct calcium supplement and UVB lighting they will develop metabolic bone disease, which can be hard and expensive to correct. They must have good quality UVB lighting and a regular calcium supplement from as early as possible to prevent this terrible disease from developing. Regular check-ups with a qualified reptile vet are important to maintain good long term health for your pet.