Bearded dragon caresheet

[nanihokuahi]

I had nothing better to do tonight, so I thought I would submit this for approval. If it needs to be improved, I can do so. This is all off of the top of my head.

Brearded Dragon Care Sheet

Caging:
Young bearded dragons should be housed in a 20-30 gallon terrestrial tank. Once they outgrow that (at about 10-12 inches), they should be kept in at least a 55 gallon tank. Bearded dragons like to move and roam about their cages so horizontal space is needed more than vertical space. Larger tanks are always better if you have the space to accommodate them.
Bearded dragons are solitary creatures and should be housed separately except for the brief periods when mating occurs. If put together, they can fight, maim each other and at the very least cause un-due stress that can lead to health problems.
Tanks should be furnished with climbing structures because beardies enjoy climbing and exploring as well as roaming around. They should also have a hide on both the warm and cool side as well as a food dish and a water dish (should be cleaned every day to prevent bacterial growth). If you do not keep a water dish, which is usually easier than keeping it, you can make sure your beardie is getting water by spraying them twice a day with a spray bottle and also make sure that their veggies are sprayed with water before offered.

Substrate:
For bearded dragons appropriate substrates include paper towels and newspaper, or you can use slate, tile, or reptile carpet (astro-turf). All of these are easy to clean and convenient with varying degrees of attractiveness.
While sand may be an attractive substrate, it is the worst thing to put your bearded dragon on. Since they love to lick everything bearded dragons will ingest copious amounts of sand if it is used as a substrate. It is likely to cause impaction or a blockage
of their intestinal track which can both lead to death.

Heating:
Beardies should be kept at about 95-100 degrees in the basking area and 80-85 degrees in the cool area as adults. As babies they should be given a basking spot of 100-105 and about 85-90 in the cool spot. This can be achieved with a standard heat lamp or ceramic bulb. At night the temperatures can drop to 75-65 degrees which usually means just leaving the lights off at night is sufficient in most households. If your house gets too cold, you may have to offer a non-light heat source such as a ceramic bulb. Infared buld should not be used because it is believed that beardies have good color vision and this may harm their eyes. Make sure that the temperature is still within the night time range so that they can have a night and day time.

Lighting:
Since beardies are basking animals they need UVA/UVB lighting. This helps them to synthesize the vitamin D3 which helps them metabolize calcium properly. They should be able to get within 8 inches of the lamp so that they can get all the UV benefits. If they are not provided with a proper UV bulb they can develop MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease) which can be fatal. I recommend repti-sun 10.0 bulbs, or an equivalent desert UVA/UVB light fixture. Bulbs should be changed every six months to make sure they maintain their strength.

Feeding:
Adult bearded dragons should be eating 80% greens/vegetables and 20% protein (crickets/bugs). Adults should be offered salads every day and protein 2-3 times a week. Babies should be fed the opposite- 20% greens and 80% protein. Babies eat a ton, they can eat 50-100 appropriate sized crickets a day over and should be fed 2-3 times a day. Crickets are the most common protein source since they are readily available and extremely easy to gutload. Crickets offered to your beardie should be no larger than the space between their eyes, otherwise they may cause impaction.
Other protein sources can include phoenix worms (high in calcium) silk worms, locusts and when old enough super worms. Meal worms should be fed rarely or not at all because of their lack of nutrition and hard exoskeleton. Wax worms should also only be offered as a treat because they are high in fat that is not easily digested by bearded dragons. They can also be addictive and your beardie may refuse other food if you feed these too often. All sources of protein should be dusted with a calcium supplement and vitamin supplement. For young dragons calcium 5 times a week and vitamins twice a week. For adults since they eat less protein you can dust with calcium once a week and vitamins twice to three times weekly.
Store bought bearded dragon food should not be used as the only source of food, but they do make good supplements. It is easiest to make a little salad for your beardie and mix the greens, commercial food, and protein and serve it all together.

Bathing:
If you choose not to keep a water dish in your beardies tank, you can give your beardie a warm bath once or twice a week. Fill the tub or sink with water no higher than their shoulder. Water should be lukewarm and beardies should be watched constantly while taking a bath. Beardies will often eliminate while in the bath. After they do this they should be taken out, rinsed off and then dried before being placed back into their enclosure.

[Johnny Utah]

Awesome. Thank you for contibuting this.

[Masahiko]

very good.

i would say more about the importance of a UVB bulb. you dont want people to think its optional. and maybe mention that they can/will develop MBD without calcium supplements/uvb. did you mention dusting food with calcium and vitamins?

very good though. just offering a few more details

Very kind of you to make this caresheet!

[nanihokuahi]

Thanks for the input Masahiko. I added the info

[dullu]

Thanks for taking the time to post that, I am having issues with getting my bearded dragon eggs to hatch, If you have any advice or know where I can get some competent help please let me know. Any and all help is welcome.

[nanihokuahi]

What is happening to your clutches? Different problems are fixed different ways. When incubating, the temperature should remain between 82-84 degrees. Vermiculite or perilite should be moist, but not wet. A general rule of thumb is the be able to squeeze it and make a ball without any water dripping from it. The ball should stay together, but should also fall apart easily.

[All_American]

Originally Posted by dullu

Thanks for taking the time to post that, I am having issues with getting my bearded dragon eggs to hatch, If you have any advice or know where I can get some competent help please let me know. Any and all help is welcome.

One of the hardest parts for egg hatching for someones first try is to leave them alone once put in the incubator. Open up the lids of the deli cups once a week for clean air circulation and don't touch them. I personally think they should be kept in low light situations, the reason being if bright light hits the eggs it may startle the embrio and make it jump causing damage to it and possible killing itself.

I actually tried the hatch rite substrate this year and its maintanance free, but the hatch percentage is the same as vermiculite.

just my 2 cents and thoughts

[DragonKing42]

This was very informative. Gives me all the basics to raise a very happy beardie. Thank you for your input.

[lizardgrrl]

Excellent information, to the point, and without the horrible misinformation so readily available from the big pet stores! Just one note to add- Never use a heat rock or undertank pad for a bearded dragon, as they can literally cook themselves. They sense heat on the top of the head, and will burn their stomach before they know it is too hot.

[nanihokuahi]

Hahaha, I definitely forgot to put that in, even though I am adamant about the destruction of heat rocks!