What to look for in a bearded dragon?

Question

I'm looking into getting a bearded dragon, but I've had some serious problems with buying pets (fish) that die very soon after being bought, like they were already sick when purchased. I'm terrified of spending the money on a bearded dragon and then having it die within weeks from some weird disease it got in a pet store.

Does anyone have any tips for selecting a healthy beardie? Are there any warning signs to look for?

Answer 1

A beardie should be alert, inquisitive and have bright, clear eyes. One that just lays there is generally not feeling well. A baby running away is not a bad thing either. It just means it's healthy and alert enough to do what's natural...not wanting to be caught as someone's lunch...:-)

Look for abnormal spots, like what could be looked at as a fungus or bacterial infection on it's skin. It's breathing should be clear of any rasping sounds and the mouth should have no signs of injury or swollen areas.

Once you get past all that...and you decide to take one home...get it to a vet and get it checked for internal parasites and just a general once-over from a qualified herp vet. Parasites are normal, they all have them. You would be checking for an over-population of them. If that's all that's wrong...just treat it and don't worry about needing to take it back to the store.

to help find a good vet near you - try one of these sites to help locate one:
http://www.herpvetconnection.com
http://www.arav.org <---click on "members"
http://www.anapsid.org/vets

Before you go to the store, however...think about adoption. Believe it or not...beardies do get surrendered and need new homes. I've adopted out two myself. Try http://www.petfinder.com or your local reptile rescue organization or herp society.

Best of luck in finding the perfect beardie...:-)

Answer 2

Look for one that isn't too small--hatchlings are much harder to feed and raise. Active, alert, bright eyed. Get from a petstore who is caring for them properly. Large tank (the bigger the better). They need basking heat lamp, UVB bulb, NO sand or other loose substrate, crickets no bigger than the space between their eyes (and the crickets fed correctly). Frequent warm water soaks as babies. For complete care info, check out the care sheets on the forums at www.reptilerooms.com. Awesome bunch of experts. Also, Yahoo's Pogona list is excellent to join and ask questions. Beardies make great pets, but they have some very specific needs that must be met if you want it to survive.

Answer 3

When you check out a tank or cage full of baby dragons, look for the energetic ones that have are actively eating, basking, or exploring. Be sure to pick up and handle the young dragon you've selected. You want one that is energetic and alert, but not too skittish.
For adults, they may not be as active as babies or and smaller juveniles. Most of the time adults will sit and bask...go eat at their bowls...occasionally throughout the day they'll roam around the cage and glass dance, but sitting and basking is pretty much all they do. They should still be alert, wide-eyed.
Check him for lesions, wounds, and a full tail. Make sure he has all five toes, with claws, on all four feet. Check his eyes and nostrils, they should be clean and free of any discharge. A good pet store should have the cages well kept and clean, a bowl of greens, no a lot of poo lying around, a UVB light should be on the cage, as well as a heat light.

I want to give you some good information, I know you didn't ask for it, but I want to make sure you know. Alot of pet stores will talk you into buying a lot of things bad for your beardie/stuff you do not need and they'll give you a lot of incorrect info. Believe me, I learned that when I bought my first dragon.

Go here to find out what you can and can't feed to your beardie. It's a color-coded food chart. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
adults should be fed crickets once a week, around 30-35 crickets.
Babies and juveniles are to be fed 2-3 times per day, as many crickets as they can eat in a 10-15 minute time period. This can add up to 100 crickets per day easily. Dusting with calcium and multivitamins info is in the link I gave above.

Don't use any loose partical substrates, as in sand, calcium sand, corn cob, walnut shells, alfalfa pellets, kitty litter, wood shavings, etc. Beardies often ingest the substrate when eating, or licking the air and accidently hit the substrate too. It will cause impation. Ceramic tiles are nice and are good for substrates for dragons...don't worry you don't have to grout or nothing like that, just place them on the bottom of the cage. Paper towels, reptile carpet, newspaper, etc can also be used.

For caging, a 40 gallon breeder is the minimum size for one adult. Small babies can be kept in a 20 gallon, but they'll need the 40 in a small amout of time due to them growing so quickly.

The temperatures for babies and juveniles should be around 110F, babies can be a little higher, no more than 115F. Adults around 95-105F. Cool side can be around 85. Make sure you use a good UVB light. Atleast 8.0 or higher. They need to be changed every 6 months. The draogn also needs to be within a good range of the UVB safely....6 inches is great, but no more than a foot away. Check your temps with a digital thermometer. The ones from the pet store can be as much as 20 degress inaccurate. Most Wal-marts have digis, and are usually around $10. I know it seems like a lot but it's a great investment in your dragons health.


Don't use water bowls. It can raise the humidity to dangerous levels inside the cage which can cause respiratory infections. Dragons very rarely even drink from water bowls. I highly recommend just doing soaks once a week for hydration. It also aids in shedding. Put your beardie in the bath tub (or rubbermaid if you perfer one of those..suitable size) I have the 18 gallons for my adults. Fill the water up (lukewarm) to the dragons arm pits. Let him soak for 20 minutes and do that once a week. He'll keep nice and hydrated.