bearded dragons?

Question

in a few weeks i am buying two bearded dragons (lizards) can anybody tell me anything about them eg food, care, can i handle them, how long do they grow to, how do u breed them, what sort of tank do they need and basically all the usfull facts i need to know about them and there surroundings? thanx

Answer 1

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.
Never house dragons together unless breeding.

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.

Breeding isn't cheap, around $1,000. Unless you have hands on years experience with dragons, I wouldn't try to breed them.

Answer 2

Since you have a few weeks I'd check out as many care sheets as you can find. Here's one to start with.

http://www.dachiu.com/care/abeard.html

I would hold off on the sand though until the dragons are 12" long. I have always used reptile carpet for babies and juveniles but paper towels or newspaper is fine too. I would recommend that you consider buying your dragons from a breeder rather than a pet store. A breeder generally sells well started juveniles rather than hatchlings.

Bearded Dragons love to be handled but you should wait until they are acclimated in their environment and accustomed to you. But, believe me that doesn't take long.

I like the first answerer that called everybody else "idiots" when she herself could offer no information. lol.

Now I'll dispell a few myths.

Females will lay eggs with or without a male present. It is actually riskier for her to constantly lay infertile eggs rather than fertile and it drains her reserves just as much. The poster that claimed their dragon died of exhaustion did not adjust their husbandry for egg laying season.

I would start dragons in no less than a 20 long aquarium. They do not need night time heat unless your home drops below 65 or so at night.

Crickets can be bought online for about a penny to 2 cents a piece, way cheaper than buying at a pet store. Also check into getting your supplies online also. petmountain.com, herpsupplies.com, or lllreptile.com are all good suppliers with much more reasonable prices.

Poop should be removed as soon as it is noticed and there will be no smell. Most dragons top out at about 20" with a few German Giants making it to 24" but no more. Weight wise a pound and a half would be a fat dragon.

Water should be available at all times. With the high temperatures beardies require a water bowl will never bring humidity to an unsafe level. The bowl should be shallow and large enough so that the dragons body would fit into it.

Answer 3

hello, yes depending on how old they are when u get them u can feed them live crickets, live mealworks, live superworm, pelleted food, lettice, carrots, and other vegetables. if you start them out on live food they most likely will never go back to petted food. Yes you can handle them, mainly dont let there appearance scare you animals can sence when someone is scared. be gentile at first and gradually intriduce ur self when u get them leave them along without any handeling for about 4-5 days. they will grow to be about 24 inches in length, but that will take some time. if you start them out in the same tank when there young u can keep them in there throughout there life, but they may end up fighting so
u may have to get separate tanks. for 2 dragons i would get at least a 20 gallon long tank right now. when they are older they will need about a 50 gallon for both or about 25 for each one. you will need a basking heat buld and a uv light. they need things to climb on in there tank. u will need a water bowl but also u will need to get a reptisafe which is water conditioner for reptile. when there babies then need a carpet substrate in there tank but when older they can have either sand or ground walnut shells. i have 2 dragons that were about 12 inches in length each. they are alot of fun but also alot of money and responsibility also. hope they information is helpful PS get all the supplies at petsmart if u can they have the best stuff and most helpful service

Answer 4

Separate your dragons and your problem will be solved. They are not meant to live together unless they are mating, which is way too early for a 4 month old dragon, they dont reach sexual maturity till around 1 year.

Answer 5

Best websites are:

www.reptilerooms.com (the forums section has the best care sheets).

The Yahoo groups Pogona is great.

www.beautifuldragons.com

http://www.bearded-dragons.com/tips/

www.anapsid.org

Do your homework. They need specific care but once set up aren't too bad. You need to take good care of their food as well! House them separately until ready to breed, then only for a short time. They should not be kept together. I have one in a 75 gallon, which should be minimum for 1. Need specific heat temp, UVB lighting, and live food plus salads.

Answer 6

They need a big cage I use the term cage loosely my sisters got over a foot long and he is currently eating spiders in the closets because the kittens carry him around. They like a veggie and insect diet. Crickets are the cheapest and a favorite of dragons. And you need to feed your crickets some gutload food ( ask at the petshop) before you feed em to the dragon.If you they are a male and female I think you should consider keeping them seperate my sisters dragons laid so many eggs that they died of exhaustion. And the presence of an male will cause them to mate and lay eggs.They will eat canned green veggies but they love dandelion greens and blossums.dark leafy greens like raw spinach are healthier than pretty much nutrient free iceberg.hope that helps

Answer 7

i just got my babies, and let me tell you. setting these guys up is expeeeeeeeeeeeensive.
depending on the size of the guys, you need different tanks. two grown up dragons are gonna need about 60 gallons or more. babies CAN be in a ten gallon, but will grow out of it in about a month, so get a 20 at LEAST. then, later on, if you decide to get geckos, you got that ready for em.
you're gonna need three types of lights. a day heat lamp, a night heat lamp, and a uv lamp. the day one is for, well, day time, the night one is usually red or blue, which limits the lizard's vision, so they can sleep at night, and the uv one is instead of the sun.
you need a few driftwood branches for them to climb around on, as well as a few good sized basking rocks. i would suggest getting something largerish, just so you don't have to keep buying them as they get bigger.
food dish, water dish, obviously, and both potasium free calcium powder, as well as a vitamin mineral suppliment, to coat your crickets with, which you need to do once a week for adults, and every day for babies.
if you're getting babies, understand that it costs a fortune to feed them. our two go through about 60 a day, and that's at 10 cents a cricket. adults are better, they eat about a 15-20 a week.
keep the guys seperated, if they are babies. i made the mistake of not, and now mines missing part of his tail. (sob) if they are adults, make sure you don't put two men together. their gonna get all macho with each oher, and fight a lot.
you gotta mist them wih a spritzer twice a day, and bath them at least twice a week, and clean their cage at least every two days, if not every day. any longer then that will not only make the lizards suffer in health, but boy, does it STINK.
they start off as hatchlings about 3 r 4 inches long, and grow to about 2 to 3 feet, but if you're getting babies, don't worry about breeding them. you gotta wait a year or so before the can have nookie.
as for food, stick to crickets and dandilions. NEVER feed them spinich. spinich is overflowing with calcium, but a different kind that is indigestible for lizards. it can stop their bones from absorbing other calcium. and never, NEVER feed baby lizards mealworms, unless it's the dead, canned version. lizards don't tend to chew their food, and mealworms have been known to eat their way back out the beardie. EEEEEEEEEEEW

Answer 8

You really need to do more research than what idiots on this site will tell you.