Taking care of bearded dragons

Bearded dragons are becoming one of the most popular lizards to have as a pet. Bearded dragons are from south, central Australia. They are drunal lizards (active during the day). With proper care these lizards can live ten years in captivity. All of these lizards that are available in the United States are captive bred from founder animals imported from Europe because of the wildlife laws in Australia.

When housing your bearded dragon, you should use a bare enclosure, either a glass aquarium or a large plastic enclosure. Its also a good idea to have a screen cover on top of the enclosure to prevent the lizard from escaping and to prevent children or other pets from getting a hold of it. A ten gallon tank should be large enough for a new hatchling, but within six months or less, the lizard will need a bigger enclosure at least 24 inches or longer. When they become adults, a 50 gallon tank or larger should be used especially if you are going to put more than one lizard in the same tank. Adult bearded dragons love to climb branches and bask, so its a good idea to include branches for climbing and a basking site for basking. Another good idea is to have hiding spots especially if you are going to house females and males in the same enclosure. The bottom of the tank should either be bare, have paper toweling, newsprint, or sand.

does one achieve these temperatures? You get these temperatures by using a combination of either not rocks or an under tank heat source of some sort which should be under about half the tank. Also put an incandecent light over the basking site. The best ones to use are the standard white ones. The lights should be on 12-14 hours. Always make sure you monitor temperatures before putting your lizard in the tank. If you decided to use a hot rock, check the suffice for hot spots and also make sure lid is on tightly enough because babies can climb up the cage and escape. The undertank heat source or hot rock should be left on 24 hours. Nighttime temperatures should be between 60 degrees to 70 degrees fahrenheit.

In addition to the incansescent lights, full spectrum (UVB) flourescent lights should also be placed on top of the tank. Its a good idea to place it 12 inches away from your lizard.

There should always be water in a shallow dish or bowl that the lizard can drink and see into easily. Water should be changed daily and the bowl disinfected on a regular basis. You might also want to do a daily misting for hatchlings.

Bearded dragons are mainly insect eaters. You can however, feed them dark, leafy greens and finely chopped or grated vegetables. The insects they like the most are crickets, mealworms, king mealworms, and waxworms. If you are planning on feeding your lizard insects make sure you also feed the insects. Since they grow quickly, food should be supplemented with a calcium/vitamin mixture. If your lizard is under one month old feed it two to three times a day. If its one to four months old you should feed

it two times a day. Four months to mature feed it one to two times a day. Adults feed every one to two days.

There is one thing which makes a bearded dragon so interesting. With a little bit of training, they will sit calmly for moderate periods in your hand or on your shoulder.

Some adults like to be petted on the back or under the chin. You must be extra careful when handeling hatchlings. They are known to back-up while you hold them. Petting them alot could be harmful to their skin. For the first two months you should only hold them a little and then slowly increase to holding them a little more the next two months.

When they reach six months to a year they are then old enough to he held more often. If you let a child hold your bearded dragon, make sure you keep a close watch on them.

Bearded dragons are calm lizards, but if agrivated they will do an open-mouth threat display, and may bite if your not careful.