Bearded Dragons

One of the most popular and easiest reptiles to own is the Bearded Dragon ( Pogona vitticeps ). Bearded dragons are native to Australia. They live in rocky and rough parts of the country and are exceptional climbers. Dragons have large triangular heads and flat bodies with pointed ridges along the sides. They are omnivorous, eating both insects and plants. They are easy to keep, very tame and stay that way. they are not to big and not to small, averaging between 16-22 inches including their long tail. They look like prehistoric beasts with their wonderful spikey collar! They will sit on your shoulder all day if you let them. Their price range can be from $50 all the way up to $500, depending on their size, color, and many other factors. Many pet stores sell them for around $60 to $100 dollars but breeders sell them from $50 to $500. Breeders often have them in many different colors that is why they cost so much. But a pet store one if fine for a beginner. First off you must have the cage completely set up before you buy one. Housing Bearded dragons grow to a fairly good size, so an adult individual needs to be kept in a 30-55 gallon aquarium, but as babies they can start out in a 10-15 gallon tank. A screen lid should be used at the top of the tank along with two different types of light fixtures. The first light needs to be a reptile fluorescent bulb that gives off full spectrum light including UVA and UVB rays. The UVB is especially important to these reptiles so they can absorb calcium properly! The second light source needed is a heat lamp. Reptiles are ectotherms, which means they get their heat from an outside source, unlike humans who can create their own heat. Different areas of the cage need to be different temperatures., so reptiles can move around to heat up or cool off. Bearded dragons need a daytime temp. of 76-88 degrees, a basking area at 95-105, and at night 70-76 degrees. You can use a normal 100 watt light bulb for heat. DO NOT use hot rocks for bearded dragons! They easily can burn the stomach of your bearded dragon. Make sure to turn off the lights at night. You can use sticks, branches, logs, rocks bricks, fake plants and anything else you feel would be a nice decoration in your reptiles tank. Just make sure to soak them in a 1 part bleach 2 parts water mixture and then let them sit in the sun to dry. Make a hiding area such as a small cave for you bearded dragon to go into. For the bedding of your tank you should use reptile carpet which works really really great or ceramic tiles. NEVER use sand, calcisand, crushed walnut shells or rocks because your lizard could eat these and become impacted which could lead to Death! You could also use newspaper if you don;t care what it looks like. Humidity -Bearded dragons like very low humidity in their tank and should be misted only lightly once or twice a week. Keep a small shallow water bowl in the tank as well. Food -Bearded dragons will eat almost anything that moves and/or they can fit in their mouths. This includes crickets and different types of worms, and even pinkie mice when the reptile is large enough to eat them easily. Never feed a reptile cold food or food too big for it to eat easily. Veggies and fruits can be cut up to make a "salad" for your dragon. I will soon add a post showing what fruits and vegetables bearded dragons can eat and how to prepare them. Fruits and vegetables are a major part of a bearded dragons diet so they need to be fed along side their crickets! Vitamins/Supplements -Reptiles need to have a vitamin/supplement with calcium and phosphorus. Most commercial foods have the supplements needed for your dragon, but you should also purchase calcium powder to sprinkle on the crickets you feed to your dragon. I recommend buying ReptoCal by Tetrafauna that is what i use and it works GREAT!!. It is only 4 dollars and will last you for a couple years because you don't need that much, just a pinch.