Bearded Dragon Care Sheet

Bearded Dragons (Pogona Vitticeps) are native to Australia and are members of the Agama family. They are one of the most popular reptiles in herpeteculture due of their manageable size, ease of handling, attractive appearance and, above all, their friendly personality and interaction with their owners.

Here are the out lines for the basic care of your bearded dragon, if you are about to or have recently purchased a bearded dragon I would recommend the Bearded Dragon Manual for a more detailed source to be able to fully care for your bearded dragon.

Housing

For housing of a hatchling bearded dragon a vivarium size of 24”long by 16” wide is recommended. This will allow the beardie enough room to regulate temp and not too much space to get lost or find hunting food difficult. They will need a larger tank as they grow and for an adult they will need at least 36”long by 18”wide viv. If you are housing a pair of adults you would need a viv 48”- 18” roughly. The bigger the home for and adult or group of adults the better. When choosing to home more than one bearded dragon in the same vivarium you must note that male bearded dragons are very territorial and will fight any other male beardies in the immediate vicinity, so housing two males is not advisable at all.

When furnishing you viv you should provide a basking perch such as a rock/s or branch where they can lay or perch to warm their bodies. this should be in the hotter end of the viv, a hide or shelter can be provided at each end of the viv too. Thick branches and rocks are good for general décor but try to avoid over crowding as you beardie likes to have space to have a run around. Fake plants are not a good idea as beardies have a tendency to eat them and this can cause health issues so are better avoided.

Lighting & Heating

Bearded dragons require full spectrum UVB lighting, the UVB light should run the full length of the viv and within 8-12 inch of the reptiles so they can effectively absorb the light that stimulates the production of vitamin D3 in the reptile. Vitamin D3 is essential for the absorption of calcium. (UVB will not travel through glass or plastic.) I would recommend using repti glow 10.0 UVB. Its advisable to replace your UVB bulb every 12 months at least as there efficiency diminishes with time.

Your bearded dragon will need temperature gradient in its vivarium to enable it to regulate its temperature. This is done by providing a basking spot at one end of the viv of around 100f – 115f, (please ensure that your reptile has no physical contact with the heat source – to avoid burns) an ambient temp of 75f and at the cooler end of the viv the temp should be around 65f. A distinct day and night period should be provided for your beardie, 12-14 hours of daytime light should provided followed by a night time period where the lights are turned off. The night time temp should not drop below 55f – 60f so if you room temp is below this you will have to heat the viv to achieve this temp through the night. There are various ways you can heat your viv the most accurate and effective is to combine a ceramic heating bulb with a pulse proportionate thermostat (preferably with a day/night function if the temp on a night drops below 55f) A heat bulb and dimmer thermostat can be used but you do tend to go through a lot of bulbs this way.

Feeding

Young Bearded dragons should be offered food twice daily. Crickets gut loaded on fresh veg high in iron such as spinach is best. The rule of thumb is to keep the size of live food your feeding them smaller than the width of your reptiles head. Wax and small meal worms can be given as treats but not daily as they are high in fat and can lead to health problems if over fed to your reptile. Fresh veg should also be made available to your dragon such as spinach, dandelion leafs butternut squash and greens are all good. As they grow increase the size of their food you can start using hoppers and locust keeping in mind the rule of thumb again these should be gut loaded. When you bearded dragon reached 4-5 months old they will only require feeding once daily. Any food you beardie doesn’t eat should be removed, crickets are nocturnal and will bite and disturb you beardie in the night which can lead to stress and health problems.
Bearded dragons are inherently calcium deficient so need to be supplemented. We use a calcium balancer & multivitamin (Nutrobal) growing beardies twice weekly adults once weekly. Combining this with UVB exposure should help bone growth and general health.
A source of water is always recommended for you bearded dragon, they may originate for a desert environment but still require water, most of the bearded dragons hydration comes from the vegetation you provide. When providing water make sure its changed daily and for young its in a shallow dish. You may be surprised how much an adult beardie enjoys a dip in water if a large enough bowl is provided. This also helps when our beardie is shedding.

Hygiene

Beardies will usually pass waste once daily and its very important that its removed ASAP again to avoid health issues. The viv should be cleaned weekly using a reptile disinfectant to remove any germs & bacteria.

For any further information you can email me at simon.maudsley@sky.com

Thanks Simon