Pogona vitticeps

Bearded Dragons (babies)
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Species Information: Bearded Dragons, commonly known as ‘Beardies’, are from Australia and are now readily available due to their willingness to breed in captivity. Bearded Dragons are known for their docile nature and make excellent pets for both beginner and expert reptile keepers. These lizards are easily maintained as pets, but do require full spectrum lighting and warm temperatures. They make an excellent family pet and typically do well even with small children due to their calm, gentle nature and need for attention. As always though, remember that it is a live animal and that when being handled children should be monitored closely to prevent any injuries to themselves or the animal. Size and Sexing: When reaching adulthood, Bearded Dragons can reach anywhere between 18-24 inches long. Male and female Beardies are about the same size, so there is no definite way to determine sex by size. It is also not easy to determine the sex of a Beardie by the way he/she acts, head size, or tail size. An easy way to check the sex of your Bearded Dragon is to hold them gently but firmly in one hand, with them facing away from you. With your other hand, take the tail about halfway down, then lift upwards, be careful not to force the tail too far towards the lizards head. When doing this, look just above the vent of the lizard, typically you can see two bumps on the left or right, indicating that it is a male, while females will often have one small bump just above the vent or no bumps at all. Smaller dragons may have to have their tails gently moved back and forth to see any signs of a bump. If you choose to buy a younger dragon, you will probably have to wait until they are 7-8 inches long to determine the sex. Expert reptile keepers and experienced vets can also probe the lizard to determine the sex, but remember; only someone very experienced should do this and it is not recommended. Longevity: Bearded Dragons can live to be up to10 years old if given proper care and are overall healthy, happy animals. 5-7 years seems to be the average in captivity, so be sure you are willing to spend the money, time and effort on an animal that will be with you and your family for years to come. Housing: Young Bearded dragons less than 10 inches long can easily be housed in a 20 gallon aquarium, but they grow quickly and so you will need to invest in an aquarium no smaller than 40 gallons. The aquarium will need to be 40 gallons or more once your bearded dragon reaches adulthood. Many bearded dragon breeders and keepers suggest a 55 gallon aquarium due to their size. This allows your adult bearded dragon to move around freely and exercise him or herself. Any size of aquarium is readily available in pet stores, but if not on the shelf, requests for larger aquariums are easily made. Glass and wood covers are not suggested as both of these types of covers do not allow good air flow and hold too much humidity in the tank. Screen covers should be used to allow a good air flow, allow heating sources to function correctly and allow humidity to escape from inside of the cage. Light Sources: Bearded dragons require full spectrum lighting for 12-14 hours a day. The bulbs should stretch the length of the entire cage and the Beardie should be able to reach within 6-8 inches of the light. Remember, glass will deflect the UV rays from the bulb, so the lighting should not be directed through glass. Temperatures: Remember that bearded dragons need a place to bask in high temperature areas. Juvenile bearded dragons need a basking spot around 110F (43C) while temperatures for adults can be left at 95F (35C). It is not recommended to go over 110F, but within a few degrees of this temperature will be sufficient. To create these high temperature basking spots, it is suggested to use a ceramic heat emitter or a reptile basking light (red, blue or white) with their UV Light source. Red lighting can be used both day and night, as they do not disturb the sleep cycle of your animal, this allows you to see them at all hours. Make sure that your Bearded Dragon can get away from these basking spots to a cooler part of the enclosure. This cooler side should be kept at about 85F during the day and can fall to no lower than 65 at night. Maintaining these temperatures is fairly easy to do, even during winter months. If you find it difficult keeping the temperature above 65F at night, you may consider buying an under the tank heater so that your Beardie has a warm place to sleep. Heat rocks are never recommended for any reptile due to the high risk involved. Your animal could get severely burned on its belly or sides. The temperatures can be monitored with two different thermometers on either side of the tank. You will want one thermometer on the “hot side” and the other on the “cool side.” Substrate: If you are getting a baby or juvenile Bearded Dragon, many people recommend using newspaper, paper towels, and butcher paper or reptile carpet. All of these choices are cheap, easy to clean, and don’t hold any health risks to your animal. If you are using reptile carpet, using the kind that feels like grass, as the felt kind can snag on your animals nails and possibly injure them. It is suggested not to use sand, shaving or loose substrate for baby or juveniles due to their curiosity and clumsy eating behaviors. If they were to eat the loose substrate they could become impacted, blocking of the intestines, and die. For adult Beardies, you can use the reptile carpet or play sand. Washed play sand or reptile sand is attractive and looks much like their natural environment. It is not recommended to use crushed walnut shell. It is very dangerous if eaten, as it is not digestible and has sharp edges, causing your Beardie to become impacted. Feeding and Diet: Bearded Dragons are omnivorous, meaning that they eat both plant and animal matter. Anything that your bearded dragon will be eating should be no bigger than the space between their eyes. If they eat something larger than the space between their eyes, it can be a cause for serious health problems. Babies and juveniles should be offered appropriate sized crickets two to three times daily. Offer them as much as they will eat within 5-10 minutes, and then take the food source away when the Beardie stops eating. You should also offer fresh greens daily. Spraying the greens lightly with water will let them last longer and help hydrate your Beardie at the same time. Sub-adult to adult bearded dragons only needs to be offered insects once daily along with fresh greens. At this age, you can begin offering more than just crickets. Locusts, cockroaches, mealworms, wax worms, zophobas worms, silkworms, butter worms, red worms, earthworms, and just about any other type of worm can be offered. Remember though, all of these worms should be kept as occasional treats with crickets and fresh greens being a main dietary source. Please do not feed your Beardie insects that have been caught in the backyard. These insects can be infected with parasites and toxins that could easily kill your pet. It is suggested to dust prey items once a day with a calcium/vitamin D3 supplement once a day and a multivitamin supplement once a week. Both of these products are available from Rep-cal. Anything that is left uneaten should be removed from your Bearded Dragons enclosure. Butternut squash, Yellow squash, Spaghetti squash, Acorn squash, all other varieties of squash, Green beans, Parsnips, Sweet potato, Snow peas and Carrots can all be offered to your Bearded Dragon. Carrots should only be used as a treat though due to the high amounts of vitamin A. Any food with high amounts of vitamin A should be avoided as reptiles do not absorb a lot of vitamin A. Feeding your Beardie a lot of foods such as Carrots will end up in a condition called Vitamin A toxicity which is deadly. Squash will need to be cooked or put into the microwave before feeding them to your Beardie. This way they are soft and can be chopped up to be eaten more easily. Fruits can also be offered, just avoid citrus fruits such as oranges and grape fruit. Water: A small, shallow bowl of water should be offered daily. Remember to check on the water regularly, removing and cleaning the bowl if necessary. Some Beardies will not drink out of a bowl, but a water dripper can be bought to drip down into the bowl. This way, your Bearded Dragon will have a fresh source of water almost constantly and will be more likely to drink. Some people prefer to have a bowl just deep enough for the animal to soak in while in its cage, easing its shedding process while others believe that you should take your Bearded Dragon out once a week and run a slightly warm bath in the tub, just deep enough for them to wade in. This is up to you. Just remember, if you have a bowl for them to soak and drink in, it will have to be cleaned on a regular basis as the animal will most likely defecate while in the water bowl. Cleaning: Special cleaning products are available on the market for cleaning out cages, but a mixture of bleach and water works just as well. ¼ of a cup of bleach mixed with a gallon of water is simple to do. This way you can put the mixture in a spray bottle and sprits everything in need of cleaning. Remember to disinfect cages, cage accessories, water bowls, and food bowls when they are in need of cleaning. Once they are scrubbed down with the bleach/water combination, remember to rinse everything extremely well until the smell of bleach is gone! Like with all reptiles, remember to wash your hands well before and after handling. This will reduce the risk of you or your pet getting sick from anything either of you may have. Just remember that you will be buying a pet that will be with you and your family for years to come. Be sure that you can provide everything that you’re animal will need and that you are ready to make the commitment before purchasing any animal. If you have any questions, either about your pet or for educational reasons, feel free to give us a call. Care Sheet Written By: Ashlea Johnston