| Bearded Dragon Pogona vitticeps ~Experience level) Beginner to Intermediate ~Range) Australia ~Description) 16-24in long ~Average lifespan) 10-15yrs ~Diet) I recommend feeding a variety of greens along with some mixed veggies every day. Some greens that I recommend are Collards, Green or Red Leaf Lettuce, Dandelion Greens & flowers (pesticide free), Mustard Greens, and occasionally Kale. Some mixed veggies that I recommend are carrots, butternut or acorn squash finely diced, occasionally broccoli or cauliflower. You can also give them other types of edible flower such as pansies and nasturtiums. I also feed a variety of live and dead insects and worms. Some types of worms I recommed are silkworms, mealworms, superworms, waxworms and ZooMed CanOWorms or CanOPillars. For insects I recommend crickets, live grasshoppers (collected from pesticide free area) when available, or ZooMed CanOCrickets or CanOGrasshoppers. Beardies should be feed appropriately sized insects and worms. Grasshoppers and Superworms should only be feed to adults. You can also give your Beardie frozen pinkie mice that have been thawed occasionally. I recommend feeding one every couple weeks to once a month but it is not necessary. Be sure to use appropriate vitamin and mineral supplements also. Remember, you should not combine vitamins and minerals because they degrade each other, instead you should dust food with the vitamin supplements some days and the mineral supplements other days. Some brands of vitamin or mineral supplements I recommend are Sticky Tongue Farm's Minerall, Nekton-REP, T-rex Bone Aid Microstick Calcium Powder, Exoterra also makes a variety of liquid supplements. ~Daytime Temp) 82-86 degrees F with 104 degree F basking spot ~Evening/night temp) 68-72 degrees F ~Minimum cage size) I recommend using a 10-20 gallon aquarium for babies and no less than a 40 gallon breeder aquarium (36x18) for and adult ~Lighting) For lighting I recommend using a striplight with a full spectrum UVA, UVB fluorescent bulb like the ExoTerra 5.0 or 8.0 reptile bulbs, as well as a dome fixture with a basking heat bulb such as ZooMed's Basking Bulb. You will have to guess as to what wattage will keep your sized tank at the appropriate temperatures. In a 10 gallon I would recommend a 50w heat bulb and for a 40 breeder I would recommend a 100w-150w. ~Substrate) For baby Beardies I recommend using paper towel. When they are really little I have found that they drink water the best if you mist them, this can cause the sand to clump around their feet and limbs making it hard for them to walk. I would recommend switching them to a calcium sand such as Bone Aid Calci-sand by T-rex, as soon as they reach about 6-8in from head to tail. In my experience with adult Beardies I have found that the type of substrate is not too important as long as it is a desert type substrate made for reptiles. I have used calcium sand, regular reptile sand, and desert blend litter which is a crushed walnut substrate. I have had no problems with any of these substrates, but sometimes if ingested regular sand or crushed walnut can cause impaction in the intestines so calcium sand or paper towel work the best. ~Other Care Information) Bearded Dragons can make great pets as long as you care for them properly. Always remember to vary your Beardie's diet as much as possible and use both vitamin and mineral supplements to insure that your Beardie receives all the nutrients he/she needs. I recommend that if you have never had a reptile pet before, that you get a Beardie that is at least 6in long, that way it is already off to a really good start and may be easier to take care of than one that is really little. If you decide to purchase one as an adult I would recommend that you make sure you are comfortable handling it. Sometimes pet stores will offer adults that they have received or purchased from someone who is bored with their lizard. Although Beardies seem to be docile by nature, if not used to being handled, an adult may be a bit harder to handle than a baby or an adult that has been handled on a regular basis. Back |
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| Photo By: B. Schouten |
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| Photo By: Matt Claflin |
| Photo By: Richard Flanagon |
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| Photo By: Melody Ridgley Fortunato |