4 minute read
BEARDED DRAGONS
Learn about the proper care and housing for a happy and healthy Bearded Dragon. Living Dragons:
Bearded Dragons
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(Pagona vittiseps)
By Ken Foose
In the reptile world you have a lot of choices as a pet. Some make great pets. Some don’t. But when it comes to ease in care, handling and just an all around great reptile pet, nothing compares to a Bearded Dragon.
Bearded Dragons are part of the Agama family of lizards. This family includes such lizards as Water Dragons, Uromastyx and Frilled Lizards. Bearded Dragons are native to Australia and were first imported into the United States in the 1990’s. They quickly became super popular and soon replaced the Green Iguana as the #1 pet lizard.
Housing should consist of a 40 gallon or larger enclosure. Babies can be housed in smaller terrariums until they grow large enough to use a larger enclosure. Place bedding into the enclosure. I don’t recommend sand, as there have been cases of Dragons eating it on accident and becoming impacted. I do like Orchid bark and ground coconut core. I have rarely ever seen impaction using these substrates. Artificial turf or even newspaper also works well. You’ll need a nice sized water bowl and food bowl.
For heat and light you have many choices, but the main two issues are heat and UV lighting. You can use a heat emitter, spot heat lamps or a mercury vapor lamp. If using a mercury vapor lamp then no other lighting is needed. The main need is a hot spot of about 120 degrees and a high UV output to simulate the sun’s rays. My preferred set up is to place a mercury vapor lamp at one end of the enclosure and run a florecent lamp across the top of the enclosure. If your home gets below 65 degrees at night, then a nocturnal heat lamp that gives a hot spot of 75 degrees would also be suggested for night heat. The other lamps can be turned on and off in 12 hour cycles.
Dragons like to climb, so provide some nice sturdy branches for them to sit on and to bask. Place one branch under the heat lamp, making sure there are other branches for the dragon to navigate to when it wants less heat. You can add all kinds of furniture and even plastic plants if desired. I feel a hide box is not needed, but adding one will not hurt at all.
Bearded Dragons eat almost anything. In captivity they will take almost any insect such as crickets, roaches, horned worms, meal worms and wax worms. They are omnivores, so they will also relish leafy greens, mixed veggies and flowers. Be aware that they will eat almost anything. Take care not to let them come in contact with toxic plants.
These guys are best housed alone. Babies tend to nip off each others tails and toes. Adult males will fight each other sometimes. Males will breed females to death if given the chance. If you do wish to have two dragons in one enclosure, I would suggest a couple of females since they tend to ignore each other. If you plan on housing two or more, a larger enclosure is required. I would suggest a minimum of 60 gallons for two adults. But bigger is always better.
Bearded Dragons come in a variety of colors and patterns in captivity. It seems that a new color or pattern morph pops up every year. They are calm, easy to care for and appear to be very social with humans. Their average life span is approx. 8 years. They rarely, if ever bite and almost never run away. All in all, the perfect pet.
Although this is a warm weather dwelling animal, do not take your Bearded Dragon outside in the Las Vegas heat! In direct sunlight at 90 degrees death will come from overheating in about 10 minutes. Keep them inside and enjoy them.
Reprint of article written by Ken Foose which appeared in the September/October 2018 issue. A regular contributor, Ken died suddenly in September 2020. His death was a great loss to the pet community. He was extremely knowledgeable and freely shared his knowledge and expertise.
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