Baby bearded dragon?

Question

is it hard to take care of a baby bearded dragon can it die easly i dont wanna spend 100 $ and its just gonna die is it gonna eat ??

Answer 1

I would save some money up and get some care sheets, if you really want one, get all the things it needs in the cage, and get about a months worth of food supply, find out if you will be able to pay for the food or if your parents will help you, as long as you have all the neccesary items, your bearded dragon should be fine.

Answer 2

if you want an honest answer,then i would say, yes, it takes alot of time and effort, as with any baby creature.

Answer 3

It can be very expensive to take care of a bearded dragon, but they do eat! They also have periods in their life when they will not eat or drink and sleep all day for a while. This is normal... but it can be very scary for first time owners. But as long as you feed it daily (for babies and juveniles) about 25-30 crickets per day. Adults will eat 25-30 crickets per week. Adults and juveniles will need lettuce as that is 80% of their diet at their age. Babies and some juveniles will be the opposite and eat 80% meat (crickets, mealworms, locusts, etc.) and 20% greens.

Also these lizards are GREAT for children as they loved to be handled (when they are young they will not enjoy being handled for maybe more than 10 minutes a day. This is for bearded dragons that are a couple days old through the age of about 9 months.) Adults 1 1/2 years old and up love human contact and can be held for long periods of time through out the day.

Also If you would like to own more than 1 bearded dragon and keep them in the same cage, buy them while they're young. Older bearded dragons do not like other bearded draons around unless they were together from a young age or if introduced OUTSIDE of the cage.

Lastly, when you first buy bearded dragon(s)... do not handle them for 3-5 days so they can get used to their new environment. Don't be afraid if they hiss, growl, or l**k you as this can be normal for the first week or so. When they l**k you all they are doing is getting used to you so don't fear it.

For additional information please search the web for some caresheets or go to your local pet store and feel free to ask questions.

Hope I could help.

Answer 4

If you can't commit to getting your temps right beforehand and keep the right throughout, or afford to buy the various lighting, digital thermometers,  supplements, or specialty foods, then yes, it will have a higher chance of dying.

I suggest you check out beardeddragon.org for caresheets and info.  They also have a really good forum.

Answer 5

Introduction

These gentle beasts are from Australia but are now readily available due to their willingness to breed in captivity. Bearded Dragons make a wonderful pet for both beginners and advanced reptile keepers. Due to their docile nature and relative small size (usually 16-20 inches) they have become quite popular in recent years. These beautiful creatures are highly recommended for families with small children also due to their seeming love for attention.

Choosing your Bearded Dragon

When you decide to buy a Bearded Dragon, whether from a breeder or Pet store, look it over carefully. Some things you should notice right away is how alert and active the Dragon is, you don't want a Beardie that can't lift it's head or looks lethargic. When you walk up to the enclosure the Beardies should be watching you with interest and should have bright and alert eyes. You also want to check them for sores, burns, external parasites or any deformities. Make sure there is no pus or other gunk built up in the eyes, nose or mouth area also. Many Beardies will be missing toes or bits of their tail, this will not cause them any discomfort as long as the wound looks healed and shows no sign of infection. One of the most important things in my eyes is to look at the size of the Beardie. I do not recommend Beardies under 6 inches in total length. Baby Beardies can be very fragile and more apt to become ill or overly stressed. It much easier to care for a more developed Bearded Dragon.

Housing

Young Beardies under 10 inches in length can be housed in a 20gal long aquarium. This will last them for a few months only though as they grow quickly. Adult Dragons should be housed in nothing smaller than a 40gal breeder tank. I prefer using 55gal aquariums due to the extra length it gives them to run and they are easily found at most Pet stores. Screen lids should be used for the top of any aquarium style cages you use. Do not use glass, plexiglass or wood to cover your cages. This will not allow enough air circulation and will also trap humidity in the cage. Screen tops allow air flow, allow your lighting and heat sources to work correctly and also allow humidity to escape.

Lighting

Bearded Dragons require full spectrum lighting for 12-14 hours a day. I happen to use the Reptisun 5.0 or 8.0 fluorescent bulbs. There is also other brands available such as the Reptiglo or lumichrome bulbs. These fluorescent bulbs should stretch the length of your Beardies enclosure and your B.D. should be able to come within 6-8 inches of the light. The UV light should be placed over the cage and not directed through the glass, glass will deflect the UV rays. Follow the directions on the package of the bulb for replacement frequency.

Heating and temps

To produce heat and a basking spot in your enclosure you can use either a ceramic heat emitter, a reptile basking light(red, blue or white) or just a plain old household lightbulb. The best fixture for any of these choices is a porcelain dome light fixture. This type of fixture is a must with a ceramic heat emitter due to the amount of heat they produce. The temperature for this basking spot you created should be around 110f for juveniles and can be around 95f for adults. Allthough I don't recommend any temps above 110f, within a few degrees of these basking temps will be sufficent.

The cool side of the enclosure should be around 85f during the day. Once again within a few degrees of this temp is just fine.

Night time temperatures can fall as low as 65f. It is fairly easy to keep your night temps above this even in the winter. If you can't keep your temps above this you may want to consider buying an under tank heater (UTH) for night time use. Using this just during the evening hours will help create a warm spot for your Dragon to sleep. DO NOT use heat rocks as these can cause serious burns on your animals underside.

A thermometer on the "hot side" and one on the "cool side" will make sure that your temps are in the range they should be in.

Substrate

For baby to juvenile Bearded Dragons I prefer and recommend either newspaper, paper towels, butcher paper or reptile carpet. These choices are cheap, easy to clean and hold no health risks to your animal. If using reptile carpet the stuff that looks and feels like grass is the best. The felt kind has little loops of fabric that may catch the nails of your Dragon and cause injury. DO NOT use sand, shavings or any other loose substrate for baby to juvenile Beardies. They can be very clumsy eaters and they are also very curious and like to taste everything. Any kind of loose substrate holds serious health risks to your Beardie. If they eat a loose substrate they can become impacted, which is a blocking of the intestines, and die.

For adult Dragons I prefer either the grass repti carpet or playsand. Washed playsand is much cheaper than all those fancy colored reptile sands and looks just as good. You can buy this playsand at most larger Hardware stores for under $4 for 50lbs.

Crushed walnut shell is dangerous and should only be used to clean up oil spills. This substrate is NOT digestable and if too much of it is eaten it will cause impaction. I have seen this occur first hand with reptiles ranging from lizards to tortoise. Stay away from this product please.

Feeding and diet

Bearded Dragons are omnivorous, meaning that they eat both animal and plant matter. Any and all food items that your Bearded Dragons eat should be no bigger than the space between their eyes. If the food items are bigger than the space between their eyes it can cause impaction and/or hind leg paralysis. Either way your Beardie will suffer horribly.

Baby and juvenile Beardies should be offered appropriately sized crickets two-three times a day. Offer as many as your Beardie will eat in a 5-10 minute time frame. When your Beardie stops eating, stop offering. Young Bearded Dragons can eat anywhere from 20-60 small crickets a day. Your Beardie should also be given fresh greens daily. Spraying the greens with water will help them last longer and will also help keep your Beardie hydrated.

Sub-adult to adult Beardies only need to eat prey items once a day along with fresh greens. Once they are this age you can also offer them Locusts, Cockroaches, Mealworms, Waxworms, Zophobas worms, Silkworms, Butterworms, Red worms, Earthworms and just about any other worm available. All these should be used as treats though with crickets and greens being the stable part of your Dragons diet. DO NOT feed your Beardie insects that you have caught in your backyard. These bugs could have parasites that could be passed on to your Beardie or they could have been exposed to poisons that could kill your Beardie. Lightning bugs can also kill your Beardie so it is much safer to stay away from wild caught insects.

Prey items should be dusted once a day with a calcium/vitamin D3 supplement such as Rep-cal makes. All prey items should be dusted once a week with a multivitamin supplement such as Herptivite, also made by Rep-cal.

Any uneaten prey itmes should be removed from your Dragons enclosure.

There is a wide variety of greens that are available that are good for your Beardie. Dandelion greens, Collard greens, Mustard greens, Bok choy, Kale, Turnip greens, Escarole and Chicory are among the easiest to find and the best to use. If the greens you are wondering about say Lettuce anywhere in the name avoid them. Most types of lettuce are composed mostly of water and hold little or no nutritional value. With the wide variety of other greens out there it is better and easier to just avoid any type of lettuce. Spinach should also be avoided as calcium binds to it and will not be digested by your animal.

A wide variety of vegetables can also be offered to your Beardie. Butternut squash, Yellow squash, Spaghetti squash, Acorn squash, all other varieties of squash, Green beans, Parsnips, Sweet potato, Snow peas and Carrots. 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 alot of vitamin A. Feeding your Beardie alot foods such as Carrots will end up in a condition called Vitamin A toxicity wich is deadly. Squashes will either have to be cooked or microwaved before feeding them to your Beardie. This will soften them up and they can then be minced and eaten easier.

Fruits can also be used, just avoid any citrus fruit such as oranges and grape fruit.