Bearded dragon? what all do i need read extra details please.?

Question

what all do i need for it i want to make sure i have absolutly every thing for him and his cage?

Answer 1

Hey here is a care sheet i made for you. :

What does the Bearded Dragon look like?

Bearded Dragons obtain their name due to puffing out their throat during defence and courtship displays. Both sexes do this, but males have a darker throat that turns jet black during a display. There are more morphs becoming available now, but the general colour of the Breaded Dragon is a mixture of brown shades. They have small spikes protruding from their throat, on top of their head and around their ears and running down the side of the body.

Bearded Dragons are a large species measuring a total length of 380-610mm (15-24”). Hatchlings are very small compared to the adults measuring 75-10mm (3-4”). Bearded Dragons are long lived and can live up to 10 years in captivity.

Where are Bearded Dragons from?

Bearded Dragons are found within Australia only. They are widely distributed throughout the Eastern states to the Eastern half of South Australia and South-eastern Northern territory.

Their habitat also varies from subtropical woodlands, scrublands, savannas, shore areas and deserts.

How do you keep Bearded Dragons?

Bearded Dragons are one of the easiest and hardiest species of lizards to keep as long as their requirements are met.

Large enclosures are best for Bearded Dragons so they can maintain their body temperature. Depending on the size of the Bearded Dragon you obtain, there is a high chance you will have to purchase a larger vivarium as the Bearded Dragon grows and matures.

As a rough guideline, we recommend the following sized vivariums for housing two Bearded Dragons together:

x2/3 Babies: 10-20mm (3-5”) Use 24x15x15”

x2/3 Juveniles: 180-255mm (7-10”) Use 36x24x24

x2 Sub/Adults: 330-610mm (13-24”) Use 48x24x24

You should provide a basking area with a daytime temperature between 35-43C (95-110F) the cool end of the vivarium should be in the range of 26-30C (80-85F). During the night the temperature should drop no lower than 16C (60F), most house temperatures don’t drop below this, but if yours does, use a heat mat on the warm side of the vivarium. UV light must be used to help Bearded Dragons obtain the Vitamin D-3 they require. Do not use a UV light with a percentage any lower then 5%.

While young, it is best to keep your baby Bearded Dragons on kitchen towel to prevent compaction of the substrate, this can be fatal. When older you can use a Reptile Sand, there are many different products on the market. You should also place cork bark branches and rocks for your Bearded Dragon to climb on.

Bearded Dragons are “Omnivorous” which means they feed on both plant and animal matter. When feeding live insects, ensure that the food is no larger then the width of the Bearded Dragons eyes. If too large, this could cause impaction or they could choke on the food. It is also best to feed young Bearded Dragons three times a day instead of one large meal to prevent this.

Bearded Dragons will eat a number of live insects such as crickets, locusts, mealworms, wax worms and cockroaches. When feeding plant foods, wash and finely chop and place in a dish. Your Bearded Dragon should be fed on 40-60% of plant matter when it is adult, while young offer this along side the live foods every other day.

We have listed below all the plant foods Bearded Dragons will take:

Escarole

Fancy dark lettuces (not iceberg)

Bok Choy

Endive

Carrots

Peas

Yellow Squash

Zucchini

Green Beans

Mustard, Collard, Kale and Beet Greens

Nasturtium, Hibiscus and Dandelion leaves and flowers

The below foods should be fed as treats only:

Romaine

Strawberries

Raspberries

Apples

Bananas

Squash

Melon

Mice Pinkies

Hope i helped :]

Answer 2

Housing:

The larger the better when it comes to enclosures for adult bearded dragons. Hatchlings can be housed in as small as a 10-gallon enclosure, but a minimum size for an adult is a EDIT 40 gallon breeder tank EDIT. Rubbermaid tubs also work well for groups of young dragons. We suggest a minimum 15 gallon tall tub, with the lid turned into a screen top. Cut a large hold in the top, and use Liquid Nails to glue the screen to the plastic top. Enclosures should typically be longer than they are high. Groups of adult dragons should be housed in larger enclosures with numerous logs for basking. Glass is a great choice for display of adult bearded dragons, allowing for optimum vision and brightness, but hatchlings often do better in enclosures that limit vision. It is also thought by many keepers that dragons display better color when housed in enclosures that they cannot see out of. Please be wary of housing young females with males. Dragons may mate at young ages and run into complications with egg binding.

Substrate/cage decor:

Although sand has been used for many years, I recommend strongly to my customers to use wheat bran for bearded dragons above 6 month of-age. We suggest housing young bearded dragons on newspaper or paper towels to prevent problems with impaction. With newspaper, be aware that crickets will hide beneath the paper. We suggest that you replace the old paper with new paper nightly, allowing hidden crickets to be removed or eaten for a late night snack. Left over crickets can harm young dragons, so be careful. If there are extra crickets in the enclosure, provide them with food, so they do not nibble on your dragon at night. Basking logs should be placed within the enclosure to allow your dragon to thermoregulate and feel secure. Decorative rocks and fake plants may also help to liven up the enclosure. Do not use heat rocks. Bearded Dragons sense heat and light using a detector located on top of their heads. They are not as aware of heat coming from below and can badly burn their bellies without knowing it. For this reason we advise to not use a heat rock or place rocks too close to the basking light. Use wood logs for basking zones instead. Live plants may also be an option. (But live plants must not be toxic, as they will likely be dinner).

Lighting/heating:

Bearded dragons like it HOT! The key to heating your enclosure is providing a temperature gradient from a hot basking zone, to a cooler area. Basking temps should reach well over 100 degrees F. The cooler zone should be around 85 degrees.

The brighter the light, the better. Dragons thrive under a good full spectrum UV source. We recommend active UV/heat or mercury vapor bulbs. These bulbs work double time to give your dragon quality UV and producing heat at the same time. You may also use fluorescent UV full spectrum tubes, although they do not produce the same UV quality. The colors and health of your lizard depend on good heat, bright light and UV. Your dragon will also benefit from natural sunlight and we recommend bringing your lizard outside in an outdoor basking enclosure. However the more natural sunlight you expose them to, the less supplements you should give, especially vitamin D3 (this may also be the case when using the active UV/heat bulbs). We also think that younger dragons may become stressed when taken outside, and therefore suggest holding off on outdoor excursions until your dragon is older .

Sexing:

Sexing dragons, especially young dragons, takes a lot of trial and effort. We personally feel it is not possible to 100% guarantee s*x on young dragons. However there are differences between male and female dragons. Generally the male has a larger head, wider tail base, larger pores, and most noticeably, hemipenal bulges. Young male dragons have two bulges, with a slight space between them just behind the vent. Lifting the tail and twisting gently may allow for the hemipenal bulges to appear more pronounced. Females generally have one central or no bulges where the hemipenes would be. However its not uncommon for what is thought to be a female, to turn out to be an undeveloped (at the time of sexing) male, and vice versa.

Behavior:

Bearded Dragons are generally not aggressive towards people, but will attack other dragons, and many other species of lizards, frogs, etc. Never put a small dragon with a larger one, as the small dragon may end up dinner. Beardeds tend to spend the day running from one heat zone to the next, and often searching for food. A happy healthy dragon is alert, fast, and active. Young dragons can be kept in groups without too many problems associated with stress, but older males should be kept one to a cage. Breeding groups of 1 male and 2-5 females are not uncommon. Males will aggressively bob their heads at the females, while the females will wave their arms in circles back. Males and some females will also turn their beard jet black. These are part of the breeding ri

Answer 3

First thing, please read this link in full, and then check with your qualified reptile vet about housing an adult BD on sand (never put a baby/juvenile BD on loose substrate):

http://hubpages.com/hub/Impaction

The safest substrate for an older beardie is textured tile (do not use smooth/gloss).  It's easy to clean, helps trim his claws, conducts heat well, and comes in many textures and colors, so you can mix and match to obtain the desired effect.

UVB and calcium with D3 (deep refrigerated) are vital to health.

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

http://www.dachiu.com/care/abeard.html

http://hubpages.com/hub/Metabolic_Bone_D...

Minimum suggested space for a single adult beardie is a 40 gal. reptile breeder tank.  I would suggest a 55 reptile tank.

You'll need:

UTH heat pad

UVB light

Basking Light

Basking perch (driftwood log, etc.)

Spray bottle for misting

Small shallow water bowl for water (most BD's get their water being misted)

Good digital thermometer or a Infrared temperature gun to measure your temps. (strip and peel & stick round meters can be inaccurate up to 20 degrees).

Reptile Vitamins

Calcium powder with vitamin D3

Cricket keeper/mini tank to gut load insects (if you feed crickets to the BD)

I'll post some links below which you can peek out when you find time.  There's a lot of good information on care and feeding, as well as behavior and signs of illness.

Yes, it's a lot of reading, but an informed owner is a happy one with a healthy and content pet.

Enjoy your new dragon, and I hope this has been helpful.