Is buying a bearded dragon expensive?

Question

do you need to buy a huge cage and does it generally cost alot to own one?

Answer 1

Hello!...I own bearded dragons :) I think compared to most lizard i think it is rather cheap if you know where to look. If you want to house a bearded dragon a 3ft by 2ft by 2ft would be ideal for a adult dragon if you are planning to have him out his tank regular, if not i suggest a 4ft tank :)... I got my 3x2x2 tank of Ebay for £50. You dont need a brand new one. A second hand one does the same thing.

Subtrate - i use calci sand, i suggest if you get  a baby beardie use tissue paper, calci sand should be used when the lizard is 7inch or bigger. You can also buy reptile carpet which is easy to clean.... The sand should be changed when u think its getting dirty, but if you sieve it twise a week it can last month and months.

Lights and Heating - You will need a UVB bulb these can be expensive they are about £40 for the bulb and generator. You will need a basking bulb and holder you can pick a good one up for less than £20 ....Again ebay is alot cheaper :) i wouldnt advise to get a heat rock as they can burn your beardie.

Food and Water -  You will need dusting vitamin and calcium (calcium very important) You can feed them crickets, waxworms,locust...ext they will also need greens and fruit, strawberrys, cabbage, Collard Greens, Dandelion Greens,Squash and Curly Kale. Crickets dont cost much, babies should be fed everyday aldult should be fed 4-5 a week. they must have water at all time, you can also buy calcium drops to put in the water aswell.

Tips!

Feed pinkie once a week as a treat

Never feed them iceberg lettus.

They might not eat when they shed so dont panick!... but do bath them it helps them to shed easier.  

Answer 2

Setting up the viv can be expensive. you will need:-

at least a 4 ft Viv

Red spot bulb with bulb guard

Thermostat

uv bulb (replaced every 6 months)

uv bulb starter and fitting

basking rock (can be from garden as long as cleaned)

hiding places (shop bought hides or food tubs ie butter tubs)

food bowl and water bowl

Anything else is just extras to make it look as nautrual as you want ie plastic plants.

I got mine about 3 years ago and including the dragon it cost me approx £300.

After you have set them up they are not too expensive to keep (although they do eat alot more then any other animals I keep) my adult costs approx £7 a week to feed. Vet bills can be expensive if they need them but that is the same with all reptiles.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

I got a very good deal for mine- I got the vivarium, lizard, light, UV bulb and fittings, food, crickets and enrichment just for £140!

You can buy a small cage to begin with, then upgrade to a bigger one when he grows up. You will need to buy him crickets often, and calcium supplement which is sprinkled on crickets/vegetables every other day. They enjoy being sprayed with a mister every so often to, this will help them with shedding and you can give them a warm, not hot, bath.

Buy a thermometer too so you can make sure it is not too cold or hot for your beardie.

I hope this helps!

Answer 4

you'll need a minimum of a 4 foot long vivarium and for all the correct equipment Uv lighting heat source etc your looking at $100-$200

after that the only real expenses are food a UV bulb every 6months and any medical care it needs

Answer 5

ohhhh yeahhh! You need a very large tank (around 4ft in length), that costs around $200-250. Then you need to get ceramic light fixtures and two uva/uvb bulbs.. the bulbs themselves are about $40 each. The fixtures are around $80. You need to get its leafy greens, powder supplements, substrate (bedding), climbing branches, digital thermometers (one for each side to determine temps), a basking light bulb and fixture. You're looking an initial costs around $400-500 and then weekly about $20-25 in food.. and then extras as needed. You need to replace uva uvb bulbs every 6-8 months because they lose their efficiency. A lot of money goes into reptiles, especially when you don't meet all their needs and they need to see a Vet.  

Answer 6

Hi,

The initial set up is probably the most expensive part.

You will need a 4ft vivarium, a suitable size UV light and the unit to go with it (around £30 altogether), either a ceramic bulb and fitting (around £30) or an incandescent heat bulb (around £2.50), a thermostat (dimming if using an incandescent bulb or pulse for ceramic, around £40), thermometers (one at the warm end the other at cool end, around £2.50 each), water bowl (around £5), food bowl (for salad and veggies around £5), at least two hides (price depends on the size you want, from £5 up to £20), things to climb on like cork bark or rocks (various prices) and leaves to decorate.

Then there's the regular things you need to buy such as substrate (wood chippings I find work best), never use sand, even if it claims to be digestible. Reptile disinfectant spray for cleaning the vivarium (around £2.50), a good vitamin and calcium supplement like Repton (around £6), food as in live insects (crickets, locusts, mealworms, occasionally waxworms), salad and veggies (avoid ice-burg lettuce, spinach and kale), you can also try a dried diet for beardies, a good beaded dragon book like 'The Bearded Dragon Manual',

and last but not least, your bearded dragon which will cost around £60.

They do tend to eat a fair bit, but it is important not to over feed them as it is all too easy for them to become overweight.

Pet shops often do deals on baby beardies with the set up, ask your local shop.

Answer 7

and just to add to what everyone else is saying....they usually eat about 24 crickets a day that are 10 cents a piece, that's 2.40 a day which is 17 dollars a week including tax. plus they need GOOD veggies, not the iceberg junk!