Is it really expensive to feed a bearded dragon? And how good of a pet are they?

Question

Do they have any special problem I should be aware of before I get one?

For example, I had an iguana and it would always whip me with its tail! >_<

Answer 1

They are not really expensive to feed. If you get a younger one, you want to do a 70% insect 30% veggie diet. As they get older it turns around and they eat more fruit and veggies then insects. Because when they are young you will not use all the produce you buy, I recommend HEALTHY HERPS veggie mix &amp; fruit mix, you only use what you need and it has everything in it,, a really reat variety.

Beardeds also calm down so much that you can put them on your shirt and they will hang out. Great pets IMO.

Answer 2

Bearded dragons are great pets; they each have their own personality, and form bonds and attachments to their owners. They are however expensive to feed, especially as babies. It is also expensive to have the correct cage (they need large ones), and make sure they have the proper heat lamps and UVB lights. The smallest cage an adult beardie can live in is a 40 gallon breeder. The best UVB light available in the petstore is the ReptiSUN 10.0 flourescent TUBE; do NOT use the compact/coil bulbs or the ReptiGlo 10.0; those bulbs can cause blindness, seizure, and even death.

Baby dragons can eat as many as 100 crickets a DAY. Keep that in mind befor you get one. They can eat many other feeders such as silkworms, tomato horn worms, butter worms, pheonix worms, etc. They insect should be no longer or wider then the space between the dragon&#039;s eyes. Here is a site where you can get cheap, high quality feeders  http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

NO mealworms; they cause impaction.

They also need fresh greens and veggies daily. Here is a list of what they can and can not eat http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.co...

And here is a site I reccomend to new beardie owners. Lots of good info and helpful people who have worked with beardies for years. http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Bearded dragons make a great pet lizard. They don’t get too large, eat a wide variety of foods, are active during the day, and are gentle animals. Bearded dragons are captive bred, have limited care requirements, readily avialable, and inexpensive. A  bearded dragon can be a great addition to your family.

Bearded dragons are omnivorous. They will eat both insects and vegetables. Adult dragons will also eat pinky mice, baby lizards  and anything else they find tasty. They tend to do best on a varied diet based primarily of vegetables.

Vegetables

Bearded dragons will need there greens chopped up. The smaller the reptile the more finely chopped. A good mix of vegetables for these lizards are raw shredded carrots, collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, kale, and frozen vegetables like carrots, peas, and beans. You should avoid spinach and broccoli because too much can be harmful. Bearded dragons also like green leaf and romaine lettuce but these should be used sparingly due to the limited nutrional value. Vegetables should be fed to your animal daily. All these foods are easily attained in the produce section of your local grocery store.

Insects

Common insects available for reptiles are crickets, mealworms, superworms, and wax worms. Bearded dragons will usually eat all types of insects. The insects should be gut loaded before feeding them to your pet lizard. Gut loading is just feeding them a nutritious meal before giving them to your bearded dragon. This way they pass along the nutrients to your lizard. There are many commercially available cricket and insect diets for gut loading. Insects should be a part of your bearded dragon’s diet every other day.

Dietary supplements

Your pet bearded dragon will need a calcium and vitamin D3 supplement. If your lizard is lacking D3 and calcium it can get metabolic bone disease which can be fatal. The supplement will come in a powder form which you can sprinkle on the vegetables or coat the insects. The easiest way to coat insects is to place them in a bag or cup and shake them around.  You should add the supplement to your adult bearded dragon’s diet about once a week. Breeding females, babies, and juveniles will need them more often.

I suggest going to the websites I listed below, they are an awesome source of information.

Good luck with your bearded dragon.  I hope this information helps.   :0)

Answer 4

Crickets usually cost a dollar a dozen and you&#039;ll be spending about $20 dollars on fresh vegetables every one to two weeks.

Answer 5

Bearded dragons are excellent lizards as far as temperament goes.  As long as you handle them regularly, you&#039;ll have no behavioral issues, even though they will often for brief periods display a small amount of aggression once they get to their juvenile stage, but this passes with constant handling.

They can be expensive to feed.  They eat twice a day when they&#039;re younger and need to be provided with fruits and veggies to munch on daily.  So it can be a hassle to return to the pet store and buy crickets, not to mention crickets stink if you&#039;re planning on keeping a large amount of them on hand.  It&#039;s definitely not a light under taking and they require a lot of care.

For a lizard that&#039;s easy to handle and cheap to take care of, you might want to look into purchasing a crested gecko who eat prepared food that you have to buy once a month or so from the pet store.