What do I NEED for a bearded dragon?

Question

Ok so im in the process of convincing my parents to let me get a bearded dragon because all 4 of my other siblings have a pet of their own, but im not sure that i have everything on the list that i need for it. So far I have...

2 dishes, its food, the terrarium liner, the terrarium, the day and night light, a cave for it to hide in, 2 thermometers(1 for each side) and obviously the bearded dragon. I think im leaving a lot out though, and how big do these things get.

Thanks

Answer 1

they also need uvb and uva light bulbs.  These can get expensive.  A humidity guage (looks like a thermomiter but measures how much moisture is in the air) would be a good idea also.  They get to be about 2 feet long, and can live 8-15 years.  Wikipedia has a good listing on what care they need.

Answer 2

they NEED at least a 40 gal breeder tank, a heat mat, uva bulb and fixture, uvb bulb and fixture, night light, water dish, a mister, food dish, cage carpet, hide, branches to climb and bask on, fresh greens every day, fruit once a week, 12 crickets a day minimum. they get to be 2 feet.

Answer 3

First of all you must (must!) have a UVB source. UVB stimulates bone growth and gives them vitamin D3. Without UVB a bearded dragon could develop various bone diseases. It's also to provide a lot of visible light and necessary calcium. For desert animals like the bearded dragon you should be using either a Repti-Sun 10.0, a Repti-Glo 8.0, or a mercury vapor bulb. Be sure you have slimline tube fixture if you use the Repti-Sun 10.0 or a Repti-Glo 8.0 or a fixture for the mercury vapor bulb. Don't confuse UVB and UVA. UVA is just to meet the psychological needs and stimulate behavior, it's not required like UVB is, but it does make a more active bearded dragon. UVA is just a bonus if you want a more active and alert bearded dragon. Some mercury vapor bulbs give off both UVB and UVA, so you may want to purchase that instead of the other options above.

You need a few basking rocks and basking spots for your bearding dragon. Right now all your lizard has to bask on top of the cave it hides in. Get some basking rocks and some driftwood he can climb and bask on. Driftwood is good because when rocks get too hot he can move to the much cooler driftwood and bask more comfortably.

Be sure your thermometers measure humidity. If your thermometers do not measure humidity you need a humidity gage. Humidity is very important, too low humidity can cause dehydration, too high can cause respiratory problems. Usually with a reasonable sized water dish and proper heat you should have healthy humidity (between 30% and 45%) automatically, but just to be on the safe side you should always be able to measure what the humidity is.

You should have a mist spray bottle to mist your lizard off once a day. It's important you mist a bearded dragon once a day, it prevents dehydration. Gently spray just the lizard, if you actually mist the cage it will change the cage humidity level.

Make sure you have the proper vegetables, I recommend mustard greens, but here's a full list of the recommended veggies/fruits/etc you can be feeding it - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/articl...

Personally I only suggest giving them fruit as a treat, because it is full of water and sugar and will give them runny p**p.

Be sure your tank is at the very least 20 gallons if it's a juvenile or younger. If it's older than a year old 40 gallons and up is suggested. Have a screen top for proper ventilation and humidity.

Do you have a enclosed container with ventilation for crickets too? Do you have cricket food? If you don't you should really get it. Cricket keepers are sold at almost anywhere and you can buy various cricket formulas and cricket pillows there too (or you could just be feeding crickets sliced oranges and potatoes and letting them drink off of sponges, either one).

Do you also have other cricket accessories like cricket balancer (calcium or multivitamin) powder to dust off crickets with? You need this for healthy growth.

You should be set if you take my advice. Oh wait, you may want to invest in something else too - a plastic bin. Plastic bins are ideal to put bearded dragons in while you clean their tank, you can also feed your lizard in these instead of letting them chase around crickets and risking crickets getting under the substrate.