WHO DOESNT WANT A DRAGON?!?

[brandon ardrey]

hey everyone

most people will tell u how to get ur parents to say yes to get you a reptile (which is what i did to get my lizard) but dont forget you will also have to know how to take care of that reptile.

as you can tell by the title im gonna tell u how to take care of a bearded dragon.



CHOOSING YOUR 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 TEMPERATURES:

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.