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Cage Setup
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From 6 weeks to 3 months old:
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Your dragon will do best in a smaller enclosure. If you have the resources, then you should raise your hatchling dragon in a 10-30 gallon tank until he gets bigger. If you already have a big tank then you may want to partition off a smaller section for your dragon.
The tank should be bare for a young dragon. Babies can get lost in a large or extremely elaborate tank with lots of beardie furiniture. They may not be able to find the basking spot easily, and if there are too many places to hide they may not get enough heat or UVB exposure.
In a hatchling’s tank you want only one basking rock and possibly a simply branch under the UVB light and no other decorations. If you want to make an elaborate desert scene then wait until your dragon is older.
Do not ever leave a young dragon with a water dish. Hatchlings can drown in a very small amount of water.
Here is a picture of what your hatchling tank should look like.
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All Ages: |
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An Adult dragon should be raised in a large tank. Do not get a fish tank that is very tall as it will be difficult to reach to the bottom. Your dragon needs floor space more then he needs vertical space. The absolute minimum size tank that an adult dragon can be kept in is 40 gallons. An adult dragon can survive in a 40 gallon long tank, but it will not thrive there, this is the bare minimum. If you want a happy adult dragon you need over 6 square feet of floor space. You should have a tank that is at least 3.5 feet long and 2 feet wide. The more room you have for your dragon the better. Dragons like to climb, so having some vertical space (height) is good too.
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Substrate
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You have several options for substrate.
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Do NOT use the reptile sands that pet stores sell such as Calci-Sand, Desert Blend, Repti-Sand or Repti –Bark
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If you want a sand substrate use Playsand, the type sold for childrens’ sand boxes. You can find this very inexpensive at Wal-Mart or ToysRUs. If the sand has pebbles you must screen it out so that only the smallest grains remain. You can use regular door screen, or a kitchen strainer, to remove the pebbles. The drawback to sand is that there is some risk of your dragon ingesting too much and getting impacted (a serious condition for dragons, can paralyze or even kill a dragon.)
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Many breeders, including myself, have used sand for many dragons and have never had ANY problems at all. I believe that dragons with existing health problems may be at a higher risk for sand impaction. This risk can be lessened by feeding in a separate tank with no substrate. This will save you the work of chasing uneaten crickets to remove them.
If you want a feeding tank you should buy a Rubbermaid tub and leave it totally empty. Use this only for feeding. Some dragons do not do well with being transferred to a separate feeding tub, and will not eat. Do not starve a dragon, offer him food first in the separate tub, and if he won’t eat feed him in his regular tank.
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Reptile Carpet is a very safe product for dragons. Make sure you get the kind that does not have little loops that can catch their toe nails. You should buy two pieces of carpet so that while you are washing and drying one piece you can put the other in the tank.
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You can also put down newsprint, paper towels, or butcher paper in your dragon’s tank. This does not look as nice but is a very safe substrate. The major drawback is that your feeder insects will get under the paper and the dragon will not be able to get to them. This can be helped by getting a separate feeding tub like described above.
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My personal favorite substrate is NON-Adhesive shelf liner. This is a very durable pad that can be easily cleaned and does not let crickets get under it easily.
It works much better then paper and is completely safe for your animal. It even comes in sand color. This is not the thin sticky shelf liner, it is a thick pad.
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Lighting
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Lighting is very important for your dragon’s health. Your dragon must get exposure to UVB light in order to grow properly. MOST reptile lights do not have UVB, and when choosing a light make sure that it specifically tells you the intensity of its UVB output. Do not get a light that only says UV, UVA, or Full Spectrum. These lights are often trying to fool buyers into thinking that they provide all the necessary wavelengths for reptiles. It MUST say UVB. When placing your UVB light on the tank you must make sure that there is no glass or plastic in front of it. Regular glass and plastic can filter out most UVB rays. Even very small screen can block many UVB rays.
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There are two choices for UVB lighting. You can get a fluorescent bulb like the Repti-Sun 5.0 or you can get a Mercury Vapor lamp. Mercury Vapor Bulbs or MVBs are still pretty expensive ($30-$80). These lights are incandescent, and can be used for both UVB and for a basking light because they produce a lot of heat. Do not put your MVB any close then 1 foot from your dragon. MVB are often too hot to use in small tanks.
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Fluorescent lights can produce UVB, but you must also provide an incandescent basking lamp for heat on the basking site. Fluorescent bulbs age rather quickly. You cannot tell by looking at the bulb, but the UVB component drops by 50% after 6 months. You may think the bulb is OK, but it is really rather weak. If you use fluorescent bulbs, you must replace the bulb after 6 months to be effective.
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I find it convenient to write the date you install the bulb, on the bulb itself, with a felt tip marker. If you are using 2 fluorescent bulbs, alternate the replacements so your beardie always has a fresh bulb - so with two bulbs, you are replacing one every 3 months. MVBs last much longer - over two years (never write on the surface of a MVB bulb), so the price is fairly close when you consider all the costs.
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For the heat light you can use a regular household lightbulb for a small tank and a regular floodlight for large tanks. Get a good clamp lamp with a dome and ceramic base, the plastic ones do not hold up well. Do not spend extra money on the expensive reptile “Basking Lights”, they are no different the floodlights, and have no more UV output. The only thing you need here is heat. A regular 75 Watt household lightbulb will give you a 105 degree basking spot at about 15 inches away. As a rule, the brighter the tank the better!
Have the lights come on and off by using an inexpensive timer. Except during brumation periods your beardie requires from 12 to 14 hours of intense light a day You can also expose your dragon to UVB in natural sunlight. Allowing your dragon to spend time in the sun is great for him, but make sure you build a very secure outdoor cage. Remember, not only must your dragon not be able to get out, but nothing else should be able to get in! Remember though, the temperatures must be appropriate outside for your beardie when he is outside!
Here are some example pictures of a proper setup for a juvenile dragon. Notice how the cage is still very basic.
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Temperature:
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You should have a basking site for your dragon that is about 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 - 43.3 degrees Celsius) directly under the light. Without this extreme heat your dragon will not be able to digest his food properly. You should have a stone basking spot that will absorb the heat and warm your dragon’s belly. A wooden basking site is not as good because it does not hold the heat.
All of your dragon’s heat should come from a light source. Never use a hot rock, many animals have been burned or killed by hot rocks. Do not use ceramic heaters that screw into light sockets except for night heat during the winter. The more light in your tank during the day, the happier, healthier, and more active your dragon will be. You also must have a cool area for your dragon to go.
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The side of the tank furthest from the basking spot should be near 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6 Celsius.) If your dragon does not have the 80-105 degree heat gradient then he will not be able to effectively regulate (control his body temperatures). I recommend a temp gun for testing temperatures. Do not ever but the temperature strips you are supposed to stick on the glass. Also avoid the round dial thermometers with the needle. These wear out quickly and give false readings. You need to have a thermometer that is within 3 degrees of the real temperature.
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Night
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At night a ceramic bulb can be used if your house gets into the 60s. Do not use an under tank heater for night heat. Your dragon will sleep VERY soundly and it is possible he could get burned while sleeping. Go with the ceramic “no light” heat bulbs or a reptile night heat light that produces red light that your dragon can not see. Heating the beardie cage during the nighttime is really not necessary unless your beardie's sleep zone falls below 65 degrees.
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Water
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Your baby can get all the water he needs by being misted with a spray bottle twice a day and given a weekly supervised bath in the sink or tub. When bathing your dragon make the water shallow enough that they can stand easily and warm it to the same temperature that you would bathe a human baby in. The bath water should be 90 - 95 degrees, or you can test it to "lukewarm" like you do a baby bottle. Most dragons LOVE to swim, and they will dive under water and splash themselves and have a great time. 10-15 minute baths are a great way to get your dragon hydrated and let them have a lot of fun. I do not recommend giving more than two baths a week. Make sure your beardie is dry before putting him back in his tank!
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There is some disagreement on the subject of water dishes. Dragons under two months should never have a water dish because of the risk of drowning, especially if there is more then one dragon in a tank. I have raised many dragons and I have never used a water dish. Water dishes raise the humidity level of your tank causing mold and bacteria levels to rise. Dragons are also much more at risk for respiratory infections when they are in humid environments.
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Dragons have a lot of bacteria that lives inside of them at all times. This bacteria does not harm them, and is easily controlled by their immune system. Dragons are not sanitary creatures; they very happily walk through their own feces, contaminating their bodies. They also love to lay in their water dish and therefore transferring their own bacteria to it (not to mention dragons love to go to the bathroom in water.)
When a dragon contaminates their water dish the bacteria is deposited into a warm and moist environment with no controlling immune system to keep the levels low. When your dragon drinks out of that water dish and his system is suddenly over-run with extremely high levels of normal bacteria. This can make your dragon very ill if he is constantly ingesting toxic levels of bacteria and put a huge strain on his immune system. Misting is a much safer option.
Young dragons must be sprayed with water at least twice a day, older dragons can be misted one time a day and fed misted greens. Misting just means to take your dragon out of his cage and spray him lightly with a water bottle. If your dragon is thirsty he will lick the water as it hits him. You can spray all over your dragon’s body, he will usually enjoy it. Drip water on your dragon’s head as long as he licks. Then return him to his cage.
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Feeding
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The more variety you can include in your dragons diet the healthier he will be. If possible try and have at least two feeder insects that you use regularly and possibly a third insect as a treat. Dragons can be maintained on only crickets if other insects are not available and many live long healthy lives this way.
Remember that when feeding insects that have a hard outer shell (crickets, roaches) they should never be larger than the space between your dragon’s eyes. This is to prevent impaction from occurring in your dragon and putting him at serious risk. When a dragon eats a prey item that is too large and it gets stuck in the intestines it sometimes puts pressure on the spinal chord causing partial paralysis. Never take the chance, always feed appropriately sized prey items, and if in doubt chose the smaller size. Cricket suppliers do not have a very uniform standard of cricket sizes. In other words a ¼ inch cricket from one place can be much larger then a ¼ inch cricket from another.
In general a 6 week old dragon can be fed 3/8 inch crickets (3 week old crickets) from some suppliers and ½ inch crickets will be small enoughfrom others. I suggest you order the smaller size to start with, and if it seems too small move up. In between feedings you should remove all insects from your dragon’s environment. Insects can stress dragons out and cause them to stop eating. Too many insects in your dragons tank can scare him and cause him to panic instead of eat.
Always feed your dragon its last meal at least two hours before its lights go out so that it can have time to digest. Never leave insects in your dragon’s tank overnight. Dragons sleep very deeply and a hungry insect can damage scales and eyelids of a sleeping dragon. Here is a picture of a dragon that was left in a cage with a lot of hungry crickets.
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Hatchling dragons under 5 months old often eat 30-60 crickets a day over several feedings. It is not uncommon for a hatchling to eat up to 100 crickets a day during a growth spurt. Dragons under five months old should be fed at least twice a day.
Dragons that are six months old can be fed once a day, but if possible it is best to feed twice a day until your dragon is 8-9 months old.
Adult dragons can be fed once a day, but may not be hungry every day.
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Salad
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Dragons should be fed a salad every day, preferably first thing in the morning. The salad should contain mostly greens such as mustard greens, turnip greens, and collard greens. Other good staple foods are Dandelion Greens, Endive, Escarole, fig, papaya, raspberries, and squash. On top of these you can add other fruits and veggies on occasion. There are many fruits and veggies that are good for your dragon in small amounts. All the common fruits can be given as treats to your dragon (apple, banana, orange, grape, peach, and plum.) Never feed iceberg lettuce, this has no nutritional value and will often give a dragon “the runs”. Spinach is not good for dragons either, it has a high Vitamin. A content (which is easy to overdose a dragon with) and it steals calcium from other foods that your dragon eats. Rhubarb and Avocado are toxic to dragons. To see a complete list of foods that can be fed to your dragon check out this site.
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Insects
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Crickets
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The universal dragon food is crickets. Crickets are a low fat and high protein insect that is great for your dragon. Crickets are easy to get at your local pet store or in bulk online. They are also easy to care for, crickets can be fed “chick starter’ that has been ground down in a coffee grinder to make a lumpy powder. Chick starter is chicken food that can be found at a feed store; it costs a few dollars for a 50 pound bag and is very similar to the cricket “gut
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loads” that pet stores sell for $5 per ½ pound. Crickets should also be given fresh fruits and veggies in order to provide them with water. Remember, the better you care for your bugs, the better they are for your dragon. A cricket that has not been fed well has the nutritional value of cardboard.
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Silkworms
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Silkworms are a great food for dragons. They have no hard shell to cause impaction problems and are full of moisture to keep your dragon hydrated. Silkworms do not take up much space and do not have an odor problem like crickets tend to get. Silkworms do not chirp or escape under your dresser to keep you up all night. The problem with silkworms is they are very costly and very
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fragile. Silkworms also eat only mulberry leaves or costly silkworm chow. If you can afford this choice, silkworms are the superior feeder to crickets. At least try and supplement your dragon’s cricket diet with occasional silkworms.
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Roaches
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Most types of roaches have too much shell to be easily digested by your dragon. Speckled Feeder Roaches also called Lobster Roaches are an acceptable variety to feed to dragons. These roaches have a very high meat to shell ratio. Lobster roaches are very nutritious and easy to keep. They can climb walls including glass, but are easily
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contained by a stripe of petroleum jelly. These roaches are easy to breed, and colonies often have to be divided up and sold off by people with only a few reptiles to feed.. Roaches can eat ground up puppy or kitten food and mixed fruits and veggies. As long as the fruit is changed often roach colonies have almost no smell.
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Superworms
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Super worms can be fed as a treat to fully grown dragons. They should never be fed to young dragons. Super worms have a very hard and thick shell that has a history of causing impaction in dragons when fed to young animals or in large amounts. Super worms are also very fatty. You should think of them like candy bars and feed appropriately.
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Mealworms
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Mealworms should never be fed to dragons. They have the same nutritional content as Super worms but carry a much higher risk of impaction due to their small meat to shell ratio.
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Pinkies (mice)
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The only possible use for pinkies is for gravid females that are having trouble keeping weight on. Pinkies carry a very high risk of impaction for dragons. They are also way too fatty for your dragon. Do not feed pinkies, it puts your dragon at risk and is not a healthy food.
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Supplements
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If your dragon is 5 months old or younger you should be dusting every insect you feed him with a Calcium Powder that contains Vitamin D3. You should also give a multi-vitamin powder on 1-2 feedings per week; do not give vitamins more often then twice a week. Your dragon will be adding inches to his size every few weeks and will need a lot of calcium to grow properly. Make sure your calcium includes D3 in order to supplement the dragon’s natural D3 production from his UVB light. For more information see the lighting section.
Once your dragon reaches 6 months old you can start dusting only five times a week with calcium and once a week with vitamins.
After your dragon reaches a year old you can cut the calcium supplements back to 3 times a week and vitamins once. If your female dragon ever lays eggs she will need to receive more calcium during the surrounding months even if the eggs are not fertile.
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Shedding
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Bearded dragon's skin is actually reptile scales, not unlike a snake. It does not grow along with the beardie and it must be shed. One clear indicator that your beardie is growing, is a shed. Beardies shed in patches, never the whole body at once. Shedding requires no help from the owner - actually anything you do to help will only hurt your beardie. Never pull any hanging skin that is partially attached - especially near the beardie's eyes - even if it partially obstructs his vision and he fusses with it. Some beardies get cranky during a shed, some reduce their eating. Do not worry, it is all perfectly natural.
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Multiple Dragons
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Dragons are not social creatures. In the wild dragons come together only for breeding and then go off on their own. Dragons do not get lonely or want to have friends. When dragons are kept together they think of each other as competition for resources. If you want to own more then one dragon you must make absolutely sure that they are both females. In most cases females of the same size can live together peacefully. Male and female dragons should not be housed together. When a male dragon reaches breeding age he will often harass the female until she is extremely stressed. In the wild a female dragon would allow a male to breed and then move on immediately afterwards to start getting fat and lay eggs. The male dragon would go on and find another female to breed with. If the dragons are trapped in the same tank the female will breed once and be done, but the male will want to "play" again and again. Breeding is almost always very violent and involves the male grabbing a big chunk of skin on the back of the female’s neck. He will then jerk her violently with that piece of skin until she gets in position. When this happens to a female once or twice her tuff skin protects her, but if it happens repeatedly the male will seriously injure her. His breeding attempts will leave wounds on her neck that he will continually reopen. He will not let her eat because her quick movements for crickets will trigger a breeding response. He will breed with the female too early if they are raised together. Dragons can usually breed at about 9-10 months old, but breeding before 14 months old will shorten the females lifespan by about 3 years and make her VERY likely to develop MBD. It will also stop her growth and put her at HIGH risk for egg retention (binding). Breeding dragons is very time consuming and is a huge monetary investment. Please see the breeding section for more information.
Male dragons should never be allowed to come in contact with each other. They are very quick to fight, and if trapped in a tank, the weaker one could easily be killed.
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