This is my personal caresheet that I have written for my site Regal Dragons but this forum is welcome to use it as well.
Bearded Dragon Care SheetThe following caresheet has been written and copyrighted by Regal Dragons and is based on personal experience, Herp Vet’s recommendations, and common knowledge of bearded dragon behavior and lifestyles. There is no 100% correct way to care for bearded dragons although, there are safer and easier ways to care for them. In this caresheet I will explain as many of the methods of caring for them as I can with information to back up why or why not I choose to use that method. The way you care for your dragon is solely your choice but I cannot stress enough that before you choose, you should research further and take into consideration the health and well being of your bearded dragon. Also, what may have worked for one person or even many people may not work for you and your dragon. A good way to decide which method to choose is by listening to your dragon and paying attention to his or her likes and dislikes. Every dragon may prefer some foods over others and some may prefer higher or lower temps than others and even the decorations you choose can affect the dragon so always pay close attention.
HOUSING:General Housing
Bearded dragons are a typically ground dwelling lizard so when considering a tank or enclosure height isn’t something you should be too concerned about. A good minimal height for even an adult dragon is 18 inches. You can choose to go higher but make sure you are still able to get your dragon within a good distance of his UVB bulb or MVB bulb. You can decorate your enclosure with fake rock walls, branches to climb, rocks for them to climb up and fake plants or real ones. When using fake plants, watch your beardie to see if he or she tries to eat the fake plants. If that’s the case it might be best to remove them to avoid possible ingestion. When using real plants take into consideration which ones are edible and possibly toxic to your beardie (you can check out the nutrition page on beautifuldragons.com for a list of good and bad plants). Also when using real plants just take into consideration how badly your beardie can destroy them and the chore of maintaining the live plants.
As far as housing 2 or more beardies together, I advise against it because bearded dragons tend to be very territorial animals (even the females). No matter the gender combination you use there are risks you are taking when housing multiple dragons together.Some of the possible risks are over breeding when housing a male and female, almost definite chance of one being dominated by another dragon (signs include significant size difference, lack of appetite in other dragon, “piling up” on the other dragon under the basking spot and possible wounds or missing digits such as toes, fingers and tail tips and in some cases death to one or both dragons is possible), if a dragon is sick it is more difficult if not impossible to tell which one is sick and if you do it has probably spread the illness to the other dragon. These are some of the risks included and not all the time are there physical signs.
Baby/Juvenile (0-12 months)
For baby and juvenile bearded dragons I recommend a minimum of a 20 gal long tank. Babies can always be put straight into an adult size enclosure which should be a minimum of a 40 gal breeder tank. The reason for the 20 gal as a minimum tank is so that you can create and maintain a proper temperature gradient that gives your dragon a chance to go to one side for heat/bask and another side to cool off.
Adult (12 months +)
Adult dragons do just fine in a 40 gal breeder tank which is the dimensions of 36 inches long by 18 inches deep and 18 inches tall. Height isn’t something that bearded dragons need as much as they do need depth in an enclosure. You can always keep your dragon in a larger enclosure but just try to keep the dimensions so that the tank is long and deep.
SUBSTRATES:Substrates are one of the most controversial topics with bearded dragon husbandry. There are many options for substrates to use and some are safer, more hygienic and easier to maintain than others. Below I will name the substrate and include a brief opinion/observation of each one followed by my rating of it on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best). Hopefully this helps others who are debating which substrate to use for their beardie.
I am not a fan of commercial pet products so I try to stay away from them especially the Flukers and Zilla products because I have read that they do not do as much research on the animals they are making products for but like everything else, the choice is yours. I personally use tile, newspaper and non adhesive shelf liner.
Go here for more detailed info on substrates:
http://bearded-dragons.com/boards/index.php/topic,6.msg8.html#newFEEDING:When feeding live protein I find it easier, cleaner and safer to feed in a separate tank. The reason for feeding in a separate tank is simply to avoid having to take out the crickets, worms or roaches one by one so they don’t eat at your dragon if left inside their living quarters. It also doesn’t give them a chance to hide from your dragon making sure they get every last feeder in the bin. Not all dragons are readily willing to eat outside of their living quarters but with some time it can be done. If you decide to feed in the same tank as where they live always remove every prey item or else it can badly injure your dragon. The rule of thumb about how large the prey should be is that it should not be any larger than the space between the dragon’s eyes. Silkworms and Hornworms can stretch the rule however, due to their lack of an exoskeleton but still keep in mind the size. Great staple preys I use are Silkworms, Crickets and Phoenix worms can be used as a pretty good staple for babies.
Baby/Juvenile
Like all babies and adolescents they need a lot of food to grow healthy. As bearded dragons are babies and juveniles they require more protein in their diet and not as much plant matter. The typical ratio of protein and greens is about 80% live protein and about 20% plant matter. It’s best to feed your babies 2 to 3 times daily and just let them go to town on as many feeders as they want. You cannot overfeed a baby or juvenile. 6 out of 7 days a week babies and juveniles should have 1 feeding dusted with a calcium supplement that contains D3 and is phosphorus free. Once a week babies should have 1 feeding dusted with a multivitamin. Although your baby may not express an interest in greens it should always be offered fresh daily. Some of the best greens are collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, endive, escarole and turnip greens. Fruits can be offered sparingly in their mixture of greens as well to entice them to eat them. Squeezing some fruit over the greens may make them more eager to eat the greens.
Adult
As the dragons reach adulthood, their diet switches to a diet that consists more of plant matter than live protein. I give my dragons about 30%-40% protein and 60%-70% plant matter. Food should still be dusted with calcium when you feed the protein and they should still receive multivitamin once a week. Offer more greens than protein now and make sure it’s a good enough quantity for an adult beardie.
HYDRATION:You hear the word desert and you think barren and dry conditions. While that concept is partially true, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make sure your dragon is well hydrated. Soaking your dragon in shoulder deep water around 90 degrees (some dragons prefer cooler and some prefer warmer) 3-4 times a week for 15 to 30 minutes is one good way of hydrating your dragon. Misting greens is another way of providing a way to hydrate your dragon. Providing a shallow water dish is also a good way to help keep your dragon hydrated. Some people choose not to use a water dish and feel that soaking the dragon and misting greens is sufficient enough which is fine but dragons will utilize the water dish as well. If you choose to use a water dish it must be cleaned out at least once a day and refilled with fresh water. Misting is another possible way of hydrating your dragon but when you mist your dragon it may very well scare the dragon and stress him or her out. Another thing with misting is that it may raise the humidity in the enclosure to too high of a level.
UVB/UVA LIGHTING AND TEMPERATURES:UVA lighting is nothing more than a term for what you would use for a heat light. Bulbs you can use for heat don’t have to be pet store heat lights that cost your tons of money. You can simply use an incandescent house bulb or a halogen floodlight for your needed UVA. Wattages will vary depending on the distance from the bulb to the basking spot, and ambient temperature in your house. Temperatures are one thing you will have to closely listen and watch your beardie for to see if they should be raised or lowered. There are adult dragons who thrive at lower temperatures ranging from 95* to 105* and there are others who thrive under hotter temperatures ranging from 110* to a whopping 130*. I personally don’t keep my temps any higher than 115* because my dragons do not like them that high and I just don't feel that it is all that safe for them. Babies do well at 110* to 115* basking spots. Bearded dragons need a cool side of the enclosure as well that reaches temperatures of about 75* to 85*.
**NOTE**
The most accurate ways to get surface temps are by using digital thermometers with probes or using an infrared temperature gun. Both items are easy to find and somewhat inexpensive depending where you find them.
UVB lighting is a very important part to the lighting setup for your bearded dragon. UVB lighting is what simulates natural sunlight that the dragons need to be mentally healthy and utilize the calcium to help develop strong bones. Try to stay away from coiled UVB bulbs because they have been linked to the burning of the corneas of the bearded dragons. The tube UVB lights are better especially because they can extend to the entire length of the cage which gives the dragon the exposure it needs while lighting the rest of the tank. In order to get optimal UVB exposure you should aim to get your dragon 6-8 inches from the UVB tube style light. If you are getting UVB from the source of an MVB bulb than the closest your dragon can get is 12 inches from the light.
BEARDED DRAGON BEHAVIORS:Arm Waving - A sign of submission towards a threat or male dragon (females typically wave their arms as a sign of being willing to mate with male).
Head Bobbing - A sign of dominance, Mating display by mainly males, although some females may display head bobbing as well.
Glass Dancing - An act of pacing back and forth against the glass walls of their enclosure or continuously scratching at the glass for extended periods of time. Usually a sign of something in their enclosure or room they are in that stresses them out or irritates them. Can also be a sign to be taken out and handled or going to the bathroom.
Gaping - Dragons will slightly open their mouths while under their basking light to thermoregulate their body temperatures. This is a perfectly normal behavior. Bearding - This is what these lizards got their name from. They have the ability to puff out their throat giving it a beard-like appearance. This is a sign of aggression or a mating or dominance display. Sometimes dragons will puff their throats out and open their mouths too this can also be the same signs as previously mentioned or they can simply be yawning in the morning.
Tail Whipping - There are two different tail whipping motions, one being the motion of the tail whipping around in circles while a dragon is being picked up. This happens when the dragon feels it is not securely being held. Tod avoid this always support the hind legs and tail as well as the rest of the underside of the dragon when picking it up and holding it. The second tail whipping motion is displayed by females during mating displays. This is their way of attracting the males and getting their attention to let them know that they are willing to mate.
Piling Up - This is a common occurrence when housing multiple dragons together. Dragons will climb on top of one another as a sign of dominance. This prevents the bottom dragon(s) from properly basking and getting proper UVB exposure which in turn, greatly effects the health of the dragon.
Brumation - Simply put as "hibernation for dragons". Dragons typically at the ages of 18 months and older will often go into what is called brumation starting around the end of August. Usually their metabolisms will slow down and they will become less active, eat less and want to sleep most of the day. Some dragons will go into brumation alot deeper than others and some dragons may not even go into brumation at all. During brumation dragons can deeply sleep for weeks without waking up tp bask or eat but it is recommended that you wake them up once a week to bath them, let them bask and offer greens (avoid protein during this time). For dragons who do not fall deeply into brumation, they typically are just much more lethargic than usual and generally slow down eating. If you feel your dragon is going into brumation it is best that you bring him in for a routine checkup and a fecal exam to make sure he is definitely going into brumation and doesn't have parasites (the symptoms are very similar).
UVB LIGHTING SUGGESTIONS:
ZooMed Repti Sun 10.0 (Currently the best on the market in the U.S.)
Exoterra Repti Glo 8.0
Mercury Vapor Bulbs *
* Mega Ray
* T-rex active UV
*MVB’s produce UVB rays as well as heat although you still may need a secondary heat light to reach desired temperatures.
SUPPLEMENT SUGGESTIONS:
Rep-cal Calcium Phosphate free w/d3
Rep-cal Herptivite Multivitamin
