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Basics
Beardies are most active during the day. They love to bask, soaking up the sunlight and heat. We often describe them as “Solar Powered.” Bearded dragons are both excellent climbers and diggers.
Bearded dragons average 18″-24″ (45-61 cm) long from tip of nose to tip of tail.
Beardies have an average lifespan of 10-15 years, although they are capable of living longer.
They are usually fully grown at 1-2 years old.
Why husbandry matters
Why husbandry matters
Improper husbandry can cause all sorts of health problems for your beardy, so please make sure you have a proper set up!
There are lots of varying opinions on some of these recommendations, so we recommend all prospective beardy owners do their research from multiple sources to ensure they are well informed. This page summarizes our recommendations based on our research and how we care for our dragons.
Tank Basics
Full size dragons need 120 gallon tanks, 4x2x2, minimum. Front opening tanks are preferred. Baby dragons can be housed in smaller enclosures, as small as 40 gallons, but know that this is only acceptable while they are small. Having enough room to move around is vital to their health and happiness!
We do not recommend cohabitation of adult lizards in most cases, as they can become aggressive and fight, injuring each other.
Two adult female bearded dragons can be safely cohabitation together, but this is very specific to the individual dragons.
Two male bearded dragons should never be housed together, as they will injure or kill each other.
One male and one female should also never be housed together. Not only can this result in many unwanted eggs, but the males have been known to breed females to death.
Bearded dragons love to climb! Include sticks, rocks, or other tank furniture to give them room to explore!
You can put rocks, plants and logs into their cage. Some beardy keepers even keep live, edible plants in the enclosures.
Because of the risk of bugs, diseases, and parasites, you should never place items that you find outdoors into your beardie’s tank without proper cleaning.
Substrate - a touchy topic!
For babies and juveniles, we recommend paper towel be used as substrate. It is sanitary and easy to tell when it needs to be changed.
We find that dragons enjoy digging, and the stimuli of being on natural substrate provides enrichment. However, if using loose substrate it is absolutely required to have excellent husbandry, as if your temperatures, lighting, or diet is off they may eat the substrate and develop an impaction.
If using sand, use reptile-safe sand and avoid 'calci-sand', as it's dangerous for reptiles if they accidentally eat it. We use a mixed of washed childrens play-sand and organic topsoil.
Slate or tile is also an acceptable flooring surface.
We do not recommend Repti-carpet, as it harbors bacteria and their nails can get caught in it, injuring them.
Lighting & Temperatures
Proper lighting is vital for the health of your dragon. Your beardie’s enclosure should be equipped with proper lighting and heat. Like people, bearded dragons need UVB in order to make vitamin D3 in their skin. Without vitamin D3, they cannot use calcium. This is very dangerous for their health, particularly bone health. Inadequate UVB levels can lead to Metabolic Bone Disease (MDB), a disfiguring and debilitating disease.
Beardies need high UVB levels (UV index between 2.6 and 3.5). Don’t place the bulb in the center of the enclosure lid, rather place it towards one end of the enclosure. The bearded dragon should be able to escape the heat or UV exposure if they desire.
Change your UVB bulb every 4-6 months, since their efficacy dwindles quickly over time, even if the bulb still produces light.
Keep your bearded dragon on a regular light cycle. We recommend using timers to set the lights up so they turn off and on at the same time.
During the summer, they need 12-13 hours of light per day.
We recommend reducing the number of light hours during the winter to mimic what they would experience in the wild.
All tanks should be equipped with 1-2 digital thermometers to ensure both sides are in the correct temperature zone, and to make sure it is not getting too cool at night.
We recommend a horizontal temperature gradient, with each tank having a warm and cool side.
The hot side of the tank should have a surface temperature of 108-113°F
The cool side of the tank should have a surface temperature of 77-85°F.
Daytime air temperature gradient 77-99°F, nighttime air temperatures 55-75°F
Ceramic heat emitters can be used at night if the tank falls below the recommended night temperature. Be sure to keep the bulbs off at night, since light can disturb the sleep cycle of a bearded dragon.
Humidity in the tank should be between 20-30%.
We recommend keeping a digital hygrometer in the tank.
Surfaces like rocks and logs tend to collect heat over the course of the day, becoming significantly warmer than the surrounding air.
We recommend a stone basking surface, as this material is best at absorbing heat. Solid branches for basking also work.
Diet
Diet
Bearded dragons are omnivorous, and eat a diet of live insects and vegetables.
Recommended insects include crickets, dubia roaches, mealworms, phoenix worms and hornworms. The insects should be no larger than ½ the width of your beardie’s face.
Baby beardies eat mostly insects, but should be introduced to greens early on. If they are not introduced to veggies and fruits early, owners will find it hard to transition them to a mainly herbivorous diet later in life.
For adult bearded dragons, leafy greens should make up the majority of their diet. Live insects should make up 20-30% of an adult bearded dragon’s diet.
Insects should be gut loaded (have recently eaten nutrient rich food) and covered in calcium.
Hydration is very important, but the majority of their hydration is from their food.
Keeping a water dish in their enclosure is ok, as long as it is not too deep, but know that if their diet is correct they likely won't drink much.
Some people soak their dragons in water to encourage them to drink.
We absolutely recommend fresh diets. Feeding your dragon dried foods can be harmful and cause impaction.
For further information: https://reptifiles.com/bearded-dragon-care/
Supplements
Supplements
Calcium - Absolutely Necessary for healthy bones, dust all food (salads and bugs) (Flukers without D)
Multivitamin - Give monthly (Reptivite)
Bee Pollen - not required, but is a good way to get your lizards to eat their greens
General Health
Bearded dragons shed their skin as they grow. When they’re young, they may shed monthly or even weekly, but as adults their shedding slows way down, 1-2 times per year.
Beardies are dry shedders, they do not need baths to shed but rather need plenty of rough surfaces in their enclosure to rub against.
Do not pick at their shed! Peeling it off too early can result in damage to the underlying scales.
During cooler seasons, it's normal for bearded dragons to slow down, sleep more and eat less (or not at all). This is called brumation, and is similar to hibernation.
Not all dragons brumate. This is typically seen in adults, both male and female.
Veterinary Care
Recommend you establish with an Exotics vet or someone who is knowledgeable in the care of reptiles. Your cat or dog vet likely does not see Reptiles!
Sources:
RSPCA - https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/other/beardeddragon
Long island bird and exotics vet - https://www.birdexoticsvet.com/bearded-dragon-vet
Reptifiles -
https://reptifiles.com/bearded-dragon-care/
Be wild reptile rescue - https://bewildnc.org/bearded-dragon/
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