ENCLOSURE
3ft long x 2ft wide x 2ft high provides sufficient room to move around and climb. Provide branches or a shelf to climb on.
Provide a basking area at one end of the enclosure. A brick or dark colored ceramic tile under the basking light works well to hold heat from the basking light and create warmth from below as well as from above.
TEMPERATURE
The ambient temp should be 75 – 85 degrees with a basking temp of 95 – 110 degrees. Use a heat lamp placed over the enclosure to create the basking area.
At night the ambient temp can drop into the mid 60s.
WATER
Bearded dragons like and need drinking water. A shallow pan such as a pie pan works well to allow the bearded dragon to soak and drink.
Keep the water clean and available at all times.
Bearded dragons also like to be misted with water from a spray bottle. Direct the water towards their heads and they will lap up the water droplets as they run off their heads.
FOOD
Feed daily with a mix of dark green leafy veggies (such as collard, kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, endive, escarole). Cut the greens into bite size pieces – smaller for juvenile bearded dragons and larger for adults. Bearded dragons also like chopped vegetables and small amounts of chopped fruit.
DO NOT feed iceberg lettuce. It has little nutritional value and causes diarrhea.
Feed bugs (crickets, roaches, silkworms) daily for juveniles. Adults can be fed bugs 3-4 times a week. Bugs should be no larger than the space between the dragon’s eyes.
Beautifuldragons.com has great information about the nutritional content of different foods as well as general care and feeding information for bearded dragons.
CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS
Give calcium with vitamin D 3 – 4 times a week. Either mix it with the greens or dust it on the bugs prior to feeding.
LIGHTING
Dragons need UVB light. You can use either a UVB florescent tube (such as Zoo Med Repti Sun10.0) or a compact UVB florescent light (such as Zoo Med 10.0 or Exo Terra 10.0 for desert reptiles) placed above the enclosure.
UVB light does not penetrate glass or plastic – make sure there is no glass or plastic between the UVB lights and the dragon.
Florescent lights do not give off much heat, so you must also use a heat lamp to create a basking area.
You can use a mercury vapor lamp that supplies both heat and UV, although these types of lamps cannot be placed close to the dragons and require a very large enclosure to be used safely.
SUBSTRATE
We use washed, sifted play sand. It’s easy to clean and allows the dragons to dig. Also bugs have a hard time hiding in or under it. You can also use newspaper or paper towels and replace them frequently to keep the cage clean.
3ft long x 2ft wide x 2ft high provides sufficient room to move around and climb. Provide branches or a shelf to climb on.
Provide a basking area at one end of the enclosure. A brick or dark colored ceramic tile under the basking light works well to hold heat from the basking light and create warmth from below as well as from above.
TEMPERATURE
The ambient temp should be 75 – 85 degrees with a basking temp of 95 – 110 degrees. Use a heat lamp placed over the enclosure to create the basking area.
At night the ambient temp can drop into the mid 60s.
WATER
Bearded dragons like and need drinking water. A shallow pan such as a pie pan works well to allow the bearded dragon to soak and drink.
Keep the water clean and available at all times.
Bearded dragons also like to be misted with water from a spray bottle. Direct the water towards their heads and they will lap up the water droplets as they run off their heads.
FOOD
Feed daily with a mix of dark green leafy veggies (such as collard, kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, endive, escarole). Cut the greens into bite size pieces – smaller for juvenile bearded dragons and larger for adults. Bearded dragons also like chopped vegetables and small amounts of chopped fruit.
DO NOT feed iceberg lettuce. It has little nutritional value and causes diarrhea.
Feed bugs (crickets, roaches, silkworms) daily for juveniles. Adults can be fed bugs 3-4 times a week. Bugs should be no larger than the space between the dragon’s eyes.
Beautifuldragons.com has great information about the nutritional content of different foods as well as general care and feeding information for bearded dragons.
CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS
Give calcium with vitamin D 3 – 4 times a week. Either mix it with the greens or dust it on the bugs prior to feeding.
LIGHTING
Dragons need UVB light. You can use either a UVB florescent tube (such as Zoo Med Repti Sun10.0) or a compact UVB florescent light (such as Zoo Med 10.0 or Exo Terra 10.0 for desert reptiles) placed above the enclosure.
UVB light does not penetrate glass or plastic – make sure there is no glass or plastic between the UVB lights and the dragon.
Florescent lights do not give off much heat, so you must also use a heat lamp to create a basking area.
You can use a mercury vapor lamp that supplies both heat and UV, although these types of lamps cannot be placed close to the dragons and require a very large enclosure to be used safely.
SUBSTRATE
We use washed, sifted play sand. It’s easy to clean and allows the dragons to dig. Also bugs have a hard time hiding in or under it. You can also use newspaper or paper towels and replace them frequently to keep the cage clean.
AZM
Bearded Dragon Care Sheet
