Life with a Dragon

🏠Living With a Bearded Dragon

"This blog features my experiences and what to expect if you plan to take in and raise a bearded dragon of your own as a pet. This blog is quite drawn out but I put my heart and experience into writing this blog so please enjoy." Section 1: Babies or Juveniles Bringing a baby or juvenile beardy into your home does not have to cost you much at all and can also bring you a lot of joy. These big eyed, quick, little lizards love to run around and explore while young. Babies will tend to be more active when young and will naturally become more and more docile with age. This isn't true for all dragons though. Every dragon is different, but generally, most baby and juvenile beardies will tend to show a lot more activity than older dragons. Cost and What You Will Need If you are planning on getting a baby dragon or even an older dragon alike, you will have to buy a terrarium and everything else you will need to house them. You are going to spend roughly between $200 to $250. This is not including how much you will pay for your dragon. This is generally the price of housing materials. Here is a range just to know how much everything can cost. This is just an estimate. Terrarium- $50- $75 For a baby or juvenile dragon, I personally would tell you to get a 50 or 60 gallon size tank to house them just because my experience with doing this with Mango as a baby was not negative at all. I took him home and he has lived in the same 50 gallon aquarium I have had him in since he was a baby and I didn't see any negative side effects of doing this instead of going the route that most people advise to do, which is buy a 20 to 25 gallon as well to keep them in until they are big enough for the 50 or 60 gallon size. Even if he were to have shown negative side effects of being in a bigger tank, I had a plan to put a piece of wood between the tank until he got big enough to take it out. He however, did not act any different than I expected him to. He was very active and ate just fine the first few months after he was brought home. I do believe the reason people might would advise you to get a smaller tank for a younger dragon is because of the risk that falling from that height brings. The tank Mango is housed in is 18 inches tall. He fell off of his plant that was hung at the top of the tank when he was only a month old, but even falling from that high, he was perfectly fine and continued to explore the tank just the same after it happened. I personally will tell you from my experience that buying one large tank instead of a smaller tank AND a large tank will definitely save you money in the end and will be a better option. If I could go back and buy a 60 gallon tank or even could have made my own tank that was larger than the 50 gallon I have now, I would have chose the bigger option. Mango is approximately 15 inches now and he is a little big for his tank in my opinion. I probably will be building him a bigger tank in the future and will be using the 50 gallon he has now for another dragon down the road. Heat, Lighting, and Thermometers- $60 to $75 Okay so to keep this one simple, you are going to need at least two sources of lighting. One will be a daylight/UVB light source and the other will be a heat lamp for basking. Some people chose to have 2 heat lamps which are used for daytime basking and nighttime heat but if you want to choose a less annoying option, go with a simple 24 hour red tint bulb. They work perfect for all day basking and nighttime heat alike. Some people also choose to go with a common daytime basking bulb and a nighttime heat emitter, which gives off no light, just heat. They are a great resource in my opinion and I do plan on getting one soon. And don't forget two pet thermometers. You want to put one as close to your dragons basking spot as possible and the other anywhere on the opposite side of the tank. These will tell you how hot and cool your dragons tank is and if you need to adjust anything. Substrate- $15 Here goes another opinion guys. You can use whatever substrate you like for your beardy of course but the reason I labeled this recourse as $15 is because I use reptile carpets, which in my opinion are the way to go. Sand is a big fat no when it comes to housing dragons. Mango was introduced to sand a while back and for about a week or two, his eating habits dropped tremendously. I mean so bad that I took him to the vet because I thought he was sick. He wasn't though of course. Dragons are so picky about certain things that even changing what they walk on day to day can cause them to turn down their favorite foods even when they haven't ate in over 3 days straight. And for all the people out there who will assume it WAS something that was wrong with Mango, it wasn't. The night I cleaned the sand out and put back his carpet, he moved around more in that night than I had seen him move in the three weeks I kept sand in his tank. The next day after I took it out, he ate like a pig. Like I said, dragons are very picky. Not to mention, impaction is a huge risk when housing a dragon in sand. I won't be using sand again and I will highly advise you to go with reptile carpet or any sort of firm washable carpet turf honestly. The one and only side effect I have found with having reptile carpets in when my dragon's nails get a little long, they will get caught in the loose loops of the carpet where he has walked around on it for so long and pulled the strings up. Decor- $30 to $50 Decorating your terrarium is the most fun and creative part of bringing your new dragon home. The possibilities are endless. I labeled this recourse as $30 to $50 because the only few things you will really need to have a healthy happy dragon are a few plants, a couple logs and rocks for climbing, a background, and a cave to sleep and hide away in. Theres no limit to decorating your dragons home. In retrospect, the more decor, the more your dragon is going to want to explore. Just make sure they have something comfortable to bask on and they have a large enough cove or place for them to hide and sleep when they want. Activeness will go hand in hand with the ability to explore. Give your dragon many different places to explore and wander, get positive results. Most of the time, depending on the dragon, if they are given very little to venture and explore, they will grow bored easily and in turn, you will end up with negative activity results. Also, don't forget a good size bowl or shallow dish for water and swimming and a small dish for food. Bringing a new dragon home Naturally, when you bring a dragon into your home, they are going to act odd and sometimes frantic during the time they will take getting used to you and their new surroundings. I adopted another baby dragon for about a month here recently. Her name was Ava. Mango and little Avav didn't know what to think of each other when I brought her home from the pet store.  I adopted her because she was too big for the tanks with the smaller dragons and also because she had a piece of her tail bit off by another dragon. When she was brought home, she was very skiddish. I believe letting her meet Mango and live next to him all day did not help. Bringing her home as a young baby v.s. how mango was when I brought him home was a little different. This showed me that not every dragon is the same. They all have their differences. For example, Ava was a lot more skiddish than Mango when he was a baby. She also slept under her cave most nights while Mango slept on his hammock constantly when he was younger. She was a lot more hyper than Mango was as well. When Mango was younger he wouldnt eat much from my tweezers I used. He prefered to eat out of his bowl more while I was gone, whereas Ava was always instantly excited when she saw the tweezers. Its just a prime example that the way you treat your dragon is going to be different from the way someone else treats theirs. Also, bringing home an older dragon is naturally going to be the same experience as bringing home a juvenile or a baby. When brought home, it may take them a few days to get used to you and their new surroundings so just be patient. If they go a few days at a time without eating at first, this is completely natural. Mango was home with me for 3 days before he finally ate something and the only thing he ate that day was a single mealworm. I regret not allowing Ava to get to used to her new surroundings on her own when she was brought home. I had a constant want to let her out to run around and explore because she was so active but she would always run under things and dart away from me, even in her tank. I believe she was so aware and afraid of me and my girlfriend because of what happened to her tail when she was a baby. I can tell you from experinece, as far as bringing home a newborn or a juvenile goes, you will have to be patient, gentle, and slow-handed if you want your new dragon to know you as owner. We often tend to sterotype them as small-minded and slow, but bearded dragons do have the potential to not only recognize faces, but attitudes and loving enviornments and emotions as well. To ensure your new dragon grows up in the most comfortable and calm enviornment possible, when they are brought home, take things slow and allow them time to get used to not only you, but their surroundings as well. They adapt to sounds, lights, and even constant movements very quickly at a young age, so there are no worries when it comes to ensuring your new dragon becomes compfortable in their new home. Feeding, Bathing, and Care Heat and Basking The first thing you need to know is what kind of lights you will need when bringing home your new dragon. Those lights and lamps are going to basically be the sources that your dragon is going to use to live a happy and healthy lifestyle. Mango is now 9 month old and his basking temperature stays between 95- 105. (We are speaking in Fahrenheit temperatures of course.) Where his basking temperature ranges now (in my opinion) is perfect for his age. As a baby, when he was brought home, I kept his basking spot between 85- 95 and I dont feel like it was the right temperature range because he would spend a lot of time under his basking spot except when it was summer, whereas now he tends to bask for maybe 30 minutes to an hour, then he will run around the tank and explore until he gets cool again and repeats the process. It might be normal that babies and juveniles tend to bask more when younger though. Then again, like I said earlier, every dragon is different. At one point I used two deep dome heat lamps. One was a daytime sun bulb that was very bright. I used it during the day and at night I would turn on the other dome which had a purple nighttime heat bulb. I now use one deep dome that holds a 24 hour red basking bulb. Like I said earlier, they are a cheap and great alternative to having two separate lights. A young or baby dragon's basking spot should be anywhere between 100- 110 degrees.

The distance between the dragon and the light is a preference. You don't want the basking spot to be too close to the lamp however or your dragon could get burned. Just take in their behavior when you first bring them home. The cool side can naturally be as cool as your home unless you love cooler temperatures in which case you will need to add a small heat source of some sort to adjust the temperature on your dragon's cool side as well. The cool side of the tank can be anywhere between 75- 90 degrees for your dragon to be completely comfortable. Note also that if your dragon is wall dancing or scratching at the sides of the tank, it could be a sign the tank is too hot or too cold and your dragon could be searching for a more comfortable temperature. Feeding (babies and juveniles) When your dragon is brought home, the best way to ensure it feels safe around you as fast as possible is to hand feed. If you begin the dragons habit of being fed by mostly tweezers, later on, there will be a chance your hand will startle it constantly. To ensure the dragon becomes comfortable with you quickly and smoothly, hand feed while young. Hand feeding is going to allow the dragon to see that your hands are the ones it feeds from and it will recognize your hand as owner throughout it's life if this process is started early. Baby dragons (1 to 3 months) should be fed small crickets, small dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae, and finely chopped greens and veggies. They should have calcium dusted on their foods every other day to every day depending upon how hungry they are. At a younger age, your dragon will eat 70% insects and %30 vegetables. It is actually very smart to dust greens and veggies as well. Pet calcium can be bought at most local pet stores or online. Now, how about mealworms? I do agree feeding live mealworms to younger dragons is a risk simply because of their ability to stay alive even after consumption, but it is simply a myth that they can cause impactions. Freeze dried mealworms are a great, easy, and cheap staple food for young dragons as are freeze dried crickets and small freeze dried grasshoppers. Great treats for baby dragons are waxworms, and tropical fruits such as mangos, pineapples, and papaya. Juveniles (3 to 6 months) can be fed medium sized insects and medium size greens and veggies. When your dragon grows to be a sub- adult juvenile, (around 9 months and up) they will begin to eat more greens. Their diet will then consist of 70% vegetables and 30% insects. I will advise to be wise in what size insects you feed your juvenile depending upon its size. Mango is now 9 months old. He is still considered a juvenile but I feed him fully grown dubia roaches which range about 1 inch in size and sometimes bigger. It is all a preference. I also feed him superworms now as well and I have been since he was about 4 to 5 months old. I will say that superworms should not be a staple insect however. Superworms have a hard shell which makes it harder for younger dragons to digest them, not to mention their like fried chicken to beardies. They love them but they are very fattening and can make your dragon lazy and even more picky about what they are fed. I experienced this with Mango. When I started feeding him superworms, he was in love with them. I began feeding them to him regularly without knowing their properties and he became lazy and lethargic so I had to change his diet, which was very aggravating considering how picky he is. Super worms can be a good staple insect for an older dragon who won't each much of them and will mostly eat greens but at a younger age (5 months at the youngest) they should only be fed small amounts and as treats. Wax worms also are great treats for older beardies as well but these are like candy to bearded dragons and they are very addictive so be careful how much you give them these. As your dragon grows and you start to notice the foods it likes more than others, you will be able to range their diet based off of their pickiness. Bathing and Hydration For starters, misting is a big part of keeping your dragon healthy. A baby's tank should be misted every other day with room temperature water. You want to do this regulate the feel of morning dew they receive in the wild. Juveniles and adults can have their tank misted every so often if you bathe them regularly. If you got two or more days without bathing them, mist their tank the next morning. Its a great way for them to stay hydrated. When shedding is occurring, your dragon itself should be misted a bit more. Its good to mist them a few times a day but only mist the tank once or so when the shedding process is occurring. If you ever just feel like your beardy needs to water right to the system for a quick hydration, use the squirt bottle you use to mist them with and hold it to your dragon's nose. Lightly squeeze until single drops of water run down their snout one at a time. If you continue this, they will tend to drink the water. It is known that the proper ways to bathe your dragon have come down to a science but honestly its easier than one thinks and its not that serious. "The temperature should be between blah blah blah and the water shouldnt be any higher than their front elbows and such and such." You want to know how to bathe a dragon? Turn your water on and depending upon how cool or warm their body is, range the water temperature that way. When I bathe my dragon in the morning after he has slept on the cooler side of the tank, his body heat has naturally faded, so in turn, I give him a bit warmer bath. If its mid summer and the house is hot and so is he, I tend to give him a mid- warm bath. To tell what temperature the water should be, get the water warm, and place your wrist below the stream and feel how warm it is. Adjust the water temperature to where it is a decent heat. Not hot but not just warm. You want it to be very warm, so you could say. Now, Im no bearded dragon expert but when I bathe Mango, I know he is probably going to poop so I know to have a clean tub before he goes in it and I usually will clean it after he is done as well. I tend to let him swim and try to climb the sink for a bit to give him some exercise as well. Bathing a baby is going to be different. You dont want the water to be so high they can't touch with at least two hands. They naturally will swim if not all fours are touching the surface but don't make it so they have to float to stay above water. This is a ratio of how much you should bathe your dragon. Babies- Every day to every other day Juveniles- Every other day to every third day Adults- at least two times a week Section 2: Adults For those of us who have older to adult beardies we have raised since they were newborns, it is easy for us to give advice on how to raise young dragons based off of what we have experienced raising our dragons from young to old. An older beardy is naturally going to be easier to tend to however. The older a dragon grows, the less they require human care and attention. Dont get me wrong, every dragon still wants your love and attention and to be fed and bathed but in retrospect, an older dragon is not going to require as much care and attention. I now feed Mango cheap collard greens and different forms of vegetables like squash and carrots and occasionally he will eat a few roaches. When he was younger, it was such a pain going to the gas station every three to four days to buy him crickets. If I didn't feel like he wanted crickets, I would go to the pet store and buy him superworms or mealworms as well. When he was younger he would only eat his carrots and greens if that were the only thing I gave him that day whereas now, he has grown a more preferred tongue to salads and greens instead of so many insects. An adult dragon will require a bath every 3 to 4 days and in my opinion, if they are pooping regularly without the need of a bath and you are giving them a water dish or misting them and their tank often, they can have a bath every 4 to 5 days even. An older dragon will not require as much water as a younger dragon will either. Whereas you will want to leave a water dish in a younger dragons tank with fresh water each day, an older dragon will not need one unless you prefer to leave one for them. An older dragon will not eat as much as a younger dragon. A younger dragon should be fed at least once a day and should be offered greens at least 2 times a week and insects every day the vegetables are not offered. A larger dragons appetite will be a lot less however. An older dragon will want greens and vegetables more than half of the days they are fed. Let's say you have a schedule of feeding your older dragon 3 days a week. You would want to feed them greens and vegetables 2 out of 3 of those days and a healthy insect meal on the other day. The amount of exploring an older dragon does compared to the amount a younger dragon will do is going to be a lot less. A younger dragon that has not been in the new environment you place it in is going to be more active and want to explore more at a younger age. As it grows older, that want to explore will drop quite a bit. Older dragons love their greens, they get to a point where baths feel normal because they've had so many, and never forget they will always still want that loving affection you've given them since a baby. The nature of an older bearded dragon is going to be very docile as well. I had to learn this through struggles and giving Mango lots of care. The older they get, the lazier they naturally will get as well. No matter what, just always remember that the same adorable, big eyed baby you once held in your hands is the same overgrown lizard you hold on your shoulder today. 🤘🏻Cease the hate, peace we create✌🏻 "Life With a Dragon" Blog post #2 Tanner Marcengill May 22nd, 2017