How to Keep a Bearded Dragon Healthy

💪How to keep a Dragon Healthy🏋️

For this blog, I am going to give tips and advice on how to keep your bearded dragon healthy and active. The best way I can keep this blog interesting is to keep it short and sweet. Here are a few tips to keeping your dragon healthy or training a lazy dragon to become healthy. 1. Early morning energy I have noticed with mango from watching him over these past few months that naturally, when he wakes up in the morning, he has a lot more energy than he does throughout the rest of the day. Its almost like when he wakes up, he gets energized and he is ready to eat and explore but if he is in his tank all day, all he is going to do is run around the tank trying to run that energy out in the morning. I try to take advantage of this rush of early morning activity by leaving food the night before while he is asleep so that way, when he wakes up, he can eat and I won't have to wake up and worry about feeding him. A good way to use this energy burst to your advantage or to find out if your dragon has this burst of energy is to take track of what time they wake up and go to sleep and take them out of the tank in the morning to run around a more open environment. This may spark their want to explore more, which in turn can lead to a more active dragon. I want to also advise purchasing a day and night timer for your lighting. I plug my UVB daylight bulb into this timer so when the dial on the timer hits 9:00 p.m. the timer turns the light off for me so Mango can sleep, and in the morning, it turns the light back on and wakes him up. Since Mango wakes up around 8:30 to 9:00 in the morning, I tend to let him run around in his tank but if I wake up and notice him clawing at the glass or staring at me, that is how I know he wants to come out. 2. Activities and Swimming For a more active dragon, you may already know these exercises but if not, they are a great way to get a lazy dragon out of it's funk or to get a less active dragon to be more active. Obviously the first thing is allowing swimming while bathing. If your dragon has a bowel movement, flush it down the drain or get it out of the water and after they use the bathroom, let the swim around for a few minutes. It is good to keep a dragon in the bath for around 15 minutes or so. After about 10 minutes of bathing and soaking up water let the water level rise just enough to where your dragon can touch but no too high to where they can't. When they feel like they cannot touch when they are placed in the bath, they will swim. This is a great workout but don't overdo it. You're dragon's breathing patterns should not get a point where they are using their whole body to breathe. This can cause stress and laziness. Some activities you want to allow your bearded dragon to do are: Climbing ex: Curtains, bed sheets, blankets Running ex: low set speed treadmills and allowing them to chase their live food Use a mirror -Bearded dragons will usually show more activity when a mirror is close by because they believe that their reflection is another dragon. Placing a mirror in their tank or close by can allow them to focus or figuring out who is staring at them while causing them to become more active in the process. Allowing your dragon(s) to interact -Rather they are babies or adults, this is not the brightest idea for helping to make dragons more active if you are not experienced with bearded dragon interaction. When two or more bearded dragons, male or female get together, they can become territorial and aggressive if they were not brought up together. Now for some owners who have raised dragons together most of their lives, this is a good idea. For someone who has two dragons as pets who don't understand or aren't familiar with each other, this could be a dangerous idea. Allowing fully grown female and male interactions may lead to mating. Taking your dragon out -Rather you choose to leash your dragon or not, taking your bearded dragon outside is not only a great idea to help their activeness, but it is also very healthy for them as well. Bearded dragons will naturally soak up the sun's UVBs when brought outside rather than being under their terrarium lighting all day. The sun has more powerful and more organic UVBs you could say. Allowing them to run around on a hot day will allow your dragon to widen their views on the world around them which should spark a bigger interest to explore. Things to be cautious of when taking bearded dragons out are: -If it is your dragon's first time out and about, keep a towel or blanket near so if they become frightened or upset you can cover and hold them to keep them from becoming stressed. -A nice temperature range to take your dragon outside is when the temperatures are ranging anywhere from 85 to 100. -Leashes are a good idea but for some dragons, it won't matter. I have been taking Mango out since he was about 6 months old and he has never tried to run but he has got frightened before. Every dragon is different however. Even if you choose to use a leash, I would still recommend bringing a towel or something to throw over your dragon if they become scared. Dont be afraid to take them to the store and around with you as well. Just make sure they are comfortable and won't run away. 3. Healthy Dieting For those of us who have bearded dragons, a knowledge of what foods to feed your dragon come hand in hand when raising one. Over feeding and feeding too many fatty insects can cause obesity amongst all dragons. Just remember to keep a healthy diet habit for your dragon to live a happy healthy lifestyle. Here are some tips on feeding I have learned or followed throughout my journey in learning how to raise a dragon that you should follow too. -Feed baby and juvenile dragons roaches, crickets, and mealworms. Live crickets and roaches are highly recommended at least half of the time your dragon spends feeding. I do not recommend live mealworms until after a dragon is half a year old at least. Younger dragons do not digest certain size foods and certain insects well and it is good to wait until after they are 6 months to a year old to feed them live mealworms. Here is a list to show what are some good foods to feed adult and baby dragons Crickets Adults: yes Babies: yes Dubia Roaches Adults: recommended Babies: recommended Mealworms Adults: yes but not constantly Babies: freeze dried are ok not live Waxworms Adults: treats and small meals Babies: treats fed very seldom Superworms Adults: yes but not too often (20 a week max in my opinion) Babies: no *superworms are not smart to feed baby and juveniles because of their hard shell, making it difficult for them to digest. Feed superworms after a dragon has reached an age of around 12 months or more to ensure healthy digestion Black soldier fly larvae Adults: recommended Babies: recommended *black soldier fly larvae have many names but they are a great staple insect. I recommend feeding these to both babies and adults alike as they are a nutrition packed worm that provides plenty of calcium and nutrients. Other names associated with black soldier fly larvae are grub worms and nutrigrubs. Hornworms Adults: Treats Babies: No- too large to digest Baby mice and pinkies Adults: Yes- but shouldnt be fed but every so often Babies: Small fuzzy mice are too large but pinkies are small enough to be fed to juveniles after 6 months of growth but should not be fed often. Vegetables and greens Adults: Yes- Greens are a staple item for adults that should be fed regularly Babies: yes- babies will eventually open up to vegetables and fruits with time, but they should be offered them at least twice a week to begin with. As the progressively get better with eating their vegetables. Start to feed them greens and various veggies more often but remember, a baby and a juvenile diet is going to consist of mostly insects and protein. Baby diet: 30% greens/ 70% insects Adult diet: 70% greens/ 30% insects It is very simple to keep a bearded dragon healthy, active, and happy. They require human love and affection to live a healthy active life and they should never be left without food for long periods of time. Like I said, it is fine to feed an older dragon a little less than a younger one but even offering food in case your dragon feels like eating is not a bad idea. Find out what kinds of foods your dragon likes because every single one of them are different, but they are all picky eaters. They eat what they want and when they want and they will let you know if they do not want something you are feeding them. 4. Giving attention and affection Raising a dragon in a tank its entire life is not logical. Bearded dragons need to be shown love and attention. When they are young, they will not want you to give them as much attention and affection until they become familiar with you and their new home and surroundings. Baby bearded dragons, unless born in your home, will not full understand it has been taken in by a human until it realizes who and what you are. Later in life, bearded dragons will begin to require your attention. They at times, might even show signs of begging for it. They can become gloomy and depressed looking, they may stop eating or start eating a lot less, and at the times they will surf the sides of their terrarium and claw at the edges until they are let out to play. Showing a bearded dragon attention is an easy way to spark an interest to be active. Now, like I said earlier, the best time to interact with your dragon is in the morning or a few minutes after they have woke up and started moving. Showing a bearded dragon attention closer to their bed time later at night isn't going to show you a very active dragon. Naturally they have been laying around most of the day and they will be tired and won't want to do much but like I said earlier, every dragon is different as well. Allowing a dragon to adventure outside of it's terrarium and around you will help your bearded dragon to be more active. They will not only be happy to be around you but once they become comfortable and curious, they will begin to adventure around as well. Every dragon will begin to create its own habits for how it lives and eats. Bearded dragons are born with a curiosity to adventure and a habit to be lazy, but how you raise your dragon in your home can make all the difference when it comes to obesity or health. Training a dragon to have glutenous habits will lead to a lazy and fat dragon. Training a dragon to have good active habits will lead to a healthy, adventurous dragon. No matter their age, young or old, it is always good to show a dragon healthy habits and feed them a healthy diet. The lifespan of your young lizard friend will thrive off of the attention you show it and the amount of energy it is taught to give life. I pray these tips may help you and others to discover what it is like to have a dragon live a happy and healthy life right along side you, it's owner. "Cease the hate, peace we create" How to keep a Bearded Dragon healthy

Blog #4 Tanner Marcengill June 13th, 2017