If you’re a bearded dragon owner but not sure about how to take care of it, here are three essential tips to keep them healthy and happy.
You’re planning on buying a bearded dragon. Or maybe you already have one. Now you need to know some vital pointers so you can treat them with proper care.
Their food habits, the right temperature in their housing, and the right kind of light are some of the important parts you should know as a bearded dragon owner.
Was that a long list? Well, don’t worry! We have covered in easy chunks the three vital tips on how to take care of your bearded dragon.
Keep scrolling to find out!
3 Crucial Tips for Bearded Dragon Owners
As we have already mentioned, your pet needs extra attention and care. You need to make sure they have proper shelter, heat, and food. One of their favorite meals is roaches. For that, you can look at Dubai roaches for sale.
Also, you need to make sure it is happy in its habitat. To make things easier for you, we’re providing three much-needed tips!
Tip 1: Bearded Dragon Housing
Once you’ve chosen to own a bearded dragon, you’ll need to provide proper housing for it. Good habitat is very crucial to keeping a happy and healthy bearded dragon.
The Enclosure
Determine what sort of enclosure you are planning to use. There are various kinds of terrariums as well as tanks available that are specially prepared for housing the reptiles. You can also create your own enclosure if you want a custom look.
Make sure the enclosure is big enough for them immediately as well as for when they grow to their full size. That way you will not need to buy another one later.
Bearded dragons usually do not do a lot of climbing. Yet they do like to roam around. Keeping this in mind, we suggest choosing an enclosure with ample floor space.
You might want to utilize a breeder tank of around 30 gallons at a minimum. The tank should measure around 36 inches long and 18 inches in width. Plus it should be 13 inches tall. The more floor area the enclosure gives, the better.
Environmental Enrichment
Plants and Furnishings: To breathe life into the housing, you should add plants and some other furnishings. Selecting plastic or silk plants can be the best choice.
These are much easier to clean and they never require water. Plus, it will lessen the possibility of the bearded dragon eating or swallowing them.
If you choose live plants, ensure that they aren’t toxic for the pet and that they are completely free from any chemicals. Always try to have the live plants in a little pot so it will be easier to move when you’re cleaning or rearranging the housing.
Hide Box: A hide box is another thing that your bearded dragon needs. There are various hide boxes you can get in any local pet store. Many of those boxes are designed to look like rock caves. They make a wonderful addition to their habitat.
Perching: You know what your bearded dragon’s favorite pastime is? It’s perching in the basking area. You will find a vast selection of sandblasted driftwood pieces in any local pet store. Ensure that it’s durable enough for supporting the bearded dragon.
Tip 2: Heating and Lighting Requirements
Delivering adequate lighting and warmth to the bearded dragon is crucial to its survival. The species comes from temperate Australian desert regions.
It is necessary to imitate that atmosphere as much as possible. In the wild, these pets perch on the rocks and other elements to bask in the warm sun. It’s essential to duplicate this environment as far as possible while they’re in confinement.
Construct Basking Areas and Cooler Areas
Bearded dragons require a cozy and warm basking area where they can perch. The area should be between approximately 95 to 100°F for baby bearded dragons and 90 to 95°F for adults.
Utilize heating lamps, heat emitters, or maybe heating pads to establish the appropriate basking temperatures. There may be times when a mix of these can be required. Resist using hot rocks as a source of heat.
Hot rocks usually are not recommended as they’re notorious for inflicting burns on their bellies. If they do get injured, make sure you take them to a qualified vet.
Also, a cooler zone ought to be developed that should keep up between 80 to 87°F. Sometimes it becomes too hot in the basking area. Then the pet can go to the cooler region to cool off a little. Conserving a temperature slope throughout the housing is crucial for the well-being of the pet.
Get two digital or mercury thermometers and place them permanently in the basking and the cooler areas. This way, you will be able to always monitor the temperatures and modify them accordingly.
Supplying UV-A and UV-B Rays
For any species, UV-A and UV-B rays are both essential. The rays are generated intrinsically by the sun yet might not be present inside your home.
A light with a full-spectrum precisely built for reptiles should be used. It will help in replicating the UV-A and B rays. UV-B rays are crucial to support the synthesis of Vit-D3 as well as calcium. Both of these are required for bone development.
UV-A is speculated to assist in boosting appetite and stimulating hormones. These full-spectrum light bulbs ought to be replaced every six months just to make sure that they get sufficient percentages of UV rays.
Tip 3: Feeding an Adult Bearded Dragon
The feeding routine for adult bearded dragons is quite different from the babies’. Adults need extra leafy vegetables and limited insect feeders.
You need to be more careful of their diet once your bearded dragon reaches 18 months of age. Then their diet needs to contain about 80 percent of fruits and vegetables and 20 percent insect feeders.
Give them a good amount of leafy greens combined with diced vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, and green peas twice a day. Reduce the insect feeders to around two to three times a week. Adults don’t require as much protein or fat as babies and juveniles.
Vitamins and Minerals
Adult lizards may be provided a broad-spectrum vitamin supplement at least once a week. It will provide some added vitamins and minerals required at this stage.
There are various types of vegetables that you can provide to your adult pet, for example, kale, green beans, arugula, red cabbage, mustard greens, parsley, okra, and green peas. Also, some dandelion leaves, bell peppers, collard greens, carrots, squash, watercress, escarole, endive, etc.
Keep in mind that bearded dragons don’t take all fruits very well. However, you can give them mangoes, orange slices, strawberries, pineapples, kiwi, and papaya. It’s also fine to give them apples and grapes. But remove the skin before feeding them.
Bearded dragons also eat some household pests. So you need to be careful when picking pest control contractors.
Wrapping Up
Keeping pets is not an easy job especially when it’s not something regular as a cat or dog. If you want to be a bearded dragon owner, you should know these three vital tips covered in this post.
To recap, you need to feed your bearded dragon the right diet, ensure sufficient light and heat are there in its enclosure, and add plants and rocks to make the housing as natural as possible.
We hope you enjoy the company of a bearded dragon as much as it will enjoy yours!
