Bearded Dragon - Tips and Sharing?

[CarmanDirda]

I'm preparing for a bearded dragon baby soon. :) Want to know if anyone maybe has or had them and could give some tips?

I've had a snake but I know it's not the same. Not even diet wise.

I've done a lot of research, have tank the proper size, and am gathering supplies before I get my dragon. I'd like some recommendations for brands if you have any.


I'd also like to hear about your dragons if you've had or have any. :D

[dmuddle]

Isnt this a tropical fish forum not a lizard forum haha, I could get some information for you just tell me what you want to know

[Badjer]

Originally Posted by dmuddle

Isnt this a tropical fish forum not a lizard forum haha, I could get some information for you just tell me what you want to know

Lol this is the "Finless Friends" section of the forum. Most of us own more than just fish.

We had one a few years ago, but we gave him away when my brothers got bored of him and stopped caring for him. The third pet they managed to talk my mom into without research, and not the last to pay for their mistakes either. Honestly I sometimes wonder how I'm related to these people... Lol anyways, we got him as a baby, he was roughly the length of my hand, but boy did he grow fast! I think we had him a little over a year, and he more than double in length. This meant he shed a lot!

As for his set up, I forget which size tank he had, but it wasn't meant to be permanent. He had sand, a water dish, and a log with a shade spot. The heat lamp was on a timer, and half the tank had a heating pad. I can't remember the temperature he was kept at. Just a warning, their poop smells HORRIBLE. It would stink up the whole room, and unless the lid on the garbage bag was tight, the smell would get into the whole house. So try and scoop it out of there as quick as possible.

As for diet, I remember ours eating live crickets and veggies, but I can't remember how much or how often. We loved watching him eat those crickets! It was too cute. Be sure to handle him often to keep him friendly. Ours got nippy after the boys stopped taking him out often.

Be sure to post some pics! I love these guys, wish I would've been able to care for ours but unfortunately I was young at the time and had my own pets to care for.

[CarmanDirda]

Glad you mentioned the smell, because it'll be in my bedroom. Going to scoop it on the spot if I notice it! xD

I've researched a lot of it, and I plan on being social with mine so it's friendly. The social nature of them is why I chose a bearded dragon, actually. :)

I'll definately post pics! It may be a month or two before I get him, though. Still stocking up on supplies. Hardly have anything at the moment, besides the tank, food, and some reptile carpet.

As a kid I was only allowed cats, dogs and fish, aside from one snake I had. With parents especially, I know how it can be. Now that I'm older now, I can have whatever as long as I can afford to take care of them. :)

[Bombalurina]

I am massively jealous. :D I will be getting a beardie one day. Hopefully I'll be getting an 8' tank so I can keep him with a bluetongue and a shingleback. I will watch this thread with interest. :)

[CarmanDirda]

Beardies are awesome. :D I'm so excited to be getting one!

In an 8' tank you should (hopefully) have no problems with the others in there, as long as you give them enough hides and space to get away from eachother. I've heard a lot of people say to be careful pairing them with other animals, though it's mostly warnings about other beardies. I suppose like anything else, if there's no real warnings, try it! Just be careful.


I have a 10gal for the baby, but I'll be upgrading to at LEAST a 20gal (though I want a bigger one, it won't fit where it's going to be). When I move I'll be getting a 50 gal for him if I can afford it. If not, that's fine. I plan on having him out and active a lot. It'll just be his heat / eat / sleep / poop box really. xD

[hedgehog]

I think you've gotten good advice already. For babies everything I've read says to stay away from sand at first since they're more likely to get impacted with how small they are. You want to use some sort of reptile carpet that won't catch their nails. I've never had a baby, my beardie was 8 when we got her and lived to be 10 (really good considering she was undersize, malnourished, and neglected when we got her). For the adults I used the Zilla crushed egg shell bedding as opposed to sand. There's some worry of impaction with sand. She lived in a 40 gallon breeder with some large rocks for basking, a food bowl, a water bowl, and a large piece of wood to climb. Our lights were set up on a timer.

Mars had access to lettuce every day. Make sure it's romaine lettuce and not ice berg. Ice berg lettuce has no nutritional qualities. If you have access to it watercress and collared greens make better staples. We kept Mars on the diet she had been on previously since she was older and had a history of GI and other health problems. She also liked bok choy but we couldn't easily get that where I am. Make sure to put the food into a food bowl that the dragon can get into and out of easily since if its just laying on the sand there's a big risk of impaction. She got one dozen medium size crickets twice a week. When you feed them live foods make sure that you only feed them something that is smaller than the space between their eyes otherwise they can choke. This isn't as big an issue with lettuce since they tear it apart to eat it. Since Mars was small she could only eat medium crickets. The crickets need to be dusted in calcium unless you plan on supplementing the calcium another way. Most petstores will do this for you for free. Calcium supplements are very important for beardies since they don't really get any calcium in their diet. If they don't eat all the crickets in one day then you need to remove them or they can bite the dragon while its sleeping. In terms of treats Mars was a spoiled lizard. She got veggies and fruits for treats. She occasionally got carrots, sweet potatoes, snap peas, and green beans. She got grapes more often to get more water in to her. Her favorite treat was strawberries. When she got really angry and wouldn't stop flaring the only thing that would calm her down is strawberries.

Something you may not have considered in terms of maintenance is that beardies have nails. They likely won't wear them down enough so you will have to cut them. They will shed especially if you're getting a baby which can cause a change in mood or appetite. Beardies need baths since it helps keeps them hydrated. It also helps them shed. We gave Mars a bath every two weeks but it's often recommended weekly and even everyday during shedding. I would check out a bearded dragon site for more info. I know some of the info that I gave is specifically from my knowledge of an elderly, neglected dragon so it won't apply to a baby. Most sites recommend staying away from lettuce. We fed that to Mars since that's all she had ever had and we didn't want to upset her stomach. A baby needs more protein than an elderly dragon so you'd probably need to feed insects more often in smaller numbers. A bearded dragon site would be the best help in determing all this information.

[CarmanDirda]

I have most of the info given, but you did go into more detail, which helps.

I've never got any info on trimming their nails. Did you have a best method? And how much to clip off and how often?

I've heard of baths for them - especially during shedding (and yes, I'm getting a baby so this really matters) so do you just put them in the tub with some shallow water? Maybe gently rub to help them shed in the water when they're shedding?

It seems like it'd be so simple, but I don't want something like this to be my reptiles problem. Especially after all else I do to make sure they're safe and healthy.

[hedgehog]

If the bearded dragon has white nails you can see the quick and know to cut below it so you won't cause bleeding. You can use human nail clippers. Your best bet is to keep piles of rocks they can use to wear down their nails so hopefully you won't have to cut them.

As far as bathing goes we filled the water in the tub up with some mild water a little bit so her head would still be above water. Mars would then play in the water for a while. I've never dealt with a shedding beardie. I thought Mars might be shedding once so I read up on it. If they are having problems shedding you can help gently roll off the skin with a q-tip while they're in the water. This is generally seen as a last resort when they've been shedding for a while and it the skin still hasn't come off fully. Otherwise the beardie will usually just shed its skin naturally with no problems.

[CarmanDirda]

Alright, thanks. :)