BEARDED DRAGON
Pogona Vitticeps
The bearded dragon is generally considered one of the all-time best pet lizard. It is hardly known for being alert, hardy and tame. Whether during feeding frenzy while chasing live food or simply interacting with each other.
AVAILIBILITY
Bearded dragons are commonly available at pet shops, reptile shows and breeders. Captive bred are highly recommended because they are usually healthier and more acclimated to captivity then wild caught animals. Various colour morphs are available, they are more costly than normal coloured beardies.
SUBSTRATE
SUBSTRATE
Sand is commonly used with bearded dragons, though there is concern especially when keeping young lizards, that intestinal impactation could result if they accidentally eat some. It is not recommended that you keep any bearded dragon on sand or any loose substrate. A good alternative would be newspaper, paper towels, fake grass or reptile carpet. Adult bearded dragons can be kept on the same substrates. You can buy digestible reptile sand from pet shops but the opinions on whether it is really digestible differ. If you do decide to use this then make sure to follow the manufacturers instructions. However, sand mixed with soil that hasn't been treated with any fertilisers, pesticides, etc can also be used with adults. If you keep your bearded dragon on sand or another loose substrate then you can reduce the risk of impactation by offering food on a shallow dish rather than placing it directly on the floor.
FOOD
Bearded dragons are omnivorous, meaning they eat both plant and animal matter. They are usually not picky and will eat most things. Gut-loaded insects such as crickets, locusts, meal worms, dubia roaches, red runner roaches, silk worms and porcellios are all good foods. They should be dusted with a vitamin/mineral supplement and calcium. Dusting can be achieved by placing the insects into a tub with a lid, shake the tub to get a light coating over the bugs prior to feeding them to your lizard. Also, offer your bearded dragon finely chopped veggies (such as romaine lettuce, mustard greens, etc.) and fruit (such as kiwi, banana, mango, etc.). Use healthy, vitamin rich veggies and fruit, sprinkle an appropriate amount of powder supplements on these foods too, but avoid iceberg lettuce, kale and spinach as it has little to none nutritional value.
HANDLING AND TEMPERAMENT
Bearded dragons are generally quite docile and will tolerate handling better than other species of lizards. This is especially true of adults that have spent their entire life in captivity (of course, there can be exceptions). It's not unusual to visit a reptile show and see many different morphs and colours.
LIGHTING AND TEMPERATURE
Bearded dragons like it hot, a basking spot of about 100.F works well for them. The basking area can be provided by a spotlight positioned over a rock or a branch for example. This should be kept at one end of the vivarium, this allows your dragon to thermoregulate (move between a cooler and warmer area). The cooler end of the enclosure can be kept at about 80.F. In addition to the basking spotlight, you should provide full-spectrum UVB (ultraviolet) light over the rest of the enclosure. This lighting is critically important for bearded dragons that are kept indoors, as it assists them in synthesising vitamin D3, which aids in calcium absorption. Keep a thermometer in the enclosure to track the temperature. At night it can drop to around 67.F
HOUSING
Hatchlings, juveniles and adults should be housed in a 4ftx2ftx2ft vivarium at a minimum. It is best to get the correct sized vivarium from a hatchling as beardies suffer from relocation stress so they don't have to go through the stress again when they reach adulthood. The vivarium being 4ft is also important because by the time your beardies 5-6 months it will be 1/2 of it's size and then by 12 months they're fully grown. All bearded dragons like to climb and explore although adults can become more lazy. Things like cork bark, foliage and other reptile supplies should be placed with hides in your dragons enclosures.