Bearded dragon pets can live for 7 to 12 years if kept in proper conditions. Poor UVB exposure, incorrect basking temperatures, undersized reptile tanks, and bad nutrition can drastically reduce the lifespan of beardies kept in captivity. On average, female beardies have a shorter lifespan because of the risks of frequently laying infertile eggs and breeding. In their native Australia, wild bearded dragons live for only 4 to 8 years. They are frequently hunted by predators such as dingos, Australian monitor lizards, and birds of prey. The oldest recorded pet beardie lived for 18 years and 237 days!

Bearded dragons wave as a form of communication. However, males and females exhibit this behavior for different reasons. An arm wave combined with a slow bob is usually a sign of submissiveness. It is a way for your beardie to communicate that he or she is not a threat and just wants to be left alone. Female beardies use slow head bobbing and arm waving as a way of showing submission when encountering an aggressive male. In their natural habitat, male dragons also arm wave and head bob as a sign of dominance and as a form of mating behavior.

Bearded dragons will frequently wave to acknowledge the presence of their owners, visitors, and other pets. At times, bearded dragons even wave at their own reflection in the glass because they confuse it for another beardie.

Bearded dragons are easier to take care of than many other reptiles. Most beardies have a calm disposition and don't mind being handled by their owners. Since they are active during the day and sleep at night, their owners have plenty of daytime hours to interact with them and take care of their needs. However, bearded dragons do require specialized equipment, reptile supplements, and a diet of live insects to thrive. Most people underestimate the cost of owning a bearded dragon. You will need a reptile tank that is at least 40 gallons, a high quality UVB bulb (tube style only), a basking light, and an accurate reptile thermometer. You need to maintain a proper temperature gradient in your beardie's basking area or your beardie may become lethargic and stop eating.

You will also need to buy a basking rock, some terrarium accessories, and a safe substrate, such as slate tile, non adhesive shelf liner, reptile carpet, or even paper towels. If your house gets cooler than 65 F, you will need yet another specialized bulb called a ceramic heat emitter (CHE). Make sure you're not squeamish about live insects because your beardie needs to eat between 40-60 live roaches, worms, or crickets per day!

Bearded dragons hail from the arid and semi-arid regions of Australia and prefer to bask in the open sun. They receive plenty of natural sunlight in their environment, and will not thrive in captivity without high quality, tube-style UVB bulbs. Having the proper amount of UVB helps beardies make Vitamin D3 and absorb calcium from food, which is essential for them to stay healthy.

The best UVB bulbs for bearded dragons are Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 UVB T5 HO (high output) and Arcadia 12 % UVB T5 HO (high output). Reptisun 10.0 UVB T8 and Arcadia 12 % UVB T8 are also acceptable light bulbs. Be sure to mount T8 bulbs inside your beardie's terrarium. Screen-topped reptile tanks block out 30 % or more of UVB rays emitted by the bulb. Since the output produced by T8 bulbs is not nearly as strong as T5 bulbs, your beardie may receive insufficient UVB exposure.

The minimum recommended size reptile tank for an adult bearded dragon is a 40 gallon breeder tank (36" x 18" x 18"). You can house a baby bearded dragon in a 20 gallon tank but prepare to upgrade to a 40 gallon tank (or larger) when the baby grows to about 10 inches long (around 3 months of age) to keep him happy and healthy. To avoid extra expenses and relocation stress for your beardie, you can house a baby bearded dragon in a 40 gallon reptile tank. When housing a young bearded dragon in a tank that's larger than 40 gallons, make sure that your beardie is able to hunt for food effectively.

If you have the space for it, upgrading to a 120 gallon tank (4'x 2' x2' or 48" x 24" x 24") is ideal. It's much easier to maintain proper cool side and basking spot temperatures in a larger tank, and your beardie will have plenty of room to explore and hunt. If you're limited on space, and looking for something in between, a 67 gallon tank (48" x 18" x 18") or a 75 gallon tank (48" x 18" x 21") would also work pretty well.

If your home gets colder than 65 degrees, you need to get either a ceramic heat emitter or a deep heat projector. Ceramic heat emitters (CHEs) are not what people imagine when they search for a bearded dragon heat lamp. Many people associate reptile nighttime heat lamps with red or black bulbs (sometimes called moonlight bulbs). Colored light bulbs are not appropriate for bearded dragons because they disrupt their sleeping patterns. CHEs give off no visible light and instead use infrared heat to penetrate deep into the muscle. They are easy to use because the bulb screws into a standard-size ceramic socket and can be used with a regular dome fixture or a wire cage clamp lamp. One disadvantage of CHEs is that the heating element gets very hot and can start a fire if used incorrectly--a ceramic socket is a must!

Another newer and more efficient option for bearded dragon nighttime heating is called a deep heat projector. Deep heat projectors produce no visible light and penetrate deep into muscle tissue more effectively than CHEs.