Bearded dragons and cats?

[Willowlily]

Hi,

I'v always admired bearded dragons but never actually had one. I recently decided I wanted to start preparing to finally adopt one but I'm very new to everything as Iv never really cared for any reptile before. I'm familiar with fish, cats, dogs, birds etc.

I want to take my time and prepare properly, I also figure I can potentially create a much better environment if it's something I'm doing over time vs all at once.

One thing that concerns me is that I have 3 cats that stay indoors. I wouldn't be comfortable with a glass aquarium with a screen top (I can think of so many disasters!) so Iv been looking at the other type of enclosures suggested. I was wondering if anyone has experience with having cats along with bearded dragons. Did you find any particular enclosure worked best to keep everyone happy and safe?

I live in central florida and I would prefer to buy an enclosure that would also be suitable for an adult size...Id rather purchase bigger than ''necessary'' if possible. ( ie. My betta has a 20 gallon aquarium to himself )

Any suggestions of where to look for enclosures around here would be appreciated to. Price does factor in but since I'm taking my time to prepare I figure it will give me more room to splurge.

Thanks for reading.

 

[genskiR6]

Most people build they're own enclosures. I just finished building mine and I have cats as well. I can tell that my dragon likes to be above the eye level of the cats. They used to be eye level with each other and they were constantly messing with each other. He is much happier up where the cats can't see him as he is still a baby. But this being said, he didn't have any visible stress patterns going on while he was interacting with the kitties.

 

[WisePrey]

You can get good enclosures that have locking mechanisms to keep the cats out. Not sure if it's something that cats could figure out though.

A screen top won't be that big of a deal as long as the cats can't get a way to lift it up, like if there's not any bookshelfs or anything that would let a cat near the top of the aquarium it won't be an issue at all.

 

[Willowlily]

I don't really have the ability to build my own but maybe I could look into it. All my cats can jump quite high... they manage to jump onto the top of tall fishtanks. They learned quickly how to open tank filters and lift lids.They love climbing and when it comes to getting atop something, well, where there is a will there is a way. They are all good cats, but, they are cats.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[genskiR6]

You can get screen hinges. They're little metal clips that clamp the screen and the glass aquarium shut tight so the cats can't life the lid. But very easy for you to remove.

 

[Dragongrlwi]

I have 2 cats and a bearded dragon. The cats were a little interested at first, but he's not that interesting any longer to them. My dragon is in an aquarium with a lid. They haven't bothered trying to lift up the lid as it has a light on it.

 

[Willowlily]

I just keep imaging a large cat jumping onto a screen.