cages

[tontinos]

I'm gonna get a beardie soon and i have a few questions about cages. If you have a juvinile does it matter if you keep it in a 40 gall tank for its entire life and don't switch tanks as the beardie gets older? What substrates are good and what substrates are bad(sand?). And when you feed your beardie, would you suggest feeding it in a sepreate cage or area?
Thanks, tontinos

 

[Catalyst]

I'm gonna get a beardie soon and i have a few questions about cages. If you have a juvinile does it matter if you keep it in a 40 gall tank for its entire life and don't switch tanks as the beardie gets older?

While some do use a 40g breeder tank (36" long x 18" wide) as their minimum adult tank size, I beleive it is too small for a dragon to spend its entire life in. I keep my girl in a 75g tank (48" x 18") and would never go smaller. The 40g has the right width, but not enough floor space.
That being said, yes, you can buy one large tank and use it for your dragon's entire life instead of starting out with a small tank and gradually upgrading as your dragon grows.

What substrates are good and what substrates are bad(sand?). And when you feed your beardie, would you suggest feeding it in a sepreate cage or area?
Thanks, tontinos

Good and bad regarding substrates is kind of a grey area depending on who you talk to. The few things that there is a conscensus on are:
1 - calcium sand and crushed walnuts are two substrates that should not be used for any dragon at any time
2 - baby dragons are safest on a solid substrate

Otherwise, its largely a matter of doing the research and deciding for yourself what you're looking for in a substrate. As mentioned above, young dragons should be kept on a solid substrate to prevent impaction. Good solid options include paper towels, nonadhesive shelf liner (the solid stuff, not the ones with holes in it), and textured slate or ceramic tiles. You can use any of these options for your dragon's entire life. Once your dragon is an adult, you may decide to try a loose substrate. You can use washed and sifted silica free children's playsand (although some find it dusty), or a coconut based bedding like bed-a-beast (no dust involved). Loose substrates come with their own cleaning challenges to ensure that bacteria doesn't gain a hold in your tank, and if your dragon is prone to licking or eating it at all, then you'll need to remove it immediately.

It is helpful if you can get your dragon to eat its live food in a separate container since you then won't have to worry about chasing down the leftover bugs after he has finished eating. It also reduces the chance of accidental ingestion of the substrate if you have a loose substrate in your tank. If you have a solid substrate though, and only drop the bugs in a few at a time so that they don't have a chance to hide before your dragon eats them, there's no problem with feeding your dragon in his own tank. My girl refuses to eat anywhere other than in her home tank.