I found an interview everyone here should see...

[J4ckdaw-]

I found an interview with a man who's been researching bearded dragons in the wild for several years, his discoveries proved many of the modern husbandry rules we see in most forums wrong... I think it'd be important for us all to take a look at this, I'm not generally implying that everyone needs to change their care. This is valuable knowledge I think should be taken into account, here is the link to said interview: link

I realize it is almost 4 hours long so I've found someone else's summative of the key points in the video, here are each one as listed:

• Bearded dragons do not bask all day. They come out in the morning and in the evening to bask for a bit
• If you have warm nights, your dragon will bask less. They will only bask based on their body needs and if they are warm all night they do not have a need to bask
• It can get as low as 5°C/41°F at night in Australia during spring and typically is about 11°‐12°C/51.8°‐53.6°F in their burrows
• Preferred core temp for their body is 36.3°C/97.34°F. This is achieved with a basking spot of about 42°C/107.6°F
• They do not have bile acids to ingest vitamin D3. They get this vitamin through proper UV
• Average preferred UVI is 4.1, but any where in the range of 3.8-4.5 is acceptable
• A high amount of bright visible light is needed for them. They know to go to the bright light to bask
• A heat bulb with visible light and UVA (like a halogen bulb), a proper linear UVB bulb, and a full spectrum LED bulb are the preferred lights used to achieve a proper LUX (perceived brightness)
• They are considered beginner pets because they are so robust that they can stay sick for so long without showing signs (not because they are easy to care for)
• Humidity isn't an issue by itself (they actually seek out humidity microclimates). It's high humidity combined with improper temps that causes issues
• They are very active animals and the main reason they aren't active in captivity is because they are bored
• Bare minimum size enclosure is 4x2x2. This is really needed in order to get proper UVI and temps. 5x3x3 would be better.
• They spend a lot of time higher up (more males than females) to be able to survey their territory in places like bushes and trees (not something like a hammock)
• They like to be able to see their surroundings fully
• Deep Heat Projectors are unnatural wavelengths and cause them to dry out which increases water loss
• In the wild they will sleep out in the open in 15°C/59°F, but will go into a burrow with anything under 10°C/50°F
• "Brumation" during our summer months is due to increased temps that cause them to stay sheltered to reserve their energy
• Substrate in Australia is 0.3% gravel, 1.5% silt, 2.3% clay, 95.9% fine sand (quartz & iron oxide)
• If they try to ingest their substrate it's a nutritional deficiency or a psychological reason: not proper UV, fed high phosphorus & low calcium, MBD & parasites, husbandry issues
• If you don't have loose substrate, you're depriving them of engaging in natural behaviours such as burrowing.
• Straight play sand isn't the best because it lacks clay
• Pin worms are needed to break down cellulose
• An overload of parasites is due to poor husbandry. The parasites are a secondary issue, so fix the husbandry and the parasites will go back in check
• No loose substrate equals a loss in muscle mass and causes stress on the joints, this becomes a welfare issue
• Keepers that bathe their dragons so they can defecate that is trying to solve a problem that's caused by poor husbandry (i.e. temps not high enough, parasite overload, not enough UV)
• If your husbandry is correct, you should not have to bathe them at all. It's not something they typically do (sit in puddles of water). Unless of course they are visibly soiled
• They should be able to do normal bodily functions on their own. If they can't, it's a welfare issue
• They do not absorb through their skin or their cloaca. They are not designed to take water in that way.
• They should be getting enough water from their food. You can mist them (from above not straight in the face) and the enclosure to mimic rain as well once a week. This will create little spots for them to drink from too
• Some causes of MBD include: not enough vitamin D production, not enough heat, not enough calcium, and too much phosphorus
• In the wild they eat a lot of flowers, wild sage, hibiscus, and Australian blue bells
• We grow them way too fast in captivity. It should take them 2 years to grow to full size, not 6 months
• Babies should get 5-6 protein items (about the size that is between their eyes) a day
• Adults should get 3-4 protein items (about the size that is between their eyes) 3 days a week and 3 times that in greens
• They do not need to eat if they are overweight
• Absolutely no fruit ever. They do not eat any in the wild at all and it causes dental disease and fungal cultures
• All protein items should be dusted with calcium
• BSFLs do have high calcium, but a majority of that is in their exoskeleton which is indigestible so they still need to be dusted
• You can dust a salad with a multivitamin once every other week
• ADV is something natural to them and is only an issue if husbandry is wrong (like cold sores in people, only comes out under stress)
• Obesity causes a lot of health issues
• Their insides are in one cavity so when they are obese it pushes their lungs in and they have a really hard time breathing
• Obesity also insulates them which prevents them from reaching optimum core temperature as the heat cannot penetrate past the fat
• Weight and length to compare what an ideal body composition should be (SVL= snout to vent length):
  • Male: 372 grams; 24cm/9.45in SVL
  • Female: 254 grams; 21.5cm/8.46in SVL
  • Gravid Female: 315 grams; 22cm/8.66in SVL
  • Average Dragon: 341 grams; 23.3cm/9.17in SVL

 

[xp29]

I knew a lot of that, but ivdid pick up a few new things. Thank you

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is definitely a good list of information. A lot probably wont know a good amount of it, but, with
reptiles there is always something to learn!

Tracie

 

[NickAVD]

Thanks for the summary list! This is a really very useful interview.
I have already seen this interview before, but I did not see a transcript of the important points, this is very useful information, by the way, after watching it, I abandoned my deep heat projector and replaced it with a halogen one.

 

[Claudiusx]

his discoveries proved many of the modern husbandry rules we see in most forums wrong

I don't know if I'd say exactly that, most modern husbandry "rules" are suggestions touted as rules. Meant in good faith, when suggestions and preferences are spoken of as if they are rules, it deceives the new owner into thinking that there is no wiggle room and that there is only one right way.

That's why I've always been a bit more lax with the advice I provide on this forum compared to maybe others here. There are very few hard set RULES in this hobby.

The UVI is a great example. In the past 5 or so years, this push for stronger and stronger UVI at the basking site has really gotten out of hand. We have people here suggesting UVI levels up into the 6-8 range when we have leaders in the field of reptile lighting who are recommending UVI levels as low as 3.0 at the basking site being suitable. Not to mention all of our dragons 20 years ago lived to be 12-15 years old with our "inferior" 10.0 t8 bulbs that we kept on top of our mesh screens.

All in all, I think it's a good interview and a lot of good points are made.

As I hobby, I think the best way forward for us is to stop giving absolute advices such as you NEED to have your uvb inside your tank, you NEED to have it 12 inches away, you NEED to feed your baby protein 3 times a day... Etc. Very few things in this hobby are absolutes.

I digress.

-Brandon

 

[Claudiusx]

Average preferred UVI is 4.1, but any where in the range of 3.8-4.5 is acceptable

They should be able to do normal bodily functions on their own. If they can't, it's a welfare issue

They do not absorb through their skin or their cloaca. They are not designed to take water in that way.

We grow them way too fast in captivity. It should take them 2 years to grow to full size, not 6 months

Picking out a few from your list that I personally think are very important points that should be thought on.

-Brandon

 

[J4ckdaw-]

I don't know if I'd say exactly that, most modern husbandry "rules" are suggestions touted as rules. Meant in good faith, when suggestions and preferences are spoken of as if they are rules, it deceives the new owner into thinking that there is no wiggle room and that there is only one right way.

That's why I've always been a bit more lax with the advice I provide on this forum compared to maybe others here. There are very few hard set RULES in this hobby.

The UVI is a great example. In the past 5 or so years, this push for stronger and stronger UVI at the basking site has really gotten out of hand. We have people here suggesting UVI levels up into the 6-8 range when we have leaders in the field of reptile lighting who are recommending UVI levels as low as 3.0 at the basking site being suitable. Not to mention all of our dragons 20 years ago lived to be 12-15 years old with our "inferior" 10.0 t8 bulbs that we kept on top of our mesh screens.

All in all, I think it's a good interview and a lot of good points are made.

As I hobby, I think the best way forward for us is to stop giving absolute advices such as you NEED to have your uvb inside your tank, you NEED to have it 12 inches away, you NEED to feed your baby protein 3 times a day... Etc. Very few things in this hobby are absolutes.

I digress.

-Brandon

I agree, that could have been worded differently.

By rules I meant the ideals that people tend to enforce more than others (not saying everyone does) such as the amount of times a day a baby is fed or the quantity that it is fed.

It simply bends our current understanding of things a little bit, in a sense. I didn’t mean it as any kind of offence or anything, so I apologize if that’s what it seemed like!