Looking to get a dragon but have some questions first

[wickednick]

Hi, Im looking to get a bearded dragon, never owned a reptile and i have some questions about them.
First if I go on vacation or have to be away a few days and i have no body to take care of it what should I do. I know dragons live in the desert so at times it must be hard for them to find food and water so I suspect they should be all right for a time, but how long.

Second what happenes if the power goes out. I live in wisconsin and if the power goes out here during the winter the temp goes down fast.

How much does it typically cost to keep them, need to know so I can work out a budget

Whats a good substrate for them ive read some people saying to use sand others say don't it can cause problems.

any other advice for a first timer would be greatly appreciated.

I really like these animals I have a friend with one and its a very cool lizard.

 

[spikez123]

First if I go on vacation or have to be away a few days and i have no body to take care of it what should I do. I know dragons live in the desert so at times it must be hard for them to find food and water so I suspect they should be all right for a time, but how long.

about a day is all they should not have food for. most vets and pet stores board reptiles.

Second what happenes if the power goes out. I live in wisconsin and if the power goes out here during the winter the temp goes down fast.

in emergencies, hand warmers are all they need to stay warm. if you don't have power for 2 days it can start to be a problem. the max they should go is 1 1/2 days, but they won't die if out for 3 days but worst case senario, causes serious health problems

How much does it typically cost to keep them, need to know so I can work out a budget

ALOT.normally with everything it cost around 800 a year for newborn, 600 for adult.(those are my best guesses)

Whats a good substrate for them ive read some people saying to use sand others say don't it can cause problems.

the only time to have sand is if a female is laying eggs, even then you should have only 7x7 inch box of sand as sand can clog up intestines and possibly kill them. there are many substrates you can use. one, a special reptile carpet can be bought at most pet stores. another is tile. it is easy to clean and holds heat. you can also use paper towels (wouldn't recomend it)

other advice.
first, if impaction, do not press on area as that can cause paralization
second, they have to have 20% humidity
third. you need to check temps regularly with digital probe or temp gun
fourth, you can find great prices on alot of extra stuff on petmountain.
fifth, DO NOT follow petcos example on how they raise their beardies.
sixth, never have two beardies in the same cage

 

[joprukop22]

ALOT.normally with everything it cost around 800 a year for newborn, 600 for adult.(those are my best guesses)

Wow. That's a big number. I am sure that varies greatly depending on different variables. The initial cost is going to be high. A 75 gal. tank can easily cost over $175. Next you will need lighting. This can be costly too. But once you buy the fixtures, you wont need to again like you do with the bulbs. The decorations can be found around outside. I use rocks and branches from outside to use as decor. It looks better than fake stuff to me (and its free). I bake everything in the oven before I expose my reptiles to it. This kills any fungus, bacteria, or parasites that may be on the object. Then I soak it in vinegar/water solution just to make it clean. I use playsand as my substrate. I know there are people against this but here is why it works for me. I feed all my lizards out of glass bowls. They never eat off of the substrate. This greatly decreases the amount of sand they may ingest. Worms and most insects can not climb out of a glass bowl. This way the dragon is not chasing a bug through the sand. I have never had impaction problems because of this method. If you scoop the poop everyday, maintenance is easy.

Now I have never really calculated how much it costs to feed them. I have three adults and two youngins. I Buy like a pack of baby carrots, kale, and collard greens every so often. The cost does not seem very much to me because its like $10 here and $10 there. I also suggest buying your insects in bulk. The more you order, the better the value. I get like 2000 superworms for $30 and it last forever. Especially if you have only one lizard. Just buy a big tupperwear container and put some bran in it. Throw in some carrots or potatoes once in a while.

Just to make it short, a bearded dragon is totally worth it. If you want a reptile, they are the best to get in my opinion. It has been the easiest reptile for me to keep. Perfect size, perfect appetite, perfect disposition. Easy to keep.

 

[clbauman7]

I just wanted to emphasize going to petmountain.com to get your supplies. When we set up our lizard it cost us a TON of money because we bought it all from the pet store. Check prices. Petmountain.com is the cheapest we have found, even with shipping. You can get the fixtures way cheaper at your local hardware store, just pay attention to the max watts.

When our little guys was at his most expensive points it cost about $15 a week to feed him. Buying feeders online in bulk is the way to go.

Beardies are totally worth the price!!! After you get past the initial setup the price to care for them isn't to bad.

 

[zebraflavencs]

I would also highly suggest making your own viv ! It is cost effective with materials going around $120-150, and you can customize to your liking !

Here is one I finished about 2 weeks ago, took me a week, and it is the second I did from scratch :

Measures: 48"l x 40"h x 24"w. Lighting is a Mega Ray MVB, tiles from lowes ( I cut my own as I had a ceramic tile cutter on hand) Sealed in with 100% silicone, and allowed to cure for 24 hours. Paint is a Non Toxic acrylic, in Hunter Green and Canary Yellow ( yes I know, it is bright !) . The hide top is 1/2" oak ply, with styrofoam, painted and sealed with Min Wax Polyurethane.

The second floor is also oak ply, painted and sealed as the hide.

The "stairs" is an old table top waterfall, that I filled in with Great Stuff, sand and polyurethane.

The doors are a 1/4" plexi hung on brass hinges, supported with 2 1x4s, also painted and sealed, with a piece of 1 x 1 on a screw at bottom as a latch, also a metal latch at top.

Basically that is it.

I would be more than pleased to help you with construction, albeit from afar

Now as far as feeders go, if you were to start a colony or two of say Dubia Roaches and Turkestan Roaches, in as little as 3 months you will have a thriving, amount to feed daily as well as have breeders to keep the population going, well, forever ! Barring any disasters of course.

I have 3 dragons, one is almost a year, and I am looking forward to his slowing down on the insects and eating more of his salads ! But the other two are months away from that!

I also started collards in 5 gallon pickle buckets this past spring, and am now starting to harvest enough for their salads. (I have 4 buckets), I also have canalope, green peppers, basil, parsley, and asparagus- though that is for me, the asparagus . So you can make this a bit more manageable on a limited budget.
If you start all of the above now, feeders and the viv, you can wait for the dragon, until you have everything in place and you will be totally ready !
Janie.

 

[holnik]

what happenes if the power goes out. I live in wisconsin and if the power goes out here during the winter the temp goes down fast.

i read that a beardie was lost in sub zero tempsn for 6 days and lived. i still wouldn't take that risk. once i had to take sunshine out somewhere on a chilly day so i tuckes her under my coat so my body could keep her warm. it worked, she was soo cozy that she fell asleep. the usual temps the beardies should be kept in is 65-110 degrees, as you may know the desert can get chilly at night

-Holly age 11

 

[zebraflavencs]

Holly, if this happens, you can heat up some uncooked rice in the oven, on a cookie tray, then fill a sock with the hot rice, and wrap inside a towel, put that next to your dragon. The hot sock will act like the chemical hand warmers you find in winter time up there. I was raised in MN near the Canadian border, so I understand your dilemma. Try that, also, do your folks have a generator ? If you have one, you can alternate appliances during a power outage.
Hope this helps.
Janie.

 

[keschete]

I know this may sound weird, but humans are 98.6 or so. So if the power goes out, you put on a nice warm jacket and tuck your beardie in an inside pocket, or even inside your shirt.

I have the opposite problem here, after Katrina and Gustav, the power is out and man it's hot. We have two generators and a lot of gas cans. We also have a window unit ac that we can put in the window if the central ac isnt running. I know generators aren't cheap, but if you live someplace that the power goes out regularly and you can do it, just buy a generator. It is 100% worth it.

I bought the 2nd generator during the 9 days our power was out for Gustav. That way we can run one in the day and one at night so they don't burn up. Also if you have natural gas stove or oven you can light those without electricity and warm up your rice, for a sock or a hot water bottle.