hello, welcome to the world of bearded dragons
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this is kinda long but i tried to include only the most important info. its pretty much what ive learned since being a member on this site. if your able to read all the way through i think youll find it quite helpfull.
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sand or other partical substrates(walnut shells, alfalfa pellets, wood chips, pebbles, gravel, pine shavings) are not recomended. they hold the liquid part of the dragons poo and that leads to a bacteria nightmare. it is a more sanitary practice to use newspaper, paper towell, non-stick shelf liner or rough-textured tile(my fav). when they do their business simply remove the soiled part of the tank, dispose of the waste and sanitize the part of the tank they messed on. be sure to clean and replace sanitized substrate
every time they poo to avoid a stinky mess down the road.
proper temperatures should be 100-110 on the basking side and room temp(about 80F) on the cool side. its important to have a fairly large tank to achive this temp range. make sure he has a cool place to retreat to. bearded dragons need to regulate their body temp by moving back and forth between hot and cool spots.
be sure to get a proper thermometer to read temps. those little stick on round ones arent accurate enough and they measure air temp anyway. get a digital probe thermometer and stick the probe directly under the hot spot. make sure its above 100 but below 110. the cool side should be no more than 80.
also, make sure the lights your using are appropriate for bearded dragons. your lights need to provide 4 basic necessities for your dragon:
visible light, any light produces this and some heat. you can use regular light bulbs but there are better(healthier) alternatives.
heat, this keeps them energetic and their metabolism up. again, its important that their heat light is on
one side of their cage, this creates a temperature grade across the tank.
ultra-violet light UV is basically invisible light at the low end of the spectrum. there are three types of UV light:
UV-A stimulates their appetite and promotes healthy digestion. UV-A is produced by most any reptile bulb at a pet store, just read the print on the box to be sure.
UV-B is
necessary for proper calcium absorbsion. without this type of light they can develop serious problems down the line. only cirtain types of fluorescent lighting(with the exception of Merucy Vapor Bulbs) can produce this wavelength. again, look for it on the box. UV-B bulbs are measured in incriments (2.0, 5.0, 8.0, 10.0, 12.0), this represents the percentage of energy the bulb is putting towards producing the UV-B spectrum.
UV-C is
bad. UV-C is known to cause damage to the cells(including cancer) of many living things(including us). it is unclear if UV-C is as deadly to reptiles as it is to us but it is best to steer clear of bulbs emitting this spectrum until testing is complete. there are some UV-B reptile lights that produce ultra-low wavelengths, uncomfortably close to UV-C. i would stay away from these lights for that reason:
ExoTerra Repti-Glo 10.0 is one of the brands to avoid. if you search the old(and new) posts on this site you will find many cases where this bulb was the cause of the problem.
Compact or Spiral Fluorescents of ANY kind cause glare and are not good for your dragons eyes. if you choose to use a fluorescent over an MVB(ill get to that) make sure it is a linear type and not a compact or spiral type.
ok, now that we've gotten past the bad lighting lets talk about the good lighting(this is a much shorter read):
ZooMed Repti-sun 10.0 linear fluorescent is all you need to know if your tank is small or you are having a hard time keeping your cool side cool. this light has been tested for years and is the best UV-B light outside of the UK. it is safe at distances up to 6" compared to the 8-10" distance of some questionable bulbs. to use this light appropriately it should be placed directly next to a heat lamp. its preferable to get a UV-B tube that stretches the length of your enclosure, that way your dragon benefits no matter where he is inside.
Mercury Vapor Bulbs produce waaay more light, heat and UV-B(thats last ones a biggie). its important that your enclosure(as well as your light fixture) be large enough to accomodate this bulb and the heat it produces. i have a 40 gallon tank and a 100gallon tank. the first is too small for me to work a MVB in while the 100gallon would be a perfect candidate. where you live in the world plays a big part in what kind of lighting and heating youll have to implement to create a comfortable enviornment for your dragon.
if your still with me(sorry for the long read), i would like to tell you alittle about what to feed them.
bearded dragons are omnivorous, meaning they will eat basically whatever catches their eye(like bears :roll: ). in the wild they will eat all sorts of ridiculous things to stay alive but in captivity its best to feed them foods that will prolong their life rather than shorten it.
this website is a really great resource for finding out what is healthy and possibly fatal for bearded dragons to eat. if youve come this far i urge you to take a step further and visit this site:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
the list covers all sorts of food items from veggies and fruit to dairy and meat. once again, many of the things on the list are not placed there because they are healthy treats but rather because they are a risky food better left alone.
your dragon needs to have a staple form of protien. live feeder insects are used in 99% of all cases. when using feeder insects it is important to understand the phosphorus to calcium ratio.
calcium is necessary for healthy bone and muscle development.
phosphorus is a binding agent which grabs hold of the calcium so that it cant be utilized by your dragon. almost all feeder insects are very high in phosphorus and therefore must be dusted with calcium powder to throw the Phos:Cal ratio back into balance.
farm raised
crickets and
roaches are good sources of protien and calcium as long as they are dusted before feeding. put them in a plastic bag with a small amount of the calcium powder(thumb-nail sized scoop) and shake.
superworms are an option only if you have a large adult dragon, usually 16" from nose to tail. superworms look like mealworms but are different insects. they are not great for a staple because they dont hold the calcium or multivit so theyre better used as a treat.
mealworms and waxworms are especially low in protien and high in fat and phosphorus. i would stay away from these even though they might seem cost effective and managable. they are poor sources of nutrition and really arent even worthy of being used as a treat.
i recomend using RepCal brand calcium powder. make sure you get the one labeled "no phosphorus". if your using a fluorescent UV-B source, get the pink labeled one reading "with VitD3". if you have a MVB then get the green labeled one reading "without Vit.D3 or NO Vit.D3"
it is also recomened to dust feeder insects once a week with a multivitamin . RepCal brand multivitamin(blue label) is widely recomended. this will keep all the vitamins and trace elements in their body at optimal levels.
it is best to feed them every day. offer greens from the safe list every day, change out when they become wilted. feed young dragons feeder insects a few times a day and adults once or twice. a dragon shouldnt be given prey longer than its mouth is wide(use the space between his eyes as a gauge). 2-3 dozen feeders(2-4 dollars) a day is a conservative estimate of how much they eat. make sure they get the food they need, sometimes these guys are more of a expense than people first realize.
as long as you give them a place to bask and a place to cool off they should thrive. be sure to keep their tank clean and offer them different veggies on a regular basis to keep their life interesting.
thanks for giving me an opportunity to explain alittle about the proper care of bearded dragons. sorry if i ran a little long but this will save you loads of time waiting for answers :wink: .
