Sk8indragon":f628e said:
Hey guys I'm new to this I don't have any supplies or anything I wanted to research them...iv done it befor. So I was wondering some things I'll make a list
•Wat size tank for two beardys
•Wat will I need
•Is getting them by mail ok
•When is matting season
•Wats to two best pair to house...male, male and so on
And if there is anything else I should know just tell me thx alot guys
For _one_ adult bearded dragon you'll need a tank with 6-8 square feet of floor space and 18 inches in width - this works out to a 75g tank (4 ft long x 18 inches wide) or larger. If you decide to try housing two dragons together (not recommended but some have done it) you'll need something larger than that so you can provide multiple basking and feeding spots in order to reduce competition and stress between the animals. For two, I'd say nothing smaller than 6 ft long x 18 inches wide.
As mentioned above, housing dragons together isn't generally recommended here. If you put two males together they will eventually fight and can even kill each other because they are territorial. Housing a male and female together isn't a good idea because a male will be ready and willing to mate as early as 6 months old which is far too early for it to be safe to breed the female (females shouldn't be bred until 18 months old). Plus you run the risk of him harassing and over breeding her - they dont' really take no for an answer, and this can cause physical harm to your female as well as drastically reduce her lifespan. Most good breeders house their males and females separately, only bringing them together for the actual act of mating. Sometimes two females who are the same size and laid back can live together. This is not a sure thing though, and many of us have tried only to have to separate them because one female became dominant and was either harassing their cage mate or blocking them from getting the food and light that they needed. It's safest and easiest to house each dragon on their own, but if after doing a lot of research you still decide to try two, go with two females.
For each tank you will need a substrate (solid is best: paper towels, nonadhesive shelf liner, reptile carpet or textured ceramic or slate tiles; adults can use sifted children's playsand or bed-a-beast; avoid calcium sand, vitamin sand, and crushed walnuts because these are all dangerous), a heat light and a
UVB light. For a heat light you can use a regular lightbulb or a halogen flood light - you don't need to pay more for a petstore heat bulb. You just need somethign that puts out bright clear (not red) light and enough heat to get your temperatures up where they should be (100-110*F basking spot, 80*F cool side). For the
UVB bulb you have two options: a flourescent tube bulb (reptisun 10.0 is the best, stay away from the reptiGLO 10.0) or a mercury vapor bulb (heat and UVB in one; the good ones are the megarays
http://www.reptileuv.com and the t-rex active heat flood bulb). Stay away from teh "compact" or coil UVB bulbs because these have been known to cause eye problems and burn out prematurely. You'll also need one or two digital theremometers with probes to accurately track the temperatures in the tank - the stick on strips or dials they sell in many petstores can be inaccurate and good temperatures are vital to a healthy dragon.
You're also going to need a lot of live food, especially if you start off with a baby. Baby dragons can eat anywhere from 25-100 crickets a day as they grow, so you're best off to order in bulk online. You'll also need fresh greens (collard greens, dandelion greens, endive, escarole, turnip greens and mustard greens are all good options; avoid iceburg and romaine lettuce) and veggies for a daily salad. As well, you'll need calcium and vitamin supplements. Repcal phosphorus free calcium with D3 and Repcal Herptivite are two good ones to have.
Having a dragon shipped to you is just fine as long as you're dealing with a reputable breeder who has experience shipping.
