Very hot here,I have had them out sunbathing in a small enclosure for 2 hours.But,I have a large well-window type-at back of house in sunlight,added a large piece of driftwood for sunbathing and hiding.I mist them a lot.One plant not fertilized they eat a bit. Enclosure is about 25 feet by 6 feet by 15 " high. Can they jump this high?Surface is pebbles.They seem to like it.What a great idea if I sat so!!!!!!
Well it sounds like a wonderful idea, but I am having a hard time envisioning exactly what the enclosure looks like. Is it glass sides or screen sides?
15" is high for a beardie to jump out of, unless there is something they can get onto near the opening to boost themselves out, or if it is screen, which they can climb.
My only concerns would be...
1)A cool area for them to get out of the heat/sun.
2)Glass sides which would trap the heat and make it too hot.
3)If the pebbles are small enough they can eat/swallow them, due to them licking their surroundings.
4)The plant they are eating... is it safe for beardies?
Just a few thoughts to ponder. Other than those concerns, it sounds like an ideal set up for some natural sunlight exposure.
3 sides are concrete,1 side basement windows,height maybe 12-14".pebbles are stones.Large driftwood has a hiding spot for 1 BD,plants provide shade,do not know what kind they are.
Remove the plant unless its something safe/edible like dandelion greens, it could potentially be something toxic to them and I would put a screen cover over the top to prevent other animals from getting in. I have heard of hawks taking peoples reptiles, cats, dogs, racoons etc. could be a problem and it only takes one lightning bug to kill a beardie. Even a safe insect could cause problems if it had pesticides on it.
Thanks.My wife says plant is "forget me not".Beardies are there only 1-2 hours supervised to get natural sunlight.No animals around,although racoons come out at night long after dragons are removed.To cover this area would be a job-wire mesh might work,but attaching it to house windows would be tricky.
You don't necessarily need to cover the area with the screen/mesh as long as they are supervised at all times. As the above poster mentioned, it only takes a second for a predator to take your beardie away If you are to cover it, use mesh that has large holes, such as chicken wire. Regular screen blocks out too much uvb.
As far as shade goes...just make sure they have somewhere to retreat from the heat, so that they don't overheat.
I am not sure on the forget-me-nots. Here is a list of proven safe plants for beardies(it is under the list of foods). Maybe you could try one of these. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
We would love to see pics of your beardies new playpen :wink: