Welcome to my part of the site! I am going to talk about a couple things on this site that I feel are an important part of keep bearded dragons.
ENCLOSURE
Enclosures are a very important part of keeping a dragon. It is also probably going to be the most expensive part of keeping a dragon.. especially if not done right. First, lets look at size. Aquariums and other enclosures can get rather large, so ask yourself if you have the room for something of this size? An adult male bearded dragon needs atleast 50 gallons of space, so plan on having atleast a 50 gallon enclosure. Bearded Dragons are socialable reptiles, not afraid of humans, and should be kept where they are in plain sight. I don't think they should just be shoved in a corner somewhere, and they should be in display near a highly visible part of the house. So, you have space, what else do you need to think of? Well.. bearded dragons are not solitary reptiles, and are usually kept in atleast pairs. (I think I only know a handfull of people that have just one dragon) Although, most people start with only one. So when picking out the enclosure, keep in mind that there might be a second dragon along the way. I made the mistake of buying the wrong size enclosure, and therefor having to buy a second replacement tank… all in all.. an expensive mistake. So now, we have the space, the money and the correct tank.. what's next? Furnishing the enclosure is extremely important, and chances are.. it will take a long time to find the right setup for your dragons. As dragons grow, they need different setups.
Lets look at dragons behavior to try to figure out the best furnishings for them. Bearded Dragons love to climb, and therefor need sufficient climbing areas. But be carefull not to over do it. Everything needs to work together in the enclosure. Dragons are basking reptiles, and need to rest under a basking light to thermoregulate their temperatures. Situate the furniture under the basking lights (will talk about later on here). I like to use large driftwood as basking sites, since it is easy to climb and can offer many different temperature ranges. As we talked about earlier, there might be a second dragon coming into your home (or he/she might already be there!) .. multiple basking spots will probably be needed. Hiding spots are also needed and just as important has basking/climbing areas. Half logs seem to the favorite among owners I have spoken with. While you are adding all these things to your enclosure, make sure you leave enough room on the floor for the dragon to move around easily! Its easy to get carried away and take up all the room with climbing and hiding areas. So just use common sense, and it should all work out.
LIGHTING
Lighting is very important for your bearded dragon. I give mine a 12/12 cycle (12 hours on, 12 hours off). During the day cycle, I have two major lights running. A UV bulb strip running the length of the enclosure. And a basking spot bulb on the far right side of the tank. As mentioned before, Bearded Dragons are basking reptiles. Basking temperatures are very important… especially with young dragons. Young beardies need to reach a body temperture of around 100 degree to properly digest their food, that is what the basking areas are for. The enclosure should have a cool spot in the mid-70's and the warm spot in the mid to upper 80's in the warm side, then a basking area where they can reach temps near or in the 100's. As I am sure you can figure out.. climbing areas should be under the basking spots.. hiding areas on the other side.
This page is still under construction and will be added to as time goes by :) so check by again for updates! Please see below for pictures :)
