Bearded Dragons As Pets Of all the lizards you can keep in Australia the Bearded Dragon would be one of the best. They are easily fed and will eat a variety of foods. Once the Bearded Dragons are use to being handled and humans around they will become quite trusting of your presence. They are readily available and come in a variety of colours. Bearded Dragons are native to Australia and can be commonly found in the warmer states. They love to climb up on rocks and branches and bask in the sun.

Guide to successfully keeping bearded dragons as pets.

What you will need.

A well ventilated enclosure:
Minimum Recommended Size: 120cm wide x 70cm high x 60 cm deep
2 x Ceramic lamp holders with lead and plugs
1 x UVB Bulb (Compact 10.0)
1 x White Heat Bulb (Wattage varies depending on size of enclosure and what season it is)
1 x water dish
1 x basking log
1 x hide rock
1 x substrate
24 hour timer
Food
Setting up you Bearded Dragon Enclosure.

Lighting:

Place both lights side by side at one end on the inside roof of your enclosure. Plug both into timer and set timer to come on everyday at 6AM and go off in 10 to 12 hours.

Basking spot:

Place a Log, Large Branch, shelf or similar 15 to 20cm directly under the lights.

Water Bowl:

Place a water bowl at the opposite end to your lights.

Hide Rock:

Place a Hide Rock, Hide Log or similar at the opposite end to your lights.

Décor:

You can ad a few other logs and rocks to decorate the enclosure but leave plenty of ground room.

Substrate:

Really a personal choice. Artificial turf, reptile sand, reptile bark. Beardies love to dig and burry themselves so we use fine reptile sand. Washed and dried sandy loam is also great for tunnelling during bromating season.

More details

Enclosure

Adults require a minimum size enclosure of 4ft long x 2ft wide x 3ft high.
Juveniles require a minimum size enclosure of 2ft long x 1ft wide x 1ft high.
Bearded dragon enclosures need to be well ventilated and kept dry and arid.
Ventilating the enclosure right will allow you to have the hot temperatures they require without causing the enclosure to become a sauna.

Fish Tanks do not make good Bearded Dragon enclosures. Even with open meshed lids they still create to much moisture in the air (humidity). Central Bearded Dragons are desert animals and do not tolerate wet humid conditions very well. Most end up with chest infections and/or fungal diseases.
Glass terrariums with meshed tops and vents on each side will work just fine.

Lighting

Placing your lights at separate ends of the enclosure does not work for bearded dragons. Bearded dragons do not need red or purple night bulbs.
1. Having your UVB and heat light together causes them to reflect of each other and enhance the UV rays. Alternately use a UV florescent bulb that covers more area.
2. UVB rays only project about 15cm from the bulb. Every cm or so after that the level of UV being emitted drops a level. Your bearded dragon must be able to get into this projection zone or he will not be benefiting from the UV bulb at all.

Basking Spot

Your Basking spot must be in a position that the beardy can get with in 15 to 20cm of the lights. Having the lights on the roof of a tall enclosure and no way for your dragon to get up to or lie under them is pointless. Shelfs, logs and branches are an easy way to achieve this. Mount them to the back of the enclosure and make sure they are not going to fall easy. Most Bearded Dragons will know where the heat is coming from and will move as close as they can to it.

Water

As all reptiles bearded dragons need water. The size of your water bowl should be just enough for the Beardie to get their whole body into. They should also be able to stand in the water bowl without fully submerging. Keep the water bowl away from the heat light. This will not only stop the water getting hot but it will create less humidity to.

Food

The Bearded Dragons will eat almost every kind of fruit and vegetables. DO NOT FEED Iceberg Lettuce, Rhubarb, OR Avocado. Some are fussy eaters but you will find what they like. Finely chopped apples, carrot, bukchoy, sweet potato are favourites with ours. Mealworms are mostly fat and should be feed as a treat only. Live insects Woodies and Crickets should be fed daily and a healthy juvenile Bearded Dragon should consume between 10 and 20 insects per day. This should decrease slowly with age with the quantity of insects being supplemented with more fruit and vegetables. Insects can be bought in various sizes to accommodate for baby to adult Bearded Dragons. Baby dragons should not be feed anything much bigger than the space between there eyes. Large Adults can devour a whole large grass hopper. Be weary of feeding insects that you find outside they might have come in contact with some form of pesticide.