Posted by:
PHLdyPayne
at Sun Dec 24 17:44:55 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by PHLdyPayne ]
Bearded dragons do make great pets. However, they do require some specialized care, with UVB producing light bulbs, basking temps and cage temps cares. If you decide to go for a bearded dragon, definitely research bearded dragons online to get a good grasp of their basic are needs. reading past posts here will also give you alot of insight and answers to many basic questions.
My first bearded dragon I kept in a large cage in my living room. She would watch TV when I did (when I watched while she was awake), make me up when I slept on teh couch in the morning when she wanted me to feed her or clean her cage etc. They do have alot of personality and are always curious about what is going on around them.
Housing dragons separately once they are over 6 months old is the best t hing to do. Though it is possible to house several females together or even a breeding group, I recommend new owners not to do this. There are more concerns to watch for when housing more than one bearded dragon in the same cage. Food competition, basking spot competition, spreading of disease, dominance etc can lead to one or more dragons in a multi-dragon cage becoming undernourished, picked upon and sick, or just failing to thrive as well as more dominant cage mates. (this can happen with multiple females or male/female (s) setups). Thus with more things to watch for to ensure a group does get along well, this is best to leave till after you have experience keeping dragons.
Also, you need very large cages to house more than one dragon, a 5'x2'x2' cage being minimum size for two dragons with more space needed for 3 or more dragons. (2' height is maximum needed, but the floor space is also important as some height).
For a single adult dragon of average size, a 4'x2'x2' cage is minimum. Dragons that stay small, under 16" could be housed in a slightly smaller cage comfortably but again, more room is better.
With the proper temperatures in the cage, good diet and room, dragons can move about quite a bit, will take notice of anything you are doing in the room and can make a great interactive pet. Also, for the most part, bearded dragons are docile and tolerate handling much better than many other lizards (blue tongue skinks are pretty good as well but many miss these fascinating lizards when thinking of good beginner level lizards).
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PHLdyPayne
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RE: Do Beardies make a good pet? - PHLdyPayne, Sun Dec 24 17:44:55 2006