Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am new to the whole owning a reptile thing. My dragon is about 5 months old. We are looking to buy a larger cage... does it have to be glass or will the open mesh enclosures work..

I think glass is ezer to keep heated
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1.1 Bearded Dragon (Drago,???)
1.1 Desert Iguana(Dima, Dianne)
1.0 Green Iguana (Igor)
2.3.5 Collared Lizard (Fred, Wilma, Betty,???)
1.1 Desert Leopard Lizard (Simba, Kimba)
0.1 Hamster (Tofu)
1.1 Kids
0.1 Wife

It depends on the temp in your home. I have central air and also keep it cool in the winter, so I use a glass enclosure, but I have freinds who keep their beardies in the basement where the temp is constant and use wire cages. If you decide to use a wire cage make sure you meet the heat demands including at night when it should be around 65 to 75 degrees. Keep in mind in a glass enclosure it can get pretty warm never put the enclosure in direct sunlight. If youd like I recently posted some pics of my beardies enclosure. Here are some pics of my enclosure it is a 75 gallon tank.

dude what can it climb on?? looks kinda board

Welcome to the wonderful world of owning a bearded dragon

Bearded dragon cages can be made from several different materials. Wood (plywood, melamine (or particle board with vinyl coating, it sometimes goes by different names depending where you live)hardboard, etc) Just make sure the wood is not cedar or pressure treated, both can be lethal to your dragon. Spruce is fine, as long as it is sealed to keep the piney resins from oozing out or is already kiln dried. Glass tanks, acrylic tanks, resin/plastic pre-fab type tanks are good as well (Vision cages, Boaphile (Rhino cages I think they are called) and similar) work as well.

What you are looking for in a tank is one that is easy to clean, large enough for your dragon once he is an adult and safe. Minimum cage size for a single adult dragon is 4'x2'x2' though the height can be as low as 16" (but no lower). More height isn't really necessary, but a maxium of 30" in height can be used. You want room for the light fixtures (if you plan to have them inside the cage as oppose to sitting ontop of the screen) and the dragon's basking spot without any worries the dragon can jump up and come in direct contact with the hot basking bulb (a bulb cage is a good ideal if you are using a cage under 24" in height).

All screen cages have several inherent problems. Toenails can get caught in the screen and be damaged or torn off. Crickets can chew through most screen cages, unless the screen is made out of aluminum. Screen cages are hard to keep warm, especially if your normal house temperature is under 70F. You need to line the screen cage bottom with something to prevent substrate, food and waste seaping onto your floor or table and making a mess. I know most screen cages (especially the Exo-terra cages) come with a soft plastic tray you can put on the inside, but I don't beleive these have a good seal, so things can get inbetween the cage and the lining (can't remember if the tray fits inside the cage, or outside the cage).

One other thing about screen cages, at least the once I have seen, there is really no way to mount a light on them, other than setting them ontop of the screen or using a light stand. Screening does block a certain amount of UVB rays from going through (not as bad as normal window glass, but a certain percentage is blocked...20% or something like that, I can't remember) and I don't trust it to be heat resistant enough to prevent melting from the heat of the basking light, should it either be placed directly ontop of the screen (in a dome setup, with the dome resting on the screen) or being knocked accidently onto the screen by other household pets, children, or other accidental reason. As bearded dragons need basking temps as high as 115F, a hot bulb can easily melt most nylon or vinyl type screens. Fibreglass may not be so bad, but the coating for fibre glass may still melt, I just won't trust it myself.

Personally, I feel the all screen cages are better as temporary outdoor cages to use when the weather is nice and you want your dragon to have a safe place to get natural sunlight, but have a more solid cage inside for his permanent home.

Building a cage for a bearded dragon isn't too expensive, ranging from $50-$150 depending on type of wood used and how fancy you want to go (and cage size as well). I built the cage pictured below for about $120 Canadian, including fixtures (but not the 48" long UVB bulb, that would bring it up to about $150). This cage is 5'x2'x2' which is bigger than the minimum size for bearded dragons, but my girl loved it....unfortunately I had to sell her and the cage when I moved out of town...was staying with friends for a few months to find my own place and didn't have anywhere I could store her so had to find a home. But, I am planning on getting a new dragon in a couple weeks.

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PHLdyPayne