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Decided I would probably get a bearded dragon as my next pet based on a couple things...
1. Are they pretty friendly towards people?
2. What kind of substrate can I use safely?
3. How many adults can I put in a 55 gallon? That is pretty much is biggest I can get
1. Are they pretty friendly towards people?
They can be very people friendly. It does depend on your individual dragon though. No matter how much time you spend with it I have heard of the occasional vicious SOB, but it's like that in all species even human.
2. What kind of substrate can I use safely?
Newspaper, paper towels or none is the safest for babies. There is a big debate on what is safe for adults, most would agree to avoid things that could potentially block them up like; calci-sand, fish tanks gravel, dirt, etc. Reptile carpet works pretty well (and you can wash it) as long as you throw it away when it starts to frey because the strings can get wrapped around the toes and cut them off.
3. How many adults can I put in a 55 gallon? That is pretty much is biggest I can get
Safest number is 1, although for breeding purposes you could probably get away with a pair if it's a 55 long and not tall.
When you get ready to buy remember a quality animal from a quality breeder makes a big difference.
Sean
Heart Mountain Herps
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If you can, a 75 gallon (wide) would be much better. The 55 longs are 48" x 13" if I remember correctly, the 75 (wide) is 48" by 18" I think..
For only another 5" or so width wise you can achieve a lot more floorspace which would be really good for your dragon.. especially if he/she is one of the larger ones out there. And especially if you are going to house a pair in there.
brandon
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Dragons by Nature
I've heard the male will continuously try to breed and stress the female or other stress issues may come up. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure I've seen that numerous times here. Just make sure before you might suddenly have to buy a new tank!!
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Rob Talkington
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