Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am going to get a Bearded Dragons!!!! what can you guys and girls tell me about buying one what to look for?? and I all should i have for it?? if you guys and girls can make a little/big list of thing. thanx my pet store have like 50-100 of babys Bearded Dragons and one that is big/small she said it stop growing and it is about 1/2 size the baby are $50each can i only have 1?? ok thanx for all your help

you will need

-4x2 enclosure, (a baby will not need all this space, however, i have found it best to buy a big enclosure, section it off for your baby and as he/she gets older, remove the partition, this way you are not having to keep upgrading to bigger enclosures JMO) or you can buy something small and upgrade later, it depends on what you want to do really. You can also build an enclosure, ask around the forum as i know some people have some plans and ideas drawn out and have made their own enclosures taht look really great.

-UVB fixture and bulb OR a Mercury vapor bulb and fixture- you will need one or the other to provide UVB for your dragon

-heat bulb and fixture-you will need something to heat your enclosure. You will need a cool ambient side temp of 85 and a basking spot temp of 105-115, it differs from dragon to dragon but it should be at least 105.

-suitable substrate - for a baby butchers paper or newspapaer or some other non particulate substrate is best, its easy to keep clean, and your baby will not ingest it and run the risk of impaction from it. As he gets older/larger (10-12 inches) you can switch to something like playsand or what some people on the forum use, wheat bran (which is what i prefer)

-a basking log-something he can climb up on and bask, also because your baby will not be able to burrow in a non particulate substrate a hide is always nice so he can escape and hide and relax =)

-a food dish- something for his salads =)

-a good multivitamin and a good calcium supplement with D3

What your feeders will need

you can start your dragon on bearded dragon pellets by repcal (a brand that the dragons seem to prefer) in his salad but a lot of kids and adults for that matter wont eat them, so you are going to have to plan to keep feeders such as crickets (make sure that the crickets are no bigger then the space between your dragons eyes, they can run the risk of paralysis or neurological damage if too large of prey is ingested). You will need a large rubbermaid bin, egg crates, and gut load for your crickets to eat. Depending on where you live youll have to find a good place to order from, i find its good to order from someone in your area, i order from americancricketranch.com they have great service and great feeders, i am in San Diego CA and they are too. hope this helps a bit at least getting you prepared for what you will need. A proper set up for your dragon is a must for a healthy lil guy, proper lighting he cannot do without.

Everything Reiko said is pretty much what you need...plus the following:

Greens (collards, mustard, enchive, escarole, dandelion, parsley and clover is a good regular mix)

Unprinted papertowel (just plain white without any designs inked on it) is a great substrate to use for the first 4-6 months. After than washed playsand is good.

THe only thing you will need to buy at the petstore is the multivitmin and Calcium suppliment and UVB bulb. (either tube or mercury vapour bulb). The following you can get at your local home hardware style store (ie Canadian Tire, Home Depot):

basking light (either regular household bulb or regular flood light) wattage about 75-100W depending on size of your initial enclosure (I use 75 W bulb in a 35 gal aquarium (around 3'long, 1' wide, 18" tall)

Clamp with hood (to hold the basking light.)

Under Cabinet flouescent fixture (I use a 18" fixture for the above tank...just make sure you can find a UVB that fits the fixture).

At any discount style store you can get the following:

A foot and half long trough style flower pot, cut little doors one on long side, and one at end to serve as a hide. Two ceramic ashtrays to serve as feeding dishes (really only need one but nice to have extra)

Outside:

A few natural rocks large enough not to be eaten (could be flat wide pieces or low roundish rocks big enough for the dragon to use as a secondary basking spot). Clean these ahead of time with dishsoap then soak in diluted bleach for half hour or so to kill anything nasty. Rinse and dry well.

The rocks are optional as you don't need them.

To select a healthy bearded dragon it is better to get it from a local breeder instead of the petstore. But if the petstore is your only option, look for a lizard that is alert, head up high and looking around. It's body is well filled out with no ribs or hip bones sticking out. The base of the tail should be nice and thick. Make sure there is no discharge from the eyes or nostrals and the vent area is clean. The cage itself should also be clean and not full of poo. You should also get a dragon that doesn't have any missing toes or the end of the tail.

Another thing to watch for is the condition of the rest of the dragons in the same tank. If most are lathargic or sickly looking it could indicate parasites or disease which may have infected all of them without all showing signs of the illness. Soft watery looking poo is also an indication of parasites though with so many in the same cage it is very hard to tell which one the poo belongs to. Again, if the poo is all over the place there is a high chance all will have parasites even if only one was initialy infected.

Hope this helps