Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! I am considering possibly buying a Bearded Dragon, but am on a limited budget and was wondering how well they do in reptariums. I know nothing about them, can you keep them inside right? Also what size would be best, and what kind of substrate/accessories?

Thanks a lot!

Well they can be handy.

one problem is they are so open you may find it hard to keep the temp. right for basking areas.

they can get zipper problems.

they can be good for "travel" cages.
they can be good for "daytime" cages in hot climates

they are not strong so if say a dog or a child falls on one it will collapse and not protect the lizard.

I would not use one for a small dragon due to the temp. problems.

I have one I use for my adult, but as more of a home base than a cage and I have the top cut out to make room for lights and keep that corner of that room very warm. if I did not it would be too cold. I live in Florida where it is very warm most of the year.
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I have a reptarium for my beardie. It's 65 gallons. I didn't use it until he was about 7-8 inches. I have a liner for the bottom which allows me to use washed play sand as a subsrate. (the liners are sold by the same company). I do have 2 basking bulbs and a cermaic heater on his basking area, which keeps it at about 105-110. It's especially important to have a thermometer on his basking area, so you can be positive it's warm enough. The rest of the temperature in the enclosure is around 80-85. I never worry about humidity, since my apartment isn't humid. I was in the same situation where I wanted something inexpensive and I think this was a great solution. Not only could I get a larger size, but he loves climbing the walls, so he actually has more surface area than with a regular tank.
I have mine on a shelf and it's screwed to the wall, so it's very stable. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Well it sounds like it certainly works for you, I live in Florida where it is humid most of the year... would that pose a problem? Also the person above said that there is a chance od dogs and such knocking it over, did you first set it on something such as a table before nailing it to the wall for extra support? Sorry for all the questions! Hehe.

And thanks!

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Since you live in a humid area I would just get a thermometer that also monitors humidity. Dragons are from the desert so less is better. You could always use a dehumidifier if you really had to.
I built a shelf onto the wall thats the same size as the base and then put a screw in each of the upper corners. I haven't had any problems with lack of stability.
No problem with the questions, ask as many as you want.

Yeah that's what I sort of drew from the descriptions, they were more of an extra "play" enclosure but was just wondering if it was possible to actually house them in it permanently. I have an extra 10 gallon tank, would that be big enough for a hatchling until he grew to a proper size for the reptarium? Or should I just save my money and go for an actual tank (and if so what would be a good size)?

I also live in Florida! So it rarely gets cold here as you said =)

Thanks!