Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have been posting on the leopard gecko fourm. i curently have two leo's i thought about getting into bearded dragons thy seem so cool i love reptiles so a couple of q's about dragons can they really get up to 16-18 inches thats really godzilla.bigger than my siters cat. bigger than my leo for sure i have seen a bunch of little baby berdie's at petco they are so tiny i could probly start them off in a ten gallon right and then would a 30=40 gal be alright when they get bigger? are thy more agressive to us than the leo's are my leo's never bite.any way i just wanted to know a few things about em. i just think they seem to be more day active than leo's. not that i am loosing intrest in my leo's no way.any help would be appretiated thanx

Great little creatures they are Only complaint is that they eat soo much in comparison to the rest of my pets...

I am not sure about tank sizes especially in Gallons because mine is custom made. it i 4ft long 2 ft wide and 2 foot high. just so he has room when he is bigger mainly stays in one side though while he is smallish. I don't know about all beardies but mine is not in the slightest bit nasty. he has never bit me, he will sit on my shoulder while i am on the computer, eat out of my hand and fall asleep with me at night. he is such an intellegent loving creature and he doubles up as a guard when any one uses my computer he puffs his throat up and stares at them through the glass.lol if the one you get is anything like mine then i stronly recommend it but like you said they are active in the day so its best if you have time to spend with them. my frank hates being on his own for more than a couple of hours. sorry i am going on a bit but i can't stress enough how much of a good pet they are shame they only live for about 5-7 years (i think)
kayleigh

here are a few pics of mine if you are wondering why he is in a towel its because he has just had a bath. he loves it.

Ok, I will try to answer all of your questions.

Yes they do get that big, and bigger. I have a normal female bearded dragon who is 20inches long from snout to tail tip. And they get that big fast, she was 18inches by the end of her first year, give or take.

No, starting a beardie out in a ten gallon tank is never a good idea. Physically, yes is is big enough, but here is the problem. Bearded dragons like it HOT! They require a basking temperature of 100-110degrees. Since you have leo's you know all about thermoregulation, in a ten gallon tank there is no way to create that hot of a basking spot and still allow the lizard to thermoregulate. If one part of a ten gallon tank is 110degrees, the whole tank is that hot, and that will cook your dragon. Literally, it can kill them. You can however, start out in a 20gallon Long aquarium and that will last a few months. Maybe four months?

As far as adult size tanks, most pet stores and even ooks will say a 40gallon breeder is big enough for an adult bardie. I, and i think most people on this forum, disagree. I had my female in a 40breeder for awhile and she was cramped! She is now in a 90gallon and is perfectly comfortable, although i am thinking about moving to something bigger. If you are going to go with glass aquariums the smallest i would say would be a 75gallon.

No they do not bite, as a rule. Of course, ever beardie is different and you have to work with yours to keep it tame, but generally they are extremely docile and friendly.

As far as care, beardies are quite different from leos. They eat TONS more, for example, and also eatr fruits and veggies as part of their diet. They definately take more time, energy and money than leos, but i think it is all worth it as they are very rewarding animals. Keep doing lots of research, check www.beautifuldragons.com they have excellent care information and make sure you can commit to a beardie for its whole life before getting one. If you do choose a beardie though, i can assure you that you will not be disapointed!

Good luck!
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0.1 mexican kingsnake
1.0.2 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Rose Hair Tarantula
1.0 BTS
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats