Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have made the decision to get a Bearded Dragon, I am going to purchase a baby one, and was wondering the popular opinions on the following things.

Firstly setup wise, I cannot decide what is better, to start with a large cage with plenty of room or a small one, and if I should use a glass aquarim, or a screened one. I read up and it says that the bottom should be mostly flat, and sandy.

That said, I also have Anole's and Iguana's they like ot have things to climb on as do my snakes, to Bearded Dragons like some things to climb on to or just flatness with a hiding spot?

Food wise, I was wondering what you all feed your dragons. I keep snakes, and Iguana's. My Iguana's are mostly on greens and the like. My snakes eat a variety of things depending on what I chose to buy, from mice to chiken. And of course the Anole's and Chameleon's eat bugs.

As I understand it, these guys eat both greens and bugs. But most of the stuff I've read is only discussing crickets, and mealworms.

I feed my bug eaters a lot of different things, from silkworms, to roaches, and I try to stay away from crickets they drive me INSANE with their noises and they are very cheap to get in great batchs which doesn't make me confident as to their nutritional value. Do these lovely little guys eat all kinds of bugs or do I need to prepare to buy many crickets?

Well to start with setup wise, getting a large cage for such a small beardie can freak him out and make him feel very vulnerable, but what you could do is get a large cage and section it off with cardboard or something. You shouldn't use sand on such a young beardie, even though some people argue you shouldn't use sand at all, but even most sand users wait until their dragon is about a foot long before switching from off of paper towels or newspaper. You can always use shelfliner too as a substrate. A LOT of people love that route, since it's easy to clean and there's no risk of impaction.
From my experience, I've noticed that dragons do like to climb. I know other people build rockwalls that have plenty of space to climb around on.

As far as feeding goes, I'd check out www.beautifuldragons.com and look under nutrition, I believe it is (you'll know which link to click on). Young dragons need protein as they grow, so bugs are a yes. Crickets are good, but you said you have roaches, and those are even better. Silkworms are good too. I would really check out that food chart to see what veggies are good and which aren't. I think the best way to feed your dragon veggies is mix one or two staple foods together and add some other veggies in, different ones each day, for some variety. Make sure you get vitamin and calcium supplements to dust on the salad though.
I hope that helped, and let us see your new guy when you get it!
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~Shana~

0.1 Bearded Dragon (Kaida)
1.0 Betta Fish (Boo)
0.1 Cat (Ginger)
Fish Tank

Personally I used a glass aquarium with a screen top. Screen cages are good for ventilation, but it is hard to keep the temps high enough. I started with a 20 gallon long tank, and then upgraded to a 2x2x4 foot custom built cage when my dragon was 14 inches long or so.

As babies dragons eat a lot of bugs, roaches, silkworms, crickets, etc. As adults greens make up a larger part of their diet. Greens should be introduced at a young age, but may not be accepted right away.

Sand should be avoided until your dragon is an adult, we used paper towels, but shelf liner works well too. My beardie likes to climb, but they aren't as good as an anole or gecko at it. They need the branches or whatever to be wider then they are.
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A mans got to do what a mans got to do. A woman has to do what he can't.

Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 1999
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

____

sig file edited 1/29/05 [phw]

Congrats on the decision for a new pet, beardies are great! I would start small, and then go big. Preference of glass vs screen is up to you, you just want to make sure the humidity doesnt get too high. Personally I have all mine in screen cages. For babies I would use paper towels as substrate, and switch to something of your choice at adult age (1 years at least). Sand can sometimes cause impaction, but sifted children's playsand is alright for adults. They dont mind paper towels, people just use the sand for an aesthetic feel. I would give him some type of branch to climb, as they do love it. Helps with excercise too! Maybe have him climb to his basking spot - Make sure you have a UVB flourescent light along with a heat lamp with a basking spot of 110. It can be a regular 60 - 100 watt household bulbs, there is no need for the special incandescents at pet stores. UVB flourescents, however, are necessary.

I feed my dragons silkworms, crickets, superworms, hornworms, butterworms, roaches of all kinds, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, grapes, yellow squash just to name a few.

Good luck!

David - KDRKreatures
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David and Kevin

KDRKreatures.com
Exotic Reptile Breeders - Specializing in Bearded Dragons

Email

Hi David,

I am researching while I await the weather to warm up for my little fellow to be shipped. I was surprised that you keep yours in all screen cages. Do you live in a warm climate? I tried to link to your site to see if you had pics and more info, but your link is ng

thanks for input,

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Hey - Sorry my link is down. Im having trouble with my new registrar. I actually live in a temperate climate, cold in winter and spring, warm in summer etc. I keep them in the basement of my home, RT in the basement is around 76. I have 100 watt - 120 watt bulbs on every cage, keeping the basking temps up and ambients up as well. I also feel it helps with humidity, because I had too much humidity with glass cages. I built all of mine, actually for very cheap. They are made of wood and screen, 6 ft X 2 ft X 2 ft. Cost around $60-$70 to make!

David - KDRKreatures
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David and Kevin

KDRKreatures.com
Exotic Reptile Breeders - Specializing in Bearded Dragons

Email

Thanks - that is good to know. When I first began researching beardies I wondered why everyone had them in glass since they prefer a more arid environment. I have a veiled cham in an all screen cage (for air circulation/ventilation) but it is a real effort to keep the humidity up and her well hydrated in these long, dry winter months in NH! I would think that with the beardie it would be a matter of keeping temps up but frankly, that would be a lot easier than humidity!

Why don't more people keep them in screen? I am guessing you are in a minority. Maybe I will do a poll. I have a tank for him as a juvi, but when I need to move him later I may consider screen. Is there any climbing issue? Chams tend not to climb the screens (so long as they have plenty of vines, branches, and the cage is large enough) but will beardies just try to climb anything and rip nails or fall?

Let me know when your site is back up

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Yeah - I dunno how many people use screen anymore. I love it. Some occasionally climb the screen, but I use Aluminum screen and i have yet to have an injury from it with nails etc. Yeah, I usually keep them in tanks as babies (just easier) and then in screen as subadults and up. They are still workin on the site, but Ill let you know when its back up!

David - KDRKreatures
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>>Let me know when your site is back up
>>
>>lele
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>>0.1 veiled - Luna
>>0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
>>1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
>>0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
>>0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
>>0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
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David and Kevin

KDRKreatures.com
Exotic Reptile Breeders - Specializing in Bearded Dragons

Email