Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello. I'm getting two young bearded dragons soon (in about a week). They're my first dragons and I want to make sure I have everything down before I get them, so I can do my best to care for them. I'm sorry if this doesn't make much sense. I'm also sorry if these questions are painfully stupid.

I know they need to have a rock or some wood to climb on. Is there a certain size or texture I should look for? Is it okay if the rock isn't particularly smooth? Should I also have something to provide shade?

I was also wondering about the cage cleaning. I've read that I should clean the tank about once a week. It sounds like I just roll up the shelf-liner or newspaper, throw it out and lay down some more. Will I have to do anything besides that, like scrub the bottom of the tank out with something? If so, what should I use and how often should I use it? Everyone says something different.

Now, I have a question about bathing. Is there a certain age where it becomes safe to bathe my dragons, or is it safe at any age? I'm not sure of how old my dragons will be, but I'm guessing around two months.

Oh, one last set of questions. How many crickets do you think I will go through per week (so I know how many to buy at first)? Do I need to worry about overfeeding them?

It doesnt matter about the size, shape, and texture of rocks and brancvhes, as long as they can climb and bask on it. Yes a hide and shade is neccessary to cool down and hide in if scared. I dont know about cleaning the whole tank every week but spot cleaning (picking out poop and everything else should be done daily" You can bathe at any age as long as the water is up to there shoulders and no higher and have something to climb on in the tub, your hand, branch etc. For feeding crix, you feed as much as they will eat in 10 minutes. When mine were younger they ate about 5 dozen (60 crickets) a day which is about 420 crix a week. But if i were you i would maybe feed them salads and if they eat it they wont have as much of an appetie for crix but will still have the nutritoal value of the veggies, and if they dont thats fine too. It may seem like a lot of money on crickets but once they become adults they will not be eating as much. Hope this helps

Yes...they should have rocks and branches. It's actually better to get the rougher textured rocks, that way they can get a good grip and it helps keep their nails trimmed.
Yes, keep a hide on the cool side of the tank. A half log, rock hut, some sort of shady bush, will all be fine.
I spot clean my cages daily, removing any feces, and brushing up any food that's gotten all over. Once a week, I scrub down tank walls, scrub cage furnishings and soak the shelf liner.
I and many others use and recommend Nolvasan for cleaning. It is what vet offices use to clean their cages. The residue left by the cleaner actually keeps cleaning the tank. I get mine from my vet, but you can also get it online. Get the generic, it's much cheaper and just as good.
Bathing a few times weekly is quite good for them. Keep the water very shallow at first, just enough so they can splash in and get used to it. Never force them to swim, make sure they can stand in the water, never let it rise above their shoulders. Keep the water, warm, not hot...if the water temp feels good to you, it's fine.
Expect to go through a lot of crickets. They'll eat anywhere from 50-100 a day. So, expect to be ordering about 1000 weekly. While it's important to keep salad in there for them, they really need more protein at this age. Never cut down on their insects in favor of salad at this age, they need many, many, insects to grow. You can also use silkworms with the crickets for more variety. Silkworms make a better feeder, although they are a little more expensive.
And finally, I really would recommend only getting one dragon to start with. Bearded dragons for the most part should be housed alone for a variety of reasons. AlteredMind has a good response to this that she wrote and cuts and pastes, every time someone asks this question, so hopefully she'll see this and respond. I'm far to lazy right now to write it all out...lol!
Some links to get you started...
www.beautifuldragons.com This site rules!
www.silkwormfarm.com I've found this to be the best place to get silkworms
and
www.ghann.com Yummy crickets

Good luck!
-Nicky

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Loneliness it shadows me, quicker than darkness
Crawls to the surface of my skin, visibly surrounded by it
Black is all I feel, so this is how it feels to be free
-Alice In Chains

2.1 Bearded Dragons: Gordo, Layne, & Chiquita
2.4 Cats: Zeus, Remi, Kiki, Delilah, Sadie & Cheyenne
1.0 Betta: Mr. Purple