Baby bearded dragons can be kept in small 20 gallon long tanks. Reptile tanks are usually wider and lower in height to give the maximum floor space. Juvenile (4 months or so) and adult dragons are very active and need larger enclosures to keep them happy and healthy. Once your dragon is 10-12 inches it really needs to move up to a bigger tank. The smallest size tank a juvenile or adult can be housed in is a 40 gallon breeder tank. A pair should be kept in a minimum 75 gallon tank. Tank size can also vary according to the size of your dragons. A 24 inch male will need more space then an 18 inch male. The larger space you can give your bearded dragons the happier they will be.

Males and females should be kept together ONLY as babies! Once they reach Juvenile age they should be separated. Males should live alone at this point, but females can usually live together. But watch closely for any dominance issues, or one of the dragons hiding too much. If one is doing poorly, then separating them will most likely help. We don't recommend keeping more then 2 females together.

You can also custom build wooden enclosures or buy specially made PVC or Melamine cages. There are many cages available on the market today that are suited well for bearded dragons. A quick search online should turn up many results.

A bearded dragon enclosure should be topped of with a screen lid on top, PLEASE DO NOT USE GLASS LIDS, use something like mesh wire for the top to prevent your bearded dragon from escaping.

What to use on the bottom of your bearded dragon cage is a highly debated topic. We keep our babies on paper. When they grow to 10 inches or more they can be introduced to a substrate if you wish. You can use paper towels, newspaper, washed play sand, and reptile dessert sand.

Some dragons ingest a lot of sand while eating. If you notice this you may want to feed your dragon in a separate feeding container.

Substrates that we would [COLOR=red]NOT[/COLOR=red] recommend to use are: corn cob, walnut shells, alfalfa pellets, kitty litter, or wood shavings. Corn cob is not digestible and is large enough to create impactions, requiring surgery. Walnut shells and kitty litter are also not digestible and have sharp edges.

Beardies need UV light for calcium absorption. Bad calcium deficiency would lead to some bone diseases, i.e. MBD (Metabolic Bone Disorder) is one of the leading causes of death in captivity. Regardless how much calcium your beardies intake, when they don't receive any UV light their bones won't be able to absorb it. When caged indoors, the only way for them to receive UV light is from special UV light bulbs. The most common and recommended of the UV lights are the UV fluorescent bulbs. You may get this bulbs from Pet store that carry Exo Terra stuff. These bulbs are the most popular out there and proven worked by many people. Coiled UV bulb and basking/ UV bulb combo are not recommended because they don’t really cover enough area in the enclosure.

These lights need to be within 12 inches of the basking spot and need to be replaced every 6 months because the amount of UVB diminishes. Make sure the bulbs are over what will be your dragons basking spot. This should be at one end of the cage. This area needs to be between 30 degree C - 35 degree C. Beardies need this heat to be able to digest their food. The cooler side of the tank away from the basking site should be around 25-28 degree celcius. At night you should not need heating unless it goes below 65 degrees. Then you can use special night heat lights.

For heat you can use your standard household bulbs, reptile basking bulbs, or standard spot lights. If you need larger then 100 watts you can find 150 and 200 watts at home improvement stores. In a taller cage a spot light or basking bulb is best to make sure your basking spot is warm enough. Standard light bulbs work well in cages that are low in height.

Bearded Dragons are omnivorous, meaning that they eat both animal and plants. You must feed very small prey to baby Beardies. The rule-of-thumb for feeding Beardies says not to feed anything larger that the space between the Beardie's eyes. When fed prey that is too large for them, serious physical problems can result including: partial paralysis, seizures, ataxia (loss of motor control), inability to self-feed, gut impaction, and even death. Start with feeding small crickets and gradually increase to larger sizes as the Beardie grows.Also offer a daily mixture of greens and veggies for your growing Beardie. Beardies that were raised with greens as a part of their diet are more likely to enjoy greens as an adult.

Greens must be offered daily. Greens include mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, dandelions, escarole, chicory, and arugula can be staples in their diet. Lettuces does not have much nutritional value and should not make up their whole diet or even a large part. Romaine could be given occasionally if you can’t find the other greens. Spinach, kale.Vegetables like winter squashes, green beans, parsnips, carrots, sweet potato, and others can be grated up and added to the salad. They need to be in chopped very small or grated pieces. Dragons can not chew large chunks and it will be hard for them to digest. Variety is a good idea though. Remember, you don’t have to buy the whole huge bunch of greens. They will weigh whatever you separate out of a big bunch. This is a good way to get a big variety without buying too many greens. Make sure you wash all the veggies to get any pesticides off. Remove large stems (like collard stems), and any rotten parts and then rip the greens into pieces about the size of your dragons head. We cut up all our greens at once and place them in a tupperware container lined with paper towels. This should last about a week in the fridge. Before feeding make sure to rinse the greens you are going to give to your dragon that day if you haven’t done it before. Also wetting the greens before giving them to your dragon is a great way to get extra water into them.

Insects should be offered to babies, and adults two or three times a day. As your beard dragon gets older he or she should be eating less and less insects and more vegetables. Too many insects all through their life will cause kidney damage. Veggies should make up about 10-25% of hatchlings diet and about 50% or more of adults diets. You can feed insects such as crickets and silkworms as a staple. Superworms can be feed occasionally to beardies over 12 inches. Waxworms are high in fat and not recommended. We choose not to give our beardies pinky mice because of the risk of parasites from them. Also they are high in fat. The only time we feed pinky mice is to the females during breeding season to keep there weight up. . Silkworms and dubias are also another option to crickets.

Dust insects with a calcium with D3 (Rep-Cal) vitamin daily or whenever live insects is offered. We put the crickets in a large yogurt container and shake them up with the vitamin dust and then serve them to the beardies. They get very excited when they see this container. About 2 times a week you should dust with a multivitamin instead of the calcium. We use Herptivite.

The paper needs to be changed alternate day for babies and adults. If your using sand, you will need to scoop the feces out of the cage daily. You can use a small cup. The sand should be changed about once a month depending on the size of the enclosure and the number of beardies.
When emptied, the tank should be scrubbed with soapy water, or very diluted bleach (10% bleach, 90% water). It needs to be rinsed off well and dried. No matter what you use make sure you soak all rocks, branches, and other things in the cage in the cleaner and then rinse and dry well. Make sure the food bowls are washed in soapy water alternate day.

Bathing is an important part in keeping a healthy dragon. Regular bathing helps keep the beardie hydrated, clean, and helps to relax the muscles thus making it easier for them to go to the bathroom. Make sure that the bath water is warm to the touch and fill it full enough to reach their shoulders. Remember if it feels too warm to you then it's definately too hot for them. Some beardies are comfortable bathing in the sink or the bath tub and others may not like bath time at all. You can try placing a see through Rubbermaid container on your countertop and gently placing your beardie inside. He may feel more comfortable resting on your hand while it is submerged in the water. Or you could try rolling up a wash cloth and letting him rest his arms on it. They need to feel secure or they will never enjoy bath time. And get ready to pick your beardie out of the bath water should he decide to poop in it.

Gently scoop up your Beardie with your hand under its belly. Dragons tend to be very trusting and will not necessarily hold on as well as other lizards, so always take care to support your Beardie. They do not like being firmly held; let them rest in your palm. Since Beardies are inquisitive animals, it is always a good idea to create a controlled space in which it may do some exploring. And watch out for the jumpers.

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