Basic Bearded Dragon Care Part 2
I am a long time bearded dragon owner and highly recommend them as small, mellow companions who will sit quietly with you while you work or add beauty and life to any room where they are basking.
I also believe in assuming the utmost responsibility for the care and well-being of your animal, so before you run out and buy a beardie on a whim make sure you understand fully what is entailed in their care and keeping.
In Part 1 of this article I discussed living arrangements and feeding habits; the second half of this article will go over their lighting needs, hygiene, and additional dietary requirements.
Heat & UV Lamps Bearded dragons are cold-blooded -- which isn't to say that they're heartless! All this means is that they regulate their body temperature from an external heat source; in the wild, this is the sun.
Beardies spend hours basking in the sun for heat and also draw benefits from the UV rays that are essential for their health.
You must duplicate this experience in their terrarium or enclosure with a high quality heat lamp, a reptile-grade UV bulb and careful temperature regulation.
Buying a heat lamp and UV lamp is not expensive in itself (they run anywhere from $20 - $50 apiece) but most herp experts recommend that the UV bulbs be replaced periodically even if they haven't burned out, because they lose their efficacy to provide adequate UV in some way.
The reptile-specific bulbs can be fairly pricey, so it's something to keep in mind.
Cleaning Bearded dragons are very clean creatures, and aside from their poop and the skin that they shed produce no other wastes that I discern.
The skin is easy to pick out of their bedding by hand, and if you get in the habit of soaking your beardie daily at the same time then they'll almost always defecate in the water, making cleanup a breeze.
Vitamin Supplements Bearded dragons have a lot of specific dietary needs -- nothing too elaborate, but you have to make sure to provide them with all the right nutrients.
As I mentioned in Part 1, they'll get most of the calcium and other vitamins from the vegetables that they eat, but I also suggest buying a vitamin powdered specially formulated for bearded dragons.
These are small containers of a white powder that is sprinkled on food and provides everything that they need.
Personally, I choose to dust the occasional crickets and worms I feed my beardie as opposed to putting it on his veggies, though some owners do vice versa or both.
This powder is very inexpensive and will last for months.
This concludes my bearded dragon basic care guide.
Now that you have a greater understanding of bearded dragons and their specific care needs, you can make a more informed decision on whether or not to bring a new dragon into your life.
I also believe in assuming the utmost responsibility for the care and well-being of your animal, so before you run out and buy a beardie on a whim make sure you understand fully what is entailed in their care and keeping.
In Part 1 of this article I discussed living arrangements and feeding habits; the second half of this article will go over their lighting needs, hygiene, and additional dietary requirements.
Heat & UV Lamps Bearded dragons are cold-blooded -- which isn't to say that they're heartless! All this means is that they regulate their body temperature from an external heat source; in the wild, this is the sun.
Beardies spend hours basking in the sun for heat and also draw benefits from the UV rays that are essential for their health.
You must duplicate this experience in their terrarium or enclosure with a high quality heat lamp, a reptile-grade UV bulb and careful temperature regulation.
Buying a heat lamp and UV lamp is not expensive in itself (they run anywhere from $20 - $50 apiece) but most herp experts recommend that the UV bulbs be replaced periodically even if they haven't burned out, because they lose their efficacy to provide adequate UV in some way.
The reptile-specific bulbs can be fairly pricey, so it's something to keep in mind.
Cleaning Bearded dragons are very clean creatures, and aside from their poop and the skin that they shed produce no other wastes that I discern.
The skin is easy to pick out of their bedding by hand, and if you get in the habit of soaking your beardie daily at the same time then they'll almost always defecate in the water, making cleanup a breeze.
Vitamin Supplements Bearded dragons have a lot of specific dietary needs -- nothing too elaborate, but you have to make sure to provide them with all the right nutrients.
As I mentioned in Part 1, they'll get most of the calcium and other vitamins from the vegetables that they eat, but I also suggest buying a vitamin powdered specially formulated for bearded dragons.
These are small containers of a white powder that is sprinkled on food and provides everything that they need.
Personally, I choose to dust the occasional crickets and worms I feed my beardie as opposed to putting it on his veggies, though some owners do vice versa or both.
This powder is very inexpensive and will last for months.
This concludes my bearded dragon basic care guide.
Now that you have a greater understanding of bearded dragons and their specific care needs, you can make a more informed decision on whether or not to bring a new dragon into your life.
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