Feeding a Bearded Dragon

Well everyone that owns or is thinking about getting a bearded dragon as a pet should know exactly what to feed and how often to feed them. Now just because one bearded dragon likes a certain insect or type of vegetable, does not mean EVERY bearded dragon will. However, most bearded dragons do like the same things. You must also know that their feeding habits will change as they get older. For instance, babies will eat a lot more insects while adult bearded dragons will tend to eat more of their greens. You should be aware of these things in order to provide your bearded dragon with the best nutrition possible.

Here is a general idea of what bearded dragons of different ages will eat:

Hatchlings/Babies - should eat about every 2-3 hours a combination of pin head sized crickets and fresh vegetables and greens. I also find that phoenix worms are a good staple for babies (or any sized bearded dragon) because of how small they are and are super high in calcium. Make sure when feeding the babies you keep an eye on them while eating. At such a young age some bearded dragons will often mistake their siblings tail or claw for a cricket and in most cases nip it off.

• Crickets should be the size of the space between the babies eyes. Anything bigger might cause injury to the baby.
• If too big of feeder insect is fed you introduce the opportunity for your dragon to become impacted. This is a very big emergency which could cause paralysis of your dragons back legs or even cause death.
• When feeding greens make sure to cut them up in small pieces or else they will not be able to eat them.

Sub-Adults/Adults - (3-4 months on up) should eat about 3 times daily the appropriate sized crickets and greens. Again the rule of feeding them insects no larger than the space between their eyes applies here as well. As they grow older and get bigger their food options will differ. When they about 4 months old or about 12' in length I will introduce superworms to my bearded dragon as a once in a while treat. However, I cut their heads off before feeding because the head of a superworm is very hard.

I also use Rep-Cal-calcium with vitamin D and also a multi vitamin supplement. For newly hatched dragons to sub-adults, I will dust, one meal a day with the calcium with Vitamin D. The multi vitamin is dusted on one meal every other day. When dragons become adults, we dust with calcium 3 times a week and also dust with the multi vitamin once a week.

Bearded dragons will grow quite fast if taken care of correctly. They are full grown most of the time by the age of 18 months to 2 years old. So keeping close eye on what they eat can really prove difference in a healthy happy dragon and a mean sick dragon.

Here is a list of insects and greens that I have found my bearded dragons and many others bearded dragons like. (Please remember all bearded dragons are different, please use this guide as a reference):

Feeder insects:

• Crickets
• Silkworms
• Butterworms (as a treat)
• Hornworms
• Phoenix worms
• Superworms
• Roaches
• Waxworms (as a treat)

Greens:

• Mustard
• Collard
• Turnip
• Dandelion
• Endive
• Kale

There are plenty more things to feed your bearded dragon and I encourage you to take a look at www.BeautifulDragons.com for a complete list of which greens to feed and which ones not to. Also please remember to take out all uneaten insects. The crickets or worms that your bearded dragon does not eat can stress them out or even harm them.

Enclosures

Well lets talk a little about what exactly makes up a good bearded dragon enclosure that will give the dragon optimum health and better serve his needs.

Every bearded dragon enclosure should have certain accessories that are a MUST have. If you do not have these certain accessories, you are depriving your bearded dragon and he/she could be unhappy and/or sick.

If using an aquarium as your enclosure, there are certain requirements that need to be met in order for your bearded dragon to live a happy healthy life. Please do not bother using a 10g tank, bearded dragons grow VERY quickly and as they grow they will need a bigger enclosure. 10g tanks can be used to house hatchlings but after a few weeks they will soon be too big for it. Also with using such a small tank there will be no temp gradient because it is so small it will be nearly impossible to regulate your cool side of the tank.

The optimal tank size for juvi to adult is a 40g BREEDER tank. If you do not know what the difference between a BREEDER tank and a normal tank is, a breeder tank is just wider giving more floor space. A 40g breeder tank is normally 36' L x 18' W x 18' H. Those dimensions are the bare minimum you will need to house a juvi or adult. Of course bigger is always better once they get to be older.

• You will also need a screen for the top, especially if you have a cat. You wouldn't want to come home to find your cat inside the tank, would you? Or maybe you have one of those magician bearded dragons that like to exscape? It is better to play it safe and use a screen lid. Do not use glass, plexiglass or wood to cover your cages. This will not allow enough air circulation and will also trap humidity in the cage. Screen tops allow air flow, allow your lighting and heat sources to work correctly and also allow humidity to escape.

Below are two examples of cages I put together in the past. Two different cages, one being a 50g Breeder tank, and the other being a custom built 4'x2'x2' enclosure.

Lighting

Bearded dragons require full spectrum lighting 12-14 hours a day. It is best to get them on a schedule from the time they are babies. Some people use a 12-12 lighting schedule(12 hours on 12 hours off) while others will choose 14-10 lighting schedule(14 hours on 12 hours off). Bearded dragons are used to a very bright warm environment. So it is best to keep your enclosure as bright as possible. It is also smart to put your lights on a timer so that your lighting schedule will be exact every day. All you will have to do is set it one time and they will come on and go off the same time every day. There are two lights EVERY enclosure need:

• UVB
• Basking light

A UVB light is probably the most important aspect of a bearded dragon's enclosure. Here we will talk a little about exactly why a UVB Light is essential and why if you do not have one your bearded dragon may get sick. UVB lights come in all different sizes, watts, and brands. Some brands are better than others, same goes for the wattage of a bulb and the size. Many types of bulbs as well:

• Flourescent bulbs (the long tube bulbs)
• Incandescent bulbs (look like household light bulbs)
• Compact bulbs (look like energy saving light bulbs)
• Mercury Vapor Bulb (looks almost like a spot light that goes on your garage, but is the best type of UVB source)

Based on my experience and talking to other people that have tried these type of bulbs, the general consessus is to use either a Flourescent bulb or a MVB. Once again there are certain brands that you want to get when it comes to these types of bulbs.

For flourescent bulbs the best is either Reptisun 10.0 or Reptisun 5.0, not to be confused with ReptiGlo. If using a flourescent bulb it should stretch the length of the enclosure or as much as possible. If you cannot for some reason get one that stretches the length of your enclosure, make sure that it is over his basking spot so that when he basks he can soak in some UV rays.

• If using a flourescent bulb for UVB source, make sure your bearded dragon can get within 6-8 inches of the bulb for optimal UV output.
• You can find Reptisun 10.0 bulbs all over the internet for a decent price. I must warn you though, if buying at a petstore you will most likely pay double the price.

For Mercury Vapor Bulbs there are a few good brands, but me personally would recommend buying a MegaRay. They can be found on www.ReptileUV.com these lights are the closest to the amount of UV output as the sun on the market. Of course there are other brands such as PowerSun, SunGlo, and my second favorite T-Red Active UV heat.

• These bulbs will cost more than other UVB most of the time, but when using a Mercury Vapor Bulb they will only need to be changed once a year as opposed to every 6 months with a flourescent bulb.
• Mercury vapor Bulbs should only be used in specific enclosures, most people will tell you not to use one on anything smaller than a 40g Breeder tank.
• There are two types of MVB, a Self ballasted and External Ballasted. Self ballasted Bulbs put off heat as well as UV which makes this bulb great because it can be used as your UVB and Basking Light. External Ballasted bulbs dont put off nearly as much heat and will last longer from what I understand. (I would suggest going to www.reptileuv.com and reading about the differences between the two bulbs, I myself have only ever boughten the Self ballasted bulbs)

Heating

Heating the enclosure is just as important as the bulbs you decide to use. Bearded dragons are used to the heat and prosper in higher temps. You can produce the heat with your lights of course, or some people decide to use ceramic heat emitters.

• You should have thermostats in all of your enclosures to begin with so you know exactly what the temp is. You should have one on the cool side and the hot side of your enclosure.The best type of thermometer are the ones with the probe that measure the SURFACE temp. Do not buy the thermometers that stick to the wall of your enclosure, many many times they can be as much as 20 degrees off.
• You can also buy an Infrared Temp Gun which will give you the most accurate reading of surface temperatures in your enclosure. If using a temp gun you most likely will not even have to use thermometers as long as you test the surface temps in your enclosure regularly to make sure they are not fluctuating.
• If your temps are too hot or too cold, a simple changing of the bulb can solve a lot of these issues. If your temperatures are too high and you are using a 100w bulb, well switch it to a 75w bulb and see if it makes a difference. Same goes as if your temperatures are reading too low, try a higher wattage bulb.
• Whatever you do, do NOT use a heating rock as it can burn the underside of your bearded dragon.

Please turn your lights off at night. Do not use the red infrared lights that say on the box that it doesnt bother your bearded dragon. Would you be able to sleep at night with a red light constantly glaring in your eyes? No. So neither would he/she. As long as your temperatures in your house do not go below 65F then the bearded dragon will be fine. If they do go below that 65F, then I would suggest getting a ceramic heat emitter to put off some heat instead of using a light bulb. Also you can look into purchasing a under tank heater (not to be confused with a heating rock). This will give off some heat for the bearded dragon.