Tell me about your bearded dragon (care and setup)

Daniel@R2R · Feb 12, 2020

Hey guys! Thanks for all the help in my other thread: My wife wants a chameleon.

After the knowledge you guys shared, and talking to my wife about the care requirements and delicacy of chameleons, we've decided that a bearded dragon seems like the better way for us to get started with reptiles (maybe a chameleon down the road in a few years, but we don't want to take on something we can't care for in the best way possible).

That said, we are still researching bearded dragons, and we could use some help. We're reading articles, watching videos, etc., but of course I'd be remiss if I didn't ask my friends at R2R to share your wisdom with us. I know some of you have tons of knowledge on these guys! Please share care suggestions and definitely tell us what we need to know to have a nice setup for the newest member of our family.

Thanks!

AllSignsPointToFish · Feb 12, 2020

Man, this one is just too easy....bearded dragon....think I'll leave that one alone

Crabs McJones · Feb 12, 2020

Lol I've kept and bred bearded dragons too. Beardies are easily my favorite reptile.
A 20 gallon long will be good for a baby up until around 10-12 inches, and then I went up to a 75.
You'll need a heat lamp and a UVB lamp. The reptisun 10.0 is by far my favorite. For the bottom I do not in any way shape or form recommend any type of loose substrate. What I've found works best is ceramic tiling. For two reasons. One it's easy to remove the tiles and clean them when he poops. And two the roughness of the ceramic tile naturally files down their nails so you never have to clip them. Be prepared as a baby beardie will start out eating 80% meat and 20% veggies. Dubai reaches dusted with calcium supplement was my favorite. For veggies any dark green. Collard greens were my choice as they're easily attainable and you can even grow them in your own garden.
Anything more hit me up

Artimusclyde1974 · Feb 12, 2020

What are you looking to get from your new pet? Chameleons and dragons are both great pets but for different reasons
A chameleon is like a fish tank beautiful but best not handled lol
Dragons can be very eye catching them selves but are great for handling and make great family pets as far as reptiles go
They are pretty simple to care for just make sure they have a good basking spot as babies they eat more protein and as adults it will switch to more veggies. If u keep them healthy and have a male and female u will get eggs and they are pretty easy to incubate frequent few minute handling as a baby makes a puppy tame adult as with all reptiles slow movement is best as they can spook but once they get to know the mundane they are bullet proof fearless
Chameleons can stress from a lot of things lol not enough hiding to much draft not enough air flow
Looking at a mirror... (not a joke)
Keeping humidity correct is just as important as keeping the temp up easy to do with a live tree in the cage and there is no easy veggie dinner it’s crickets or roachs every day
But if your interested in other reptiles I recommend sulcata tortoise they are so much fun they get big and will put live u but very smart and have fun personalities.
and if ur comfortable taming a reptile ( if u have patience for a reef tank you can tame a reptile) then iguanas and monitors are very very smart reptiles that opens up a huge variety of options

Artimusclyde1974 · Feb 12, 2020

Crab we have another hobby in common!

Indytraveler83 · Feb 12, 2020

Our bearded dragon is just about a year old, a few things I've learned:

1) Babies grow with epic speed. She doubled in size in the first few month. Be prepared to upgrade fast of you start with a 20 gallon.

2) agree with above, don't use loose substrate. They pick up sand with food, and it can compact in their digestive system. We use two reptile mats, and always have one clean, then swap them out.

3) Babies can drown easy. Use a very shallow water dish until they are old enough to know better. I used a "food" dish that was about half an inch deep, letting her drink and wade around a bit, without ever getting her nostrils underwater.

4) Either bath them or mist them regularly when young. They need moisture to shed, and they will she'd like mad as babies!

5) Handle them alot. I've seen nasty adults that aren't used to it, and they are hard to change. But taming a baby is easy, and you'll have a friend for years if you commit when they are young. (ours has never bit us, loves to ride around on our shoulders and eats from our hands).

Artimusclyde1974 · Feb 12, 2020

This was my boy Clyde he passed away when we hade a 50 degree swing over night and I was out of town

but I love large reptiles

Artimusclyde1974 · Feb 12, 2020

Hey how did the other pictures get there lol oops well I have other hobbies also

Crabs McJones · Feb 12, 2020

Indytraveler83 said:
Our bearded dragon is just about a year old, a few things I've learned:

1) Babies grow with epic speed. She doubled in size in the first few month. Be prepared to upgrade fast of you start with a 20 gallon.

2) agree with above, don't use loose substrate. They pick up sand with food, and it can compact in their digestive system. We use two reptile mats, and always have one clean, then swap them out.

3) Babies can drown easy. Use a very shallow water dish until they are old enough to know better. I used a "food" dish that was about half an inch deep, letting her drink and wade around a bit, without ever getting her nostrils underwater.

4) Either bath them or mist them regularly when young. They need moisture to shed, and they will she'd like mad as babies!

5) Handle them alot. I've seen nasty adults that aren't used to it, and they are hard to change. But taming a baby is easy, and you'll have a friend for years if you commit when they are young. (ours has never bit us, loves to ride around on our shoulders and eats from our hands).

1.) They grow insanely fast. They should be full size within their first year. Part of the reason they eat so much protein as a baby is in the wild they need to get as big as they can as fast as they can so they dont get eaten by a predator.
3.) Believe it or not I've never had any type of water dish in with my beardies. I always used a syringe and gave then water daily. Reason being is 1. They cannot recognize standing water. 2. The standing water can increase the humidity leading to respiratory infections (ask me how I know

)

4.) Nice warm bath in the sink once a week and during shedding. The tip of the tail is always a tough one for them. Be prepared for them to poop in the sink too!

5.) Couldnt agree more. Many great memories of coming home after work, grabbing Kratos (my big male) and putting him on my chest and having him fall asleep while I played xbox.
Side note beardie wiggles are the cutest thing ever!
By that I mean when they're snuggling in, they do this little wiggle right before they fall asleep. Absolutely adorable!

Martingale · Feb 12, 2020

Daniel@R2R said:
Hey guys! Thanks for all the help in my other thread: My wife wants a chameleon.

After the knowledge you guys shared, and talking to my wife about the care requirements and delicacy of chameleons, we've decided that a bearded dragon seems like the better way for us to get started with reptiles (maybe a chameleon down the road in a few years, but we don't want to take on something we can't care for in the best way possible).

That said, we are still researching bearded dragons, and we could use some help. We're reading articles, watching videos, etc., but of course I'd be remiss if I didn't ask my friends at R2R to share your wisdom with us. I know some of you have tons of knowledge on these guys! Please share care suggestions and definitely tell us what we need to know to have a nice setup for the newest member of our family.

Thanks!

If only you weren't in California...

Artimusclyde1974 · Feb 12, 2020

My monitor Clyde grew 1/4” a day till he was about 4 feet

Artimusclyde1974 · Feb 12, 2020

Sorry for derail I just miss him and like sharing!

Leslie Tabor · Feb 12, 2020

I always had a water bowl in for my beardies...they always drank from it and they love swimming! When they got bigger I used a small cat litter pan and they would sit and soak, swim...had to clean it often but it was worth it!

Gareth elliott · Feb 12, 2020

For shedding on desert reptiles i used the wood hides blocked one end and put a moist (not dripping) paper towel in it. Changed the towel daily.
allowed a single area to have the humidity for easy shedding.
I only kept a dish of cricket cubes for water. As insects like to drown themselves. Water would light mist on the lizzards head above the nose as they lick it off. Not enough to raise the humidity at all.

S2G · Feb 12, 2020

Crabs McJones said:
Lol I've kept and bred bearded dragons too. Beardies are easily my favorite reptile.
A 20 gallon long will be good for a baby up until around 10-12 inches, and then I went up to a 75.
You'll need a heat lamp and a UVB lamp. The reptisun 10.0 is by far my favorite. For the bottom I do not in any way shape or form recommend any type of loose substrate. What I've found works best is ceramic tiling. For two reasons. One it's easy to remove the tiles and clean them when he poops. And two the roughness of the ceramic tile naturally files down their nails so you never have to clip them. Be prepared as a baby beardie will start out eating 80% meat and 20% veggies. Dubai reaches dusted with calcium supplement was my favorite. For veggies any dark green. Collard greens were my choice as they're easily attainable and you can even grow them in your own garden.
Anything more hit me up

Boom just like that done lol. The whole point of a lizard is holding it. 10x better than a chameleon as pet imo.

Im not a big color morph person but you can find some at a local show that put the chameleons to shame. My buddy has a 2ft male he raised from pinky size. Very well mannered.

Crabs McJones · Feb 12, 2020

S2G said:
Boom just like that done lol. The whole point of a lizard is holding it. 10x better than a chameleon as pet imo.

Im not a big color morph person but you can find some at a local show that put the chameleons to shame. My buddy has a 2ft male he raised from pinky size. Very well mannered.

On my computer at home, I have a picture of my big guy, he had beautiful orange coloration on his back, i'll try to post a picture later tonight

ZipAdeeZoa · Feb 12, 2020

Check out these guys, great videos on a variety of herps including beardies (which are awesome by the way)!

Leslie Tabor · Feb 12, 2020

Crabs McJones said:
On my computer at home, I have a picture of my big guy, he had beautiful orange coloration on his back, i'll try to post a picture later tonight

I find this very cool that several of us have very similar hobbies...past and present...I feel we are all gluttons for punishment!