Welcome to our care sheet page. We tried to cover all of the basics in care on this sheet and we are more than willing to answer any questions you may still have. Just call or e-mail us!

WE do not claim to be experts, but we have done countless hours of research from various sources. When we first started collecting bearded dragons, and looked at all the different suggestions on proper care, from breeders, hobbyist, doctors, scientist, it became quite mind boggling. One source will give you certain advise on a subject, and another instructs you something else completely different on the same subject. We realized that many sources had some of the same information on basic care, so we took it from there and experimented until we found what worked best for us and our dragons. Make of it what you will.

ENCLOSURE-CAGING & MAINTENANCE

First you will need some type of tank or cage to cage your house pet. We suggest a 40 gal. Breeder tank for a bigger baby to an adult, they need room. For some of our larger adults, we will use a 75 gallon breeder. For any dragon, the size of their enclosures, no matter what kind you choose to use, should be at least twice their length in size. You will also need to purchase, some type of screen cover to keep your dragon in and unwanted pests out. We use plastic, see through, bins for our baby dragons.

SUBSTRATES

Second you'll need a substrate for the floor of the cage to help keep it clean. For our newborns we use paper towels, newspaper, or a heavy rubber like, shelf liner. Under 3 months of age, it is risky to use sand, as if your baby beardie eats the sand, while trying to catch their prey, it could cause impaction, which could be fatal. UPDATE 8/16/06: Even though sand may be a suitable substrate for your beardie, we are not recommending it for use on any age dragon, do to the chance of bowel impaction. We recommend that you never use a wood shaving or shell substrate due to possible "Bowel Impaction", basically meaning that your dragon will get a blockage of his/her digestive tract & not be able to have a bowel movement. If this situation arises, it does call for immediate vet assistance. If you wish to use paper towel or newspaper, it is easier to keep clean & disinfect more frequently.

To keep our enclosures clean, we wipe them down everyday or when needed during the day, with "Healthy Habitat", which will break down any fecal matter in your dragons enclosure. Healthy Habitat is safe for your dragon & can be used even when your dragon is in the enclosure. This only takes a couple minutes of your time, to wipe down your enclosure walls, or bins. (In the past, we used Nolvasan solution, diluted with water, but this chemical is toxic to our dragons, if not properly diluted & wiped up. Also if our enclosures were not vented out, prior to use, this could of caused respiratory problems. Also, due to resent studies, Nolvasan DOES NOT kill Coccidia, as previously thought. We choose not to take the chance.)

For thorough disinfecting of our dragons enclosures, we use a hand held steam cleaner. Temps above 165 degrees F, will kill any bacteria or parasites. Temperatures with the steam cleaner reach at least 212 degrees, but caution should be taken as not to burn yourself. Also, when using glass tanks, take caution as not to break glass. We do use customized glass enclosures for some of our dragons, & we have had no problems with glass breaking so far. We also don't hold the steam part of the cleaner in one spot to long & rather go back over it a second time. Every now & then, we will take the tank & disinfect each tank in a bleach solution. We will make up a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts of warm water, & disinfect the their cage for 15-20 minutes. Then we will rinse for about 5 minutes, ensuring all the bleach is cleaned out. Ensure your water is not cold, (under 55 degree's F) as cold water does not activate the bleach.

BASKING AREA & TEMPERATURE CONTROL

Third, you will need some kind of basking platform, based on your dragon size. You will need one that safely supports your dragon & is stable. We recommend & use the ESU Ceramic type platform, as they are easier to keep clean & will offer a more accurate basking temperature. We do not using wood or cork basking logs as they are porous & do collect bacteria, which can be hard to clean. We purchase our basking platforms at www.reptiledirect.com. They are very reasonably priced, & carry a nice assortment of basking supplies for your dragon.

Do not use hot rocks or stands that heat up. They could cause your dragon's stomach area to get burned. You can also use rocks from outside as long as you sterilize them prior to use. You can do this by soaking them in bleach & water for at least ½ hour then rinse them well. We then also put them in the oven at 225 degrees for ½ hour. This will also kill any harmful bacteria, if any are still present. We also use this procedure in cleaning our basking platforms at least once per week or more frequent if they have a bowl movement on them.

The fourth, & maybe the most important thing to have for your set up, is proper heat & lighting. Bearded Dragons are cold blooded, desert dwellers, who need it hot for proper digestion. There are many opinions on this subject. We have researched & tested, several different temperatures, but we find that temperature for the highest, basking area in there enclosures, should be between 105-110, for babies, & the ambient side, or cool side, should be no cooler then 80-85 degrees F. For Sub-adults to Adults- highest basking spot temperature should be between 105-110, & ambient side, or cool side, should be no less then 80-85 degrees F.

Night time temps should not go below 70 degrees for any dragon. There are plenty of options out there for a night time heat source, that this should not happen. Infrared lighting or ceramic lighting is available at just about every larger chain, pet store. These types of lights will not disturb your dragon at night & will help keep your dragon warm & healthy, if needed. On the contrary, when a dragon is brumating, their temps may go below 70 to keep their metabolism at a slow rate. This will ensure your dragon does not loose any weight or become dehydrated.

Another type of lighting your bearded dragon will need is UV rays, as provided by the sun. If you do not live in a warm climate & don't have the luxury of natural sunlight, you may use florescent lighting, which is most common, along with your heat bulb. Repti-Sun 10.0 bulbs are now replacing the 5.0, older bulbs & will give off enough UV-A & UV-B rays that your dragon needs, to produce proper vitamin D levels. UV Rays are an absolute necessity for your bearded dragon. UV rays help in the synthesis of Vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 helps to metabolize calcium, which is important for your dragon, as to have healthy bone growth. Without this, many dragons end up with bone related deficiencies. Some people choose to stuff their dragons full of vitamin supplements, which will keep your dragon alive, but will not thrive as far as activity levels or appetite goes.

We choose to use a mercury vapor bulb, or most commonly called, MVB floodlight. We changed over to MVB lighting when the "Mega Ray" first came out on the market. This bulb has been tested & proven to be one of the best bulbs you can use & life time wear as well. You can check out some of these tests at www.reptileinfo.com. In our experience, we found that our dragons became more colorful, had better appetites & are certainly more active, when using the "Mega Ray" MVB bulb. You can purchase these bulbs at www.reptileuv.com. Another reason we like MVB bulbs, is for the simple fact, they serve both functions. They produce the temps our dragons need & also provide the very important UVA & UVB Rays that they need to produce proper Vitamin D levels, which will lead to healthy, colorful & large dragons. We have 1 bulb & fixture, instead of 2-3 different fixtures.

These lights are a bit more expensive, but last longer. These lights should sit or hang over your dragons basking platform. Recommendations for these lights - they should be 15 inches away from your dragons basking platform, log, or rock. You then can adjust your bulb or stand, checking every hour, until you reach your proper basking temps. Ensure that you have a proper thermometer or Temp Gun. Not all spots on your basking area may be hot enough, but try to ensure that you have at least one spot that is. We suggest using a Temp Gun, as they are more accurate then some probe or sticky thermometers. They are a priceless tool to have in controlling your dragon's climate. You can purchase the temp guns at www.tempgun.com. They have an array of temperature devices to choose from.

We have also been conducting  studies on our how UV lighting effects our adult dragons. We have found that when using the "Mega Ray" it allows us  not to have to use supplements our adult dragons with Vitamin D3. When using this bulb, if we supplement more them once every 2 weeks with Vit D3, our dragons vit D3 levels would be on the high end. An over supplementation of vit D3 can also lead to problems. We actually had a dragon showing sign of MBD, when we knew that his supplementation was very good. After doing a blood study we found that his Vit D levels were well above the normal range for a bearded dragon, therefore showing signs of deformity. We highly suggest reading all the information that is available on www.reptileuv.com. We are planning to publish our results in the near future.

FEEDING YOUR DRAGON

Our first feeding of the day for hatchlings are a combination of ground up vegetables & greens that are cut up into very small strips. We will serve the greens in front of our beardies, as they see movement when we put their greens into their dish. Also, cutting greens like, dandelion leaves, endive, turnip leaves, look like small worms, when cut into small enough strips. Our dragons fall for this every time.

Hatchlings need to be feed around every 2 waking hours. After they have had the chance to warm up, around 2 hours, we serve them juvie to small silkworms or 1/8 inch crickets. We also feed phoenix worms, as they are super high in calcium & a very good feeder for any age dragon. Another alternative is small horn worms. Although a bit expensive, they are very healthy & add variety to your dragons diet. We will repeat feeding/or alternating these insects, through out their day. We always have fresh greens for them to snack on. We also offer water by only misting their heads very gently or offer drops of water from a spray bottle or syringe. They usually will open their mouths & start to lap a drop or two.

As our dragon's age & start to mature, we will increase the size of their prey. As for crickets, they only should be feed small crickets no larger then the space between there eyes. If to big of prey is feed, your dragon can become impacted. This is an emergency situation which could cause paralysis of your dragons back legs. You will need a vet for treatment. At around 2-3 weeks old, we introduce a water dish. For these little ones, we actually use a large Petri dish, & just put in a very small amount, to just cover the bottom. These 4 week old babies are now use to getting their water in a dish. They are waiting for us to pour in just a bit of water for them to drink.

Another way to hydrate your dragon is to give them bathes. Our dragons are bathed once per week, more if necessary. After some time, our dragons get used to being bathed. Most readily like to be bathed & will swim around in the tub, while others can not wait to get out. Warm bathes can also help produce bowel movements in dragons.

SUB-ADULTS TO ADULTS

From 3 months on up to adults we still offer appropriate size crickets, silk worms, & all veggies & fruits. An excellent reference on what your dragons diet can consist of on a daily basis, what they may have occasionally, & what foods should be avoided, is at www.beautifuldragons.com. If you go to their nutrition page there you will find an 8 page list of foods, that will help you better chose what to feed your dragon. When our dragons are approximately 4 months of age, we do offer them very small super worms, as an occasional snack. We then switch to grating their veggies & fruits, when possible, as this technique seems to interest our dragons. We do offer a water dish at this time, that is ½ way full.

We also use Rep-Cal-calcium with vitamin D. & Herptivite-multi vitamin. For newly hatched dragons to sub-adults, we dust, one meal a day with the calcium with Vitamin D. Herptivite, multi vitamin is dusted on one meal every other day. When our dragons become adults, we dust with calcium 3 times a week & dust with the Herptivite once per week.

We also offer "Zoo-Med" pellets to our dragons. We like to use this brand as they are already soft inside the pellet. Others may require you to soak in water for 10-15 minutes. We feel that adding a wet pellet to our dragons environment, could cause bacteria to form on the food. Just ensure that you are cleaning these dishes good & keeping fresh pellets in place.

If properly maintained, bearded dragons grow fairly fast in their first year of life. The average dragon is about 19-20 inches long, from nose tip to tail tip. We NEVER recommend keeping males together, as sooner or later one will dominate the other & injury is probable. Depending on the size of your enclosure, personality of your dragons, 2 females may be enclosed together, although we do NOT recommend this. We still have found a dominance situation with female to female living as well, but fewer injuries do occur. Many pet owners/breeders keep females together with no problems; it all depends on their dispositions. If you are going to have two females together, we would suggest keeping a close eye on them, until you feel comfortable that they are going to get along okay with one another. Unless you want to take the time & spend the money on breeding projects, keep males & females in separate enclosures. If you choose not to separate the males from the females, they will likely breed at some point & time.

STRESS- SIGNS & REASONS!

Stress can be a common ailment to a sick beardie. Stress signs are simple if you know what to look for. One way you can tell if your dragons is stressed is by looking at their stomach area. If this white area is covered with black, patterned, markings, you dragon is stressed. We have had people comment, that their dragon they got from a pet store, has a beautiful pattern on their stomach & how come ours don't.

Baby George is showing stress markings on his belly. He had just taken a bath & he obviously did not care for it. Now he is playing dead, as for us to stop & put him back in his enclosure.

Some triggers of stress that you should be aware of are as follows:

ADJUSTING TO A  NEW HOME

Is a most common situation that causes stress. That is why we change our baby's environments several times before we let them go to a new home. On most occasions this does help, rather they are stress free or only stressed for a day or two upon arrival.

Another can be a male to male encounter in any way, shape or form. We have even had male dragons become stressed when seeing a picture of another male. The only time our males see each other, is when we are breeding & that is only for a very short period of time.

A smaller dragon with a larger dragon, or vise versa, can lead to a stressful situation for one or even both dragons. The rule on this one is, never put 2 dragons together that are more then ¼ to ½ inches apart in length. Larger dragons are known to try & eat smaller dragons, causing death.

Temperatures or improper UV Rays can also lead to a stressful situation. Always check your basking area temps as well as their ambient side temps. As the seasons change, so will their temperatures in their enclosures. If you have more then one area you keep your dragons, ensure to have a temp gun in each spot. This is a good reminder for you to check your dragon's temps as often as possible.

Another dreadful, very stressful, situation for your dragon is if they have parasites or high bacteria counts. We have encountered this once in our hobby & NEVER want to encounter it again. As part of our mission, we attempt to keep our dragons free from parasites, through a prevention treatment designed by our exotic vet & ourselves.

We are not able to professionally give you advice on how to medicate your dragon. The treatment below, is our own theory based on our exotic vets recommendations. Please note that it is very important that you find your own exotic vet in your area, to discuss treatment, & to have physicals done on your dragons, as you would a dog or cat.

This following theory or treatment is NOT necessary in maintaining a bearded dragon. It is the best way, which we found, to ensure our dragons stay parasite free.

With the guidance of our exotic vet, we dose our dragons once every 3-6 months with Panacur. Panacur is a antiparasitic that will kill parasites such as pinworms, & other such worms. It is usually tolerated well by bearded dragons under the supervision of your vet. We also use a product called "Worm Guard", which contains all natural ingredients, that flushes out our dragon's digestive tracts, with a benefit of an appetite stimulant. We use "Worm Guard" every first 3-5 days of the month. We put a pinch of it in with their calcium with Vitamin D powder & dust the dragon's food, once per day, for 3-5 consecutive days of each month. This treatment also can cause loose stools for these days, so ensure that your dragon is getting plenty of fluids during this time. (We recently changed to a product called "Worm Guard")

We do our own fecal testing here at Dragonz Whispers, but do have all of our dragons checked by an exotic vet every 6 months. At least once during this time, their vet does do a fecal check on them, at our request, to ensure nothing else is going on. We feel that every dragon owner should have a good exotic vet, to perform physicals & fecal exams at least every 6 months to a year.

Once again, we are not able to professionally give you advice on how to medicate your dragon. The above treatment is our own theory based on our exotic vets recommendations. Please note that it is very important that you find your own exotic vet in your area, to discuss treatment, & to have physicals done on your dragons, as you would a dog or cat.