Researching bearded dragon care...

[Raetea]

Hi all

Just wondering if there are any bearded dragon keepers out there who can recommend any good books/sites?

I'm looking at getting a beardie next year, at the moment I'm learning as much as I can about them (I'll be a 1st time owner).

Cheers

*Edited typo*

[Squirt]

Have you seen this? http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=42391

[Raetea]

Sure have, I've also had a sift through the forum - very helpful. I'm really just looking for any extra recommendations I can supplement with, I see there is a few books around, not sure which are good/up to date.

[Squirt]

I guess if you have any more queries you can always ask people on this forum :thup:

[repto]

you can get all the stuff you need to know via the net.The bearded dragon manual is also good,if you need something to hold onto.

[ally07]

I became a first-time beardie owner earlier this year as well and I've found that googling 'bearded dragon care' and reading lots and lots of different sources has been the most helpful. Most sources tend to disagree on things such as staple diet and lighting, but reading through this forum has helped to sift through the murky information. The bearded dragon manual is a good resource but there's nothing there that you can't read on google.

[henward]

The internet is full of information as well as this forum

the key is that do your homework first before buying.

and 1 advice i have, DO NOT CHEAP OUT ON THE REPTILE BULB!!!

[Varanophile]

you can get all the stuff you need to know via the net.The bearded dragon manual is also good,if you need something to hold onto.

The book Repto has recommended is a brilliant starting point.

I know there is a thread about beardie care, but here are the basics- I have kept beardeds for over a decade now, and this info is from learning from my own mistakes and advice from other keepers.

In NZ in my opinion best to keep them outdoors over Summer (doesn't have to be a massive cage), and bring them in over the Winter months.

Brumate them every year (except for first year)....there is an extensive section on this in the book....no brumation will have a dramatic effect upon their behaviour and they won't breed.

Feed them greens twice a week- dandelion, watercress, nausturtium, puha, grated carrot, grapes, strawberries (just make sure when you feed a mix, the mix is around: 80% green leafy stuff, 10% carrot and 10% fruit)

You can also use store bought salad mixes, but don't use them exclusively- spinach is fine once in a while, but it contains oxalates which prevent calcium uptake.

Feed them insects daily or every second day until they are adult size. After this, twice a week is fine.

Insects to feed- mealworms (cheap and high in protein/easy to breed, locusts (easy to breed/high in vitamin C, crickets (bit of a pain but are high in protein and fat and vitamins...excellent food for fast growth and putting condition on breeding adults), waxworms (same as crickets)....and any spiders/bees/praying mantids/cockroaches/katydids you can find from pesticide free areas. I don't think it is good to feed worms or snails or slugs...but other people have done so without issues....and they LOVE cicadas.

If you keep your dragons outdoors or indoors with mercury vapours then dust food 1-2 times a week with calcium WITHOUT D3. No need to use vitamin powders if you feed foods listed above.

If you do need to keep indoors all year round, use a mercury vapour bulb...a 160W is perfect for a tank 1500mm x 750mm x 750mm...your local pet store can source either JBL brand through KONGS, or the Exoterra ones through PETWARE...I prefer the petware ones. It is more expensive to buy through the pet shops rather than importing your own...but they are covered by the consumer gurantees act. The 160W Exoterra Merc Vapour from Petware retails for around $80-$90, and you should get a good 18- 24 months out of it...unlike fluoros the spectrum does not fade- if the merc vapour is working the UVA and UVB is pretty much consistent for the life of the bulb.

Merc vapours emitt heat, UVA and UVB (essential for converting calcium into a useable form)

You need the extra height on the tank (750mm) as the mercury vapour bulbs are pretty grunty.

I have my merc vapours on a timer- 14 hours on for summer, 10 hours on leading into brumation....use a timer- if you don't and you flick the lights on and off at even slightly different times then your dragons circadian rhythm (internal clock) will be confused.

A large tank with a merc vapour down one end will create a heat gradient throughout the tank, so the dragon can choose where to sit and regulate its own temp. If the tank is too small then the basking spot will be too hot, and the beardie won't use it....so it won't get any benefit from the merc vapour.

You don't need fluoro tubes, or a night time heat source.

Supply your dragons with a bath once a week/fortnight..if they are outside this is easy...put the dish in the cage empty. Fill it woth a hose so that the beardie can see the water moving, usually this will get them into the dish pretty quickly- some beardies won't recognize standing water as water, so this method works well. Inside use the same method but don't get water on your bulbs.

Hope that helps.

[Raetea]

Cheers guys, especially Varanophile for laying out that info, very helpful, it covers a few things that were a bit murky for me. There's soooo much info out there on google - as a newbie it's hard to know what is right or wrong, and just where to begin. I think I'll also pick up the bearded dragon manual at some stage, just so I've got something that's not on line based to flick through.

Re. worms, what is the reason they are not so good to feed? Is it that they might tangle and cause impaction? (Just a guess)

Also, vet checks - how often do people find their beardie might need a vet trip? Do they need to go in for worming etc

[herperjosh]

Cheers guys, especially Varanophile for laying out that info, very helpful, it covers a few things that were a bit murky for me. There's soooo much info out there on google - as a newbie it's hard to know what is right or wrong, and just where to begin. I think I'll also pick up the bearded dragon manual at some stage, just so I've got something that's not on line based to flick through.

Re. worms, what is the reason they are not so good to feed? Is it that they might tangle and cause impaction? (Just a guess)

Also, vet checks - how often do people find their beardie might need a vet trip? Do they need to go in for worming etc

You got part of the worm bit right! They also are really fatty so only treats.

[Insect Direct]

worms can slither into the brain and take over the animal. then come breeding time instead of laying eggs all you get is worms. that's where tequila worms come from.

nothing wrong with the intranet.

hth

[livingart]

you should leave us worms alone senor

[Varanophile]

Cheers guys, especially Varanophile for laying out that info, very helpful, it covers a few things that were a bit murky for me. There's soooo much info out there on google - as a newbie it's hard to know what is right or wrong, and just where to begin. I think I'll also pick up the bearded dragon manual at some stage, just so I've got something that's not on line based to flick through.

Re. worms, what is the reason they are not so good to feed? Is it that they might tangle and cause impaction? (Just a guess)

Also, vet checks - how often do people find their beardie might need a vet trip? Do they need to go in for worming etc

A girl bought a dragon off me and fed it worms as the staple food. Dragon became ill. Vet said it was due to the soil in the worms gut building up in the dragon. Could be total bollocks, but best to be safe. When assessing foods just ask yourself if the animal would likely eat a similar food in the wild....I don't think there are too many earthworms to be found in the inland australian deserts, and if there were then dragons don't exactly dig around for their food.

Only go to a vet if you really need to...just my opinion...I have not met any fantastic reptile vets in NZ yet and they can be downright dangerous if they guess at problems (personal experience). If your dragons have no contact with other lizards then I would not worry about parasitic worms...so don't worm them. Ivan at the reptile park in Ti Point occasionally worms his animals as they come into contact with wild skinks, so he would be the guy to talk to about worming I guess.

[livingart]

this vet and his team are building some good experience with reps

http://ivabs.massey.ac.nz/staff_indiv.asp?id=304

[Varanophile]

This is pretty good info re basking spots etc:

From: http://lllreptile.com/info/library/animal-care-sheets/lizards-and-monitors/-/bearded-dragon/

Heating and Lighting

As a desert species, these lizards like a lot of heat and light. Daytime basking temperatures may safely approach 105 degrees or more as long as the rest of the enclosure stays cooler. This ambient temperature should be 80 degrees or slightly less. Use of basking bulbs or ceramic heat emitters are ideal ways to provide the type of heat that this species requires.

Nighttime temperatures should not drop below 72 degrees for baby dragons, and no less than 68 for adults. Admittedly, a few cooler nights will likely cause no harm to these lizards, but it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Bearded dragons are a diurnal basking species, and as such, require exposure to full spectrum light in order to properly synthesize vitamin D3 and for calcium absorption in the GI tract. Specifically, light in the UVB range is required. In nature, the sun would provide these rays, but in captivity we must rely on fluorescent bulbs designed specifically for this purpose.

New mercury vapor bulbs such as ZooMed's Powersun are a new way to provide heat and UVB in one bulb. This form of light encourages a more natural range of behaviors, and the high amount of UVB emitted from these bulbs has been shown to promote healthy growth and even reverse minor cases of metabolic bone disease.

[FACEAnthrax]

Hey what you guys reckon about katydids, I've seen a few care sheets that say they're all good. Has anyone ever tried feeding them to their bd.

The ones we have here are the same species as the ones found in aus.

Just though they might be easy to breed, being able to survive and breed in the wild here

[Varanophile]

Hey what you guys reckon about katydids, I've seen a few care sheets that say they're all good. Has anyone ever tried feeding them to their bd.

The ones we have here are the same species as the ones found in aus.

Just though they might be easy to breed, being able to survive and breed in the wild here

Primo food.

[FACEAnthrax]

Primo food.

Are they really? So you used them before??

I might look into breeding them as feeders if this pans out.

[Varanophile]

Are they really? So you used them before??

I might look into breeding them as feeders if this pans out.

Pain in the arse to breed. Eggs need to be chilled first and take 3 months or to hatch. Yeah, end of summer on a warm night find a pepper tree or wysteria that you can hear the males calling from and spot for them with a torch. Put red cellophane over the torch and they don't see the beam. Can catch heaps and heaps. Easier to breed locusts and crickets, so why would you bother?

[Varanophile]

In the wild beardeds have been known to hang out under zebra finch nests and wait for the dominant chick to push its sibling out of the nest.

Heaps more fun than feeding katydids and prob. easier to breed too.........

[FACEAnthrax]

Pain in the arse to breed. Eggs need to be chilled first and take 3 months or to hatch. Yeah, end of summer on a warm night find a pepper tree or wysteria that you can hear the males calling from and spot for them with a torch. Put red cellophane over the torch and they don't see the beam. Can catch heaps and heaps. Easier to breed locusts and crickets, so why would you bother?

Just as another feeder insect so I'm not just relying mainly on locusts, and they shouldn't require much if any heating to breed either with them being able to breed outside and all.

Awell going by you they are all good to use then because you've done it. Thanks

[hothouse]

New mercury vapor bulbs such as ZooMed's Powersun are a new way to provide heat and UVB in one bulb.

My biggest concern with the Exo Terra & ZooMed's mercury vapor bulbs is the high wattage of these bulbs (160watt), and the small enclosures that most pet keepers house their Beardies in. These mercury vapor bulbs need a large enclosure in order to not to overheat ones pet. Most Reptile terrariums sold in the pet shops or made by DIY keepers are a standard 4ft long x max 2ft high x 2ft wide. These bulbs will either overheat ones enclosure or blow prematurely from lack of ventilation (most enclosures I've seen are simply hot boxes with very little ventilation). For those wanting to use these mercury vapor bulbs need to do their homework as they can't be used with thermostats or dimmers. Trial temps carefully, without introducing your Bearded dragon till you are certain you won't overheat your pet. However, if you have a very large enclosure I would certainly recommend using mercury vapor bulbs.

[Varanophile]

My biggest concern with the Exo Terra & ZooMed's mercury vapor bulbs is the high wattage of these bulbs (160watt), and the small enclosures that most pet keepers house their Beardies in. These mercury vapor bulbs need a large enclosure in order to not to overheat ones pet. Most Reptile terrariums sold in the pet shops or made by DIY keepers are a standard 4ft long x max 2ft high x 2ft wide. These bulbs will either overheat ones enclosure or blow prematurely from lack of ventilation (most enclosures I've seen are simply hot boxes with very little ventilation). For those wanting to use these mercury vapor bulbs need to do their homework as they can't be used with thermostats or dimmers. Trial temps carefully, without introducing your Bearded dragon till you are certain you won't overheat your pet. However, if you have a very large enclosure I would certainly recommend using mercury vapor bulbs.

True. Need at least the dimensions specified earlier in this thread. You can also get the 100W bulbs, both exoterra and JBL do them. Also be weary of some of the 'unknown' chinese brands you can source on the net, or the ones sold by Ultimate Reptiles in South Australia....any bulbs that fail the specs of companies like exoterra end up in the market through smaller players that get the 'rejects' cheaply. I ended up wiping out almost my entire colony as the bulbs I got cheap had insanely high UV levels that caused leukemia...and before anyone gets their knickers in a twist in Adelaide, I did have the bulbs tested (confirmed UV WAY above safe levels) and 2 separate vets confirmed leukemia by way of very expensive tests on my animals. Buy from a NZ company and if this happens to your animals you are covered for damages.

[Raetea]

True. Need at least the dimensions specified earlier in this thread. You can also get the 100W bulbs, both exoterra and JBL do them. Also be weary of some of the 'unknown' chinese brands you can source on the net, or the ones sold by Ultimate Reptiles in South Australia....any bulbs that fail the specs of companies like exoterra end up in the market through smaller players that get the 'rejects' cheaply. I ended up wiping out almost my entire colony as the bulbs I got cheap had insanely high UV levels that caused leukemia...and before anyone gets their knickers in a twist in Adelaide, I did have the bulbs tested (confirmed UV WAY above safe levels) and 2 separate vets confirmed leukemia by way of very expensive tests on my animals. Buy from a NZ company and if this happens to your animals you are covered for damages.

I'll definitely be running the enclosure for a bit to make sure temps etc are all good. Certainly will be careful with bulbs - sorry to read of your loss

Regarding the 100w bulbs mentioned above - is one of them suitable for a typical 1200x60x60mm tank enclosure, or will it still be too strong?

[hothouse]

Regarding the 100w bulbs mentioned above - is one of them suitable for a typical 1200x60x60mm tank enclosure, or will it still be too strong?

If you are referring to mercury vapor bulbs, I'm not sure if there are 100w ones available in NZ at the moment. If there are, I haven't seen any for sale.