Bearded Dragons Grow Fast!

Jimkel

Just looking through my bearded dragon photos here, Thought Id post them here, to give potential buyers an idea of how quickly they grow. and to show off my babies,:D

see how quickly they went from being the small cute little babies in the pet store to the big smelly lizards they are now, And worse, their not even near fully grown yet!

But I dont mind, just something people should know before they buy a lizard. They are not for everyone, and they grow fast!


The first few pics are of them in their second month, the last 2 pics are of them at 5 months

Jimkel

This last pic is of them now at nearly 6 months old.

Vinnie K

Ya there fairly rapid growers alright. How many do you have? Im getting 2 in January.
What substrate are you useing?

Jimkel

Vinnie K wrote: »

Ya there fairly rapid growers alright. How many do you have? Im getting 2 in January.
What substrate are you useing?

we used newspaper when they were very young, but now we are using Coral Sand, looks fantastic, hard enough to keep clean and is very annoying when gets caught between the sliding glass doors and the runner.

Coral sand is very safe compared to the finer sands you can buy for reptiles, because its large enough to be noticed by the lizard if some gets in its mouth, then he can just spit it out, whereas fine sand just gets everywhere, up their nose, on their food, sand can build up inside the intestine and cause impaction of the gut.

Go for Coral sand or Bark chippings, both are safe, but keep on newspaper untill they reach about 12 inches long. or as soon as their big enough for say size 3 crickets. The bark will need replacing more often then the sand, because it can get smelly as it soaks up waste. The coral sand lasts allot longer but can be a nuisance with sliding glass doors on the vivarium.

Vinnie K

Hey,
Thanks for the info jimkel, i was thinking about useing some kind of black slate or tile, but have to check about heat mats first, ive heard mixed reports that you should and shouldnt use one, if i do use a heat mat do you think the heat would penetrate the tile? Always loved beardies and have wanted some for ages but didnt want to rush in to it. What kind of cover do you think are best for them, the glass ones or the wire mesh ones, and what size viv would be best for 2 beardies? Thanks in advance dude.
Vinnie.

Jimkel

No probs man, There are allot of scare storys out there on the interweb, but from both my own experience and mainly based on advice from veteran reptile keepers such as Ben from Reptile Havan in Dublin city center, I can tell you that modern heat mats are quite safe.

I can place my hand on my heat mat indefinatly and its just a nice warm, no scalding temperature. The heat mat should not be too big. less then half the size of the Vivarium, to give a heat gradiant and night so the beardies can move away if they wish to cool down and vice versa.

Remember that the lights must go out at night, forget about these night lights that generate heat, too much light is stressful for any animal.so unless you wanna fork out for a ceramic heater, and self adjusting thermostat and the extra cost on your Electricity bill, a heat mat is the way to go. Just make sure you buy it new, as second hand ones may be of the older, more likely to fail or overheat variaty. By the way ceramic heaters can overheat a wooden vivaria as well as drying out the air inside, possibly effecting the beardies ability to shed their skin as some ambient moister helps soften dead skin so it slips of easily.

I doubt the heat would penatrate the tile, well it would but it would take about half the night to heat up, you would need to switch it on several hours before lights out.

Tile is a good idea however, you should consider having a sandy area (Again I recommend aquarium coral sand) as beardies like to dig, especially at night when they wanna sleep in a safe place. the bearded dragon evolved in a semi arid habitat, allot of wide open space so hiding and digging little hollows under rocks etc make them feel safe from predators.


That brings me to Vivaria, If your gonna get them at roughly 6 - 8 weeks old, which is the usual age they they become available in pet shops, then there are things to consider. Before I start though forget about the mesh terrariums you see in pet shops, suitable for several pet lizards yes, but not beardies, beardies are a Large lizard compared to many others on the pet market and have different requirements.

Dont use an aquarium to keep them in, it can be done with a mesh top, but the cleaning will be difficult, Amongst other problems.

A cage like setup as seen with Chamelions is not suitable, nor is a vivarium that is just tall and not long. Beardies are SemiTerrestial, which means the live on the ground and climb to bask. they need lots of floor space.

Firstly I recommend a snake enclosure like vivaria, made of melamine faced wood with sliding glass at the front.

This set up makes access easy and more importantly holds heat well, I can heat my 7 foot vivaria with one 60 watt spotlight, which they bask under. I placed polystyrine sheets on the top of the vivarium for insulation, although I also have a vent on the top too. but bare in mind they are in a warm apartment so I cant vouch for this in a cold room like a garage, which may require more heat sources.

The reason I recommend melamine faced wood is that its water proof so it wont get spoiled or damp and is wipe clean.

They are allot cheaper to build yourself or have a friend whos handy with wood knock one together for ya, the most expensive peice is the glass,
your looking at 100 euro for two sheets with polished and rounded edges. lenghts of plastic glass runners (the slots in which the glass fits into, and slides upon) are available DIY stores, I got mine from homebase but they were a bit pricey for two lenghts of plastic, around 17 euro each.
The wood cost me 80 euro, so all in all it cost around 300, (Including the lights and heat mat) to build a 7 foot by 2 by 2 vivarium.

If I was to buy that premade, It would easily cost me 1000 euro.

So bearing in mind that Beardies grow fast and they dont like to feel exposed (as in the wild an easaly visable beardie is a soon to be dead beardy) your faced with a Problem: Having A Vivaria thats small enough for two baby beardies to feel comfortable and safe, and having a vivaria big enough to house the two fully grown adults, which they will soon become.

You have two options

1: Buy a small 2 - 3 foot vivaria only to have to keep buying larger ones as they grow, eventually getting to the full size Which would mean buying 2 or possibly 3 vivariums in one year.(very expensive!)

or 2: do what I did, I built a 7 foot Vivaria as I said, but made a petition wall inside out of melamine faced wood and placed it at 3 foot thus making it smaller (This was for 5 babies). Then as they grew I moved the "Wall" back to 5 foot which is where it is now, as they are not fully grown. When I need to I will simply remove the "Wall". Although the spare 2 foot is ideal for raising newly hatched neonates if I manage to breed them.

so this Saved me buying or building larger ones every few months.

So for 2 Baby Beardies I would recommend at least a 2 foot long, 2 foot high,(to keep the spot light at a safe distance) Vivarium. This will minimize fighting as they wont always be "in each others face".

For two 6 - 8 month old Beardies You will need 4 foot long minimum

For two adult Beardies you will need at least 5 foot. You will see Big beardies being kept in pet shops in small enclosures, but these are not permanent homes and therefore should not be taken as the correct way to keep them. An adult Dominant Male bearded dragon can reach just over 2 foot in lenght, Although your average lenght in captivity here in Ireland, due to inadequate husbandry, would only be about 20 inches max.

They need space to explore, exercise, hunt, "get away from it all"(ie;Hide), And they certainly need a big enough enclosure so he/she doesnt end up sitting in their own feces.

Under the conditions ive been keeping mine, numbering 3 now, they have grown 15 inches in lenght, they are 6 months old. I put this down to the large enclosure, High levels of UVA/UVB light, a good temperature gradiant across the vivarium, and a heathy diet of Crickets, Kale, Dandilion, Courgette and spinach. I think Im gonna have big beardies on my hands in a years time!

Many petshops will tell you a beardie can live for around 5 years. But in fact given a healthy diet (High veg, Low protein when adults) they can reach the ripe old age of 20, And dont let anyone tell you otherwise, Ive seen 15+ year old beardies with my own eyes on several occasions.

So there ya go man, hope I helped, Any questions feel free to ask;) as I said I've based this on my own study and experience, But mainly on the expert advice and support given by Ben at Reptile Havan, and also the great advice regarding diet from the guys at Reptile Village in Kilkenny. I recommend talking to at least one of these guys before buying, They know their stuff and are only to happy to help. Also Make sure you buy a proffesionals book like those published by advanced Vivarium systems.

Sorry bout the long speil! But as you know theres more to keeping Reptiles then just putting them in a hot box and feeding crickets!

Again if in doubt speak to Ben in Reptile Havan about heat mats, he will put your mind at ease.
I trust his advice as he cares for the welfare of the animals, not just trying to make a quick sale, He actually advised me against buying several expensive items from his shop because they would not do as good a job as some of the cheaper items he had, so hes not just out to make a quick buck.

Jimkel

PS: I really really recommend keeping babies on Newspaper for the first few months, its not attractive but you risk impaction of the gut from swallowed sand while their small, oh and one more tidbit, when you do get them, never ever feed them Mealworms for the first 6 months, they can eat their way out of the beardy, because I know that some petshops will try to flog you them if they are all out of crickets. Just some advice.

Vinnie K

Hey, Thanks for all the info jimkel, have it printed out and put aside, will come in handy in jan when i get them, thanks again.

Jimkel

Vinnie K wrote: »

Hey, Thanks for all the info jimkel, have it printed out and put aside, will come in handy in jan when i get them, thanks again.

No probs man, I also posted a full care sheet on the care sheet sticky on this forum, it's here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055063572&page=3