Bearded dragon

i really want a bearded dragon. i worked with them and the other exotics at college while i was there.

ive been trying to look into them as pets, i know their basic needs, and diet and things etc, but trying to read up on viv sizes, heat lights and all that sort of stuff, im finding it difficult to see which is right!

so any help? any of you have beardies? pics please

ive seen a few on preloved lately but i cant advise on vivs etc sorry, my friend uses the reptile forums though and they are meant to be friendly

I have a lot in my patio!!!I live in Puerto Rico.Tropic.Have a river in the back of the house and they come everyday to bath in the sun and eat "something" I feed the birds(throw them bread, chicken, seeds etc) and they steal their food!They are not afraid of nothing except dogs.Neighbours have dogs so they come to my house that is fenced and feel protected.They jump over the fence, climb trees (very high and in deep falls) They are in my roof at night sometimes and touch the door if feed them directly for some time.They think they have the right to do so. But this is a tropical,sub tropical animal.They will not feel as happy as in their environment.They love sun so much that winter must be very depressing for them.They can get sick easily under "control" conditions.I do not recommend to force them to live under those circumstances.This is not a native animal.It was bring here by pet shops and when people does not want to care for them anymore,they let them go free.Here you can hunt them but nobody does. I have to bring some photos to my system.You will see an inmense one there.I will make a point to let everybody knows so you can enjoy it.

it must be wonderful to see them like that

there are alot of animals that arent native to the countries they now live in, but i dont think its a bad thing to have them here.

alot of people have them, and they do well as pets, plus for a pet market, they have never been in their natural enviroment, so they know different.

Don't get me wrong,please! I am not saying you should or could not have them .Never! It's just that as an animal lover, rescuer, protector etc, i would love to see them ALL in perfect conditions always. But in fact, they surely make good pets. It is not that they know how to manipulate you,It is that they do manipulate you! They are familiar.Instant familiarity! and they know "their people"very well.I read somwhere here in Dogsey that there is someone(s) opening refuges/shelters in Spain.These people must know something about these theme because it is one of the animals they will find there.(In Spain are very popular) And i supose there have to be some vets between them.If you want to check ,maybe they can help you.
I am looking for the cable to download (don't remember where it is)to show you the photos.But i'll let you know!

id definately do all my research before getting one, id want to make sure the enviroment was perfect for it, i wouldnt want an animal to suffer because i hadnt researched its needs properly.

i know quite a bit about them as they were in our exotics section at college. i love all reptiles snakes etc

do your homework well, be wary of some of the sites online as they give different views on how to care for beardies i would get a barrons book on beardies as i found them to be more accurate. also if there are any reptile houses/zoos within your area pop in most are more than happy to spend a bit of time to give advice to you. good luck

Hiya

I have a much loved beardie!! Will try and post some pics soon!!

I have a 3ft tank (a 4ft would be better though for a full grown beardie - but my Brynn has a rather short tail after having it bit off when he was tiny) You need a bulb for some heat (or a ceramic heat emitter) don't be fooled into buying expensive reptile bulbs though - I use a reflector bulb that I get in my local hardware store (although even a normal lightbulb will work fine) You also need a UV strip light (please don't get a coil uvb bulb - it will damage the dragons eyes) Normally a 10% uvb is the best - 1 foot shorter than your tank. You will also probably want a heat-mat to keep the heat up - but put on the side of the tank not the floor. Temp should be around 30c in basking spot and around 20-25c at the cooler end. I use 1/2 slate tile in my viv (good for keeping nails down) and 1/2 reptile carpet - much better to use a solid substrate to avoid the beardie eating the substrate - and please don't use calci sand - it is the worst

Food is the biggest way to making a happy / unhappy beardie. When they are growing you want to feed 80% protein 20% veg etc then switch once they get older (not sure on exact age) Crickets are a good staple and wax worms for treats (also butterworms, roaches - have a look online) - then when they are over 16inches you can feed morio superworms (large mealworms) please do not feed normal mealworms - beardies cannot digest the chitin shell on them. Veg wise you can be quite varied - the more viarity the better - I normally feed butternut squash, spring greens, rocket & dandelions as staples - then you can occasionally add things like some spinach, a little cabbage, curly kale is also pretty good, some fruit (try and get a list online) Food should never be given if it is bigger than the space between their eyes (apart from morio worms when they are over 16inches)

I don't give Bryn water in his tank as it all it does is raise the humidity (which isn't great for them) I just regulrary bath him (which is also good for the poop - yuck) but your beardie could like a drink so that is a choice I guess.

Really sorry if I have said things you already know - but hope I have helped a little.

I have the same equipment as above and feed the same with the added addition of cockroaches which i breed myself for them. i have 3 altogether a male and 2 females (male separate of course)
if i can find it i do have a picture of all 3 together and ill try and post it.

the picture

thanks for that

the tanks at college had the sand in...

we had quite a few at college, but they didnt have the heat mats in as they were all climate controls with thermostats and things...

i definately want some, maybe two females. id like them to have company