BEARDED DRAGON

Species name: Pogona vitticeps

Lifespan: 8-15 years

Origin: Australia

Adult size: Up to 24 inches in length

Caging

We consider a 40 gallon tank to be the absolute bare minimum for an adult bearded dragon and ideally you should provide them with more space. However, we have found 40 gallons to be suitable for some senior bearded dragons and for dragons with mobility issues. Preferable cage sizes include a 75 gallon tank or a 120 gallon (4’x2’x2’) tank or enclosure. The bigger the better! You can assess how much space your bearded dragon needs by its size and activity level. Young bearded dragons can be kept in 20 or 40 gallon enclosures.

Decor

At least one basking spot is an absolute must. Climbing structures can be added for additional enrichment, many seem to enjoy hammocks. Bearded dragons can be pretty active, so it’s preferable to provide them with a decent amount of open space. Some also appreciate an enclosed area to hide and sleep in.

Substrate

Our recommended substrates are paper towel, tile, shelf liner, or a sand/soil bioactive mixture. Our personal favorite is tile or shelf liner. It is safe, attractive, and easy to clean. Paper towels or brown craft paper are great for new bearded dragons that are still being quarantined. A sand/soil mixture is a good option when used in a bioactive enclosure with an established clean up crew. We recommend that beginners start with a non-particulate substrate, as a particulate substrate (such as a sand/soil mixture) can cause impaction issues if the owner has an incorrect basking temperature or is feeding unsafe foods. The owner should also take the time to learn about bioactive cycles, culture arid isopods and springtails, and establish a bioactivity community before attempting this with their bearded dragon.

We do not recommend reptile carpet, walnut shell, or calcium sand. Reptile carpet promotes an unclean environment as bearded dragon feces are very messy and not easy to clean off of carpet. It has to be completely removed and washed whenever the dragon defecates, and doing this daily is not practical. Walnut shell is an abrasive material that can cause impaction and bleeding if ingested, and calcium sand can solidify in the gastrointestinal tract and cause impaction. Wood chips/shavings are also not recommended, as these larger pieces can cause impaction and these materials are difficult to keep clean or establish in a bioactive environment.

Heating

Bearded dragons should be provided with a basking spot under a heat lamp. A variety of different basking bulbs can be used and you may have to play around with the wattage to get the temperature right, based on your enclosure height, lid material, and basking platform. You can use an infrared temperature gun (available on Amazon) to reliably measure the temperature. Juvenile bearded dragons should be provided with a hot spot of 110°F – 115°F. An adult’s basking spot should be 100°F – 105°F. As long as the temperature stays above 65°F, all lights and heating elements can be turned off at night. A nighttime temperature drop can actually improve their sleep cycle and is beneficial to their overall health. If the room temperature drops below 65°F at night, a ceramic heat emitter or deep heat projector can be used, as they produce heat without producing light.

Lighting

In most cases, the ideal UVB light for a bearded dragon is a 10.0 T5 HO UVB linear bulb. Popular brands include Arcadia and the Zoo Med Reptisun. Some keepers use T8 bulbs, but T5 bulbs emit stronger UVB and are more appropriate for species that require high levels of UVB. However, if you are mounting your UVB light inside the enclosure rather than on top of a screen lid, you may want to consider using a T8 instead. UVB bulbs should be replaced every 6-12 months depending on type and brand, as they will stop emitting UVB.

Diet

Babies/Juveniles – 80% insects, 20% greens/vegetables. Feed young bearded dragons (under 4 months old) as many insects as they can eat in 15 minutes once a day. Offer a salad 3-4 times a week. We recommend slowly transferring over to an adult diet around 6-12 months.

Adults – 20% insects, 80% greens/vegetables. Offer a salad daily and insects 1-3 times a week. Monitor their body condition to determine how many insects to offer per feeding. For a healthy bearded dragon we typically offer 3-5 large dubias, 10-15 large crickets, or 5-7 superworms.

Superworms should be used as infrequent treats as they are higher in fat. A great treat for bearded dragons is hornworms, which we feed about monthly. Black soldier fly larvae are a high-calcium, nutritious feeder insect, but some dragons have trouble digesting BSFL or do not like the taste of them. The size of the feeder insect should be about the size in between your dragon’s eyes. We do feed larger sizes for hornworms, as they are soft and easy to digest. Adult bearded dragons are prone to obesity, so keep track of their body condition and limit insect feedings if needed.

The key to providing your bearded dragon with a healthy diet is variety! Never rely on one or two food items, rotate through a variety of different greens, vegetables, fruits, and insects. We’ve provided a bearded dragon food chart below that will help you design the right diet for your bearded dragon.

Help! My bearded dragon doesn’t like salad!

We get many dragons surrendered, often overweight, that the owners claim hate salads or will only eat fruit. While bearded dragons can be picky, a diet of solely fruit and insects is extremely unhealthy and can lead to serious and potentially fatal health issues such as dental disease, hepatic lipidosis, and reproductive issues such as follicular stasis. If you want your dragon to live a long healthy life, their main diet has to be greens and salads. We have listed some tips below for encouraging your dragon to eat their salads.

-Offer fragrant greens such as cilantro and parsley.

-Put a small amount of 100% vegetable baby food on the salad, such as butternut squash or pumpkin.

-If your dragon likes fruit, chop the fruit very finely and mix it together with the greens. Slowly reduce the amount of fruit that is fed with the greens.

-Try many different greens and prepare them in a variety of ways, such as chopped finely or offered with tongs.

-Tough love is the best way to encourage healthy eating. A dragon that is constantly fed insects and fruit is never going to start eating their salads. Reduce insect feeding to once a week and offer less insects in total.

Supplementation

Supplements are typically offered via a powder that is dusted on the insects. This is done by adding some of the powder to a bag or cup, and shaking the insects in the powder. Our preferred supplement is Repashy Calcium Plus, which has both calcium and a multivitamin. Repashy Calcium Plus is designed to be used with every insect feeding. If you are not using Repashy Calcium Plus, for adult bearded dragons you can offer calcium without D3 twice a week and a multivitamin supplement once per week. Juveniles should be offered calcium every feeding, and multivitamins twice a week. We recommend avoiding supplements you add to their water, as this dilutes the supplement making it harder to control the amount. Bearded dragons also do not reliably drink water. We have seen metabolic bone disease develop in lizards only offered calcium in their water.

Water

A large bowl of fresh water should always be provided. It should be big enough for them to soak in should they choose. Some keepers don’t believe in providing a water bowl. However, we have had many bearded dragons surrendered from owners who chose not to provide one and those animals are always eager to drink when they arrive. They’ll often drink for several minutes! High humidity and respiratory infections are not a concern of ours when using a water bowl in a bearded dragon enclosure. Most enclosures have screen lids, which rapidly dissipate humidity. Additionally, a 100+°F hot spot will quickly zap humidity. We have never had a bearded dragon surrendered with a respiratory infection.

Things You Should NOT Do

Use a red heat lamp: Bearded dragons CAN see red light and this will disturb their sleeping cycles. If you need additional heat at night, use a ceramic heat emitter.

Use a heat rock: While many pet stores will try to sell you a heat rock, they are extremely dangerous. Do not use them for any animal. Heat rocks are not well regulated and can reach temperatures high enough to severely burn your animal. The picture on the right is of a bearded dragon that was surrendered to us after being burned by a heat rock.

Feed a Pellet Diet: While commercially sold pellets won’t immediately kill your dragon, they do not provide the correct nutrition and should never be a large part of your bearded dragon’s diet. These diets are often high in grains and linked to dental disease and obesity.

Cohabitate: Bearded dragons are not social animals and should never be housed with another bearded dragon. They can, and often will, show aggression towards each other. It DOES NOT matter the sex or age of the dragon; we have seen aggression and injuries with all ages and both sexes of dragons.

Feed Inappropriate Foods: There are many foods you shouldn’t feed your bearded dragon, but we’re just going to talk about some of the food items still recommended by pet stores and uninformed keepers. Avoid feeding your bearded the following foods:

Pinkie Mice – Feeding pinkies to bearded dragons is a controversial topic because they are very high in fat.
Romaine and Iceburg – These greens aren’t dangerous, just very low in nutrition.
Spinach – Spinach is very high in oxalates, which bind to calcium and prevent the body from fully absorbing it.
Kale – Kale can be fed in moderation, but too many keepers still use it as a staple green. Kale is high in goitrogens, which can negatively impact a bearded dragon’s thyroid.
Wild Insects – Wild insects are often infested with parasites that can infect your bearded dragon. They can also have ingested pesticides.

Buy a Scaleless/Silkback: Silkbacks, or silkies, are bearded dragons that are purposely bred to be scaleless. The lack of scales will often make their colors more vibrant, so these dragons have become an expensive variation in the hobby. However, their bright colors come at a price. Silkbacks often have difficulty shedding and this can cause severe injuries and secondary infections. Silkbacks have special care requirements in the form of frequent baths, daily moisturizing, unique lighting requirements, and cage decor that is safe for their delicate skin. A female silkback often cannot be bred without sustaining serious injuries during the mating process. We personally don’t believe silkbacks should be produced at all, but they are definitely not a good choice for a beginner keeper.

Common Health Issues

Aneurysm: Aneurysms are rare in bearded dragons but are occasionally seen. Their cause is likely genetic weakening of the blood vessels, so they cannot be prevented. If your dragon suffers a large internal aneurysm, they will typically die quickly from internal blood loss. One common area for an aneurysm is the side of the head, which is when the cranial mesenteric artery has a weakened wall. If your dragon has a large swelling here, it is possible the aneurysm burst and then clotted. Unfortunately, prognosis is poor and surgeries attempting vessel resection are often unsuccessful. There have been a few successful cases, but long-term survival is limited.

Burns: Burns are possible with any heat source, though heat rocks are known to often cause burns as they are unregulated. A heat rock should NEVER be used for any animal. A heat lamp can also cause burns if it is too close to the heat source or at a high enough wattage. Make sure to measure the temperature of your basking spot regularly. If your bearded dragon has a burn, see a vet to assess severity and obtain the proper medications for treatment, such as anti-inflammatories and silver sulfadiazine cream.

Metabolic Bone Disease: MBD is also called nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism. Captive bearded dragons need supplemental sources of calcium and UVB light, or else they will develop MBD. Almost all of the feeder insects that are available, such as roaches, crickets, and superworms, have virtually no calcium available. We see MBD frequently in surrendered animals, and in severe cases the animals can die. When a bearded dragon doesn’t have enough calcium, its body will start to pull calcium from its bones to support heart and organ function. Eventually, they get so weak they cannot walk properly, stand, or eat. Signs of MBD include a weak, pliable jaw; curved arm/leg bones; lethargy or inability to walk normally; head tremors, and a curved spine. Always see a veterinarian to get an exam on your animal’s condition; most of the time, your vet will give you a prescription liquid calcium to give orally. However, it’s important to have a vet assess the severity of the MBD, so further diagnostics can include bloodwork and x-rays. Many animals with MBD will have fractures and may need pain medication or splinting.

You should also correct your diet to include calcium-dusted insects and gut load your insects with a calcium-rich food. UVB light is mandatory to keep a bearded dragon, and you must use the correct type of UVB bulb. We do not recommend using the small coil bulbs, as they do not produce enough UVB for this species. A T5HO linear bulb provides the best source of UVB, and a T8 is second best. Bulb strength should be at least 10% and they should be replaced every 6-12 months.

Impaction: Bearded dragons kept on particulate substrates, such as sand, calcium sand, walnut, or mulch, can develop impaction if they eat the substrate. If your dragon is kept on a particulate substrate and is anorexic, losing weight, but has a swollen, bloated abdomen, see your veterinarian for x-rays and treatment. We do not recommend using any sort of particulate substrate for beginner keepers. Advanced reptile keepers have been able to successfully keep bearded dragons in bioactive enclosures with appropriate sand/soil substrates and heating sources, but this is much more complex than a simple sand tank. A healthy bearded dragon with proper husbandry can usually pass small amounts of sand/soil, but a dragon with poor nutrition, husbandry, or too low basking temperature can have issues with impaction.

Impacted Femoral Pores: Male bearded dragons have large femoral pores, which are sebum-producing holes on the underside of their hind legs. Pore size and potential impaction have multiple etiologies, including genetics, husbandry, and availability of rough materials in the enclosure to rub off excess sebum. Mildly impacted femoral pores can be mitigated by providing baths with toothbrush scrubs and providing rough materials such as stone or wood. However, severely impacted pores can lead to secondary infections and discomfort. If your dragon’s pores are excessively large or infected, we recommend seeing your exotic veterinarian to assess the severity, clear out the material, and provide topical or systemic medications. We do not recommend “squeezing” the pores at home, as these pores can be painful especially if infected, and this procedure must be done with proper sanitation as it is very easy to introduce bacteria into the pores and cause infections.

Scale Rot: This is also known as “ulcerative dermatitis,” and can occur when dragons are kept in excessively moist or dirty enclosures. Scale rot is very rare in dragons, as they should be kept in dry enclosures that resist bacterial growth. However, we have seen ulcerative sores in very weak, debilitated dragons kept in poor conditions who cannot move away from feces. The best way to prevent a skin infection is to keep the enclosure clean, remove feces immediately, bathe your dragon if feces get on the skin, and keep good husbandry. If your dragon has signs of a skin infection, see a veterinarian to assess severity. They may prescribe topical or systemic medications to treat the infection. A dragon with scale rot should be kept in a sterile paper towel setup and bathed in a dilute chlorhexidine or betadine solution.

Tail Rot: Tail rot is when the distal tail becomes necrotic. This will usually move proximal toward the body, and can be fatal if not removed. A necrotic tail needs to see a veterinarian immediately for a surgical amputation, and your vet may also prescribe antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. Tail rot is fairly rare in lizards; we have only seen it a few times, and it is usually secondary to trauma such as a bite from another bearded dragon, a piece of decor falling on the tail, or a cage door closing on the tail. Bearded dragon tails will naturally turn darker when their beards turn black, so the best way to assess for tail rot is to check the texture of the tail. A necrotic tail will look thin and dried out.

Parasites: Bearded dragons can carry many different types of parasites, including pinworms, coccidia, spirochetes, and protozoans. It is common for bearded dragons to have a small level of parasites, this is normal for their gut flora. However, when a dragon is sick or stressed, the parasites can take over and cause diarrhea, weight loss, and anorexia. This can become serious, so bring a fecal to your veterinarian if your dragon is exhibiting the above signs.

Yellow Fungus: Yellow fungus, or CANV, is another highly contagious disease that has no treatment and is typically fatal. Signs of yellow fungus include yellow, crusty patches on the scales, which are first seen near the cloaca and ventral scales. These patches can advance to open sores and can cause discomfort and pain. If you suspect your bearded dragon has yellow fungus, see a vet immediately for a test. An animal with yellow fungus should be kept completely isolated from other animals, as yellow fungus has also been seen in chameleons and iguanas. While there have been some attempted treatments with antifungal medications, no treatment has been shown to be completely effective and for an advanced case, there is no cure. An animal with yellow fungus should be closely monitored for quality of life, and your vet will likely recommend humane euthanasia.

Dental Disease: Bearded dragons can get dental disease just like cats and dogs. We typically only see this in dragons fed excessive amounts of fruit or pellets, as they are higher in sugars and starches. If your dragon has a buildup of plaque, this can cause gingivitis, gingival recession, and secondary infections. Your vet may have to remove the plaque buildup with an ultrasonic scaler and provide some medications or pain or secondary infection. If your dragon has dental disease, consider eliminating fruit entirely and offering chitinous insects such as adult dubia roaches.

Dystocia: This is also known as “egg binding” and it is when an animal cannot lay their eggs properly. If your female dragon has a distended abdomen and is straining without any success laying eggs, see a veterinarian immediately. Females will develop infertile eggs even without a male. Dystocia is life-threatening and can be exacerbated by low calcium levels. Your veterinarian may try oxytocin and calcium injections to encourage contractions, but if this isn’t successful then a surgery may be required.

Follicular Stasis: Follicular stasis is a reproductive issue seen in female bearded dragons. Follicles are egg yolk structures that form before the eggs are covered in a hard calcium shell. Anecdotally, we often see follicular stasis in overweight female bearded dragons, as reptiles will often put extra fat toward egg production. Bearded dragons can produce infertile eggs, so this condition can be seen in single-housed female dragons. Follicular stasis develops chronically, as female reptiles will often reabsorb the follicles after breeding season is over. However, if the follicles grow, they can take up space in the abdomen and burst, leading to a condition called yolk peritonitis. This can be fatal if untreated. Dragons with follicular stasis will often have large distended abdomens but sunken in cranial fat pads and visible pelvic bones. A dragon with follicular stasis will most likely need surgical removal of the follicles and a spay to prevent this from reoccurring in the future. While there may be a genetic component to follicular stasis and reproductive disease, we highly recommend feeding dragons a low-fat diet and preventing obesity through diet and activity level.

Gout: Gout is an accumulation of uric acid crystals either in the joints (articular gout) or internal organs (visceral gout). Gout is not common in dragons, but it is often seen in dragons with underlying kidney issues or previous poor husbandry. Gout can be caused by multiple pathways, including a genetic predisposition, chronic dehydration, kidney disease, or extremely high-protein diets. If it is caught early enough, it can be treated, though the treatment is often lifelong. However, animals with severe gout may be euthanized, especially if it is affecting internal organs or if the animal is experiencing severe pain or mobility issues. Signs of articular gout can include bulbous swelling of the joints; mostly the fingers/toes, ankles, and wrists. These swellings are often asymmetrical. Your vet may do several diagnostics for gout, such as radiographs, bloodwork, or a fine needle aspirate from the affected joint. Treatment includes an oral medication called allopurinol, as well as potentially pain medication.

Atadenovirus: This is a type of adenovirus, specifically called agamid AdV1, that infects primarily bearded dragons. Atadenovirus is most commonly seen in young bearded dragons, though it can infect older beardeds. In young bearded dragons, signs include emaciation, regurgitation, and a host of neurological symptoms such as star gazing, rolling, twisting, and inability to walk correctly. Young bearded dragons with ADV can experience severe disease and may die or have to be euthanized. If you suspect your bearded dragon has ADV, see a veterinarian immediately to get an ADV test done. This animal should stay completely separate from all other pets, as ADV is contagious and can infect other bearded dragons. ADV affects each bearded dragon differently. Some bearded dragons will always be thin, prone to parasites, and have low appetites. Other bearded dragons carry ADV asymptomatically and have no symptoms. ADV is very common in bearded dragons, and studies suggest prevalence rates of 20-50%.

Hepatic lipidosis: This is the term for “fatty liver disease,” and is a common malady in overweight reptiles. This is common in bearded dragons fed high-fat diets, such as waxworms, superworms, and mealworms. Superworms can definitely be used as a part of a balanced diet, but waxworms are especially high in fat and should only be fed sparingly. If a dragon gets too much fat in the diet, the body cannot process it all and fat starts to deposit in the liver. In advanced cases, this causes anorexia, fluid buildup in the body, regurgitation, and death. See a veterinarian if you are concerned your dragon has hepatic lipidosis. They will likely recommend a diet change, liver supplements, and feeding consistent amounts of low-fat foods. As a reminder, adult bearded dragons should be eating 80% greens and vegetables, and only a limited amount of insects and fruits.

Prolapse: Cloacal prolapses can happen in both male and female dragons, but male dragons can also develop hemipenal prolapses. Prolapses are a very serious medical condition and should be considered an emergency situation. Bearded dragons suffering from a prolapse should see a veterinarian immediately. If it is recent, sometimes the vet can push the prolapsed tissue back in and place a temporary suture, but advanced prolapses can become infected and necrotic. Some prolapses will require amputation.