Please continue your research at http://www.beardeddragon.

org to learn everything you

need to know about taking care of your dragon!

Best of luck!

Unfortunately, pet stores are known for giving out bad and even dangerous care
information when it comes to reptiles, so please check your husbandry carefully with that
site's caresheets and forums.

Unfortunately, pet stores are notorious for giving out bad and even dangerous care
information for reptiles, so if you are caring for him according to what the pet store said,
chances are that you are doing it all wrong.

You can also read the hundreds of horror stories about what happens when you house 2
beardies together...

Please continue your research at http://www.ball-pythons.net to learn everything you

need to know about taking care of your ball!

Best of luck!

They like tight, cramped spaces. Do you have hides? She needs at least 2, one on the
cool side and one on the warm side. They should be identical so she doesn't have to
choose security over temp regulation, and they should be just big enough for her to get in,
and should touch her from all sides and the top. A lot of people use dollar store plastic
bowls or flower pots turned upside down with an opening cut into it. Log hides aren't
suitable because they are open at 2 ends.

He also needs a salad of a dark, leafy green (like collards) and some other healthy veggie
(like squash) available every day.

Here is a good site to show which bugs and veggies you should feed your dragon (and
which ones you shouldn't!):
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Mealworms have a hard exoskeleton that is hard to digest and they are also high in fat
and low in protein so they are not a good feeder at all for your dragon.

Dragons are designed to digest insects, not skin and fur and bones and organs from
mammals so mice, even pinkies are an impaction risk. People used to use pinkies to
fatten up a gravid female or other undernourished dragon, but now there are so many
good feeder bugs that weren't readily available 10 or even 5 years ago that there is no
need to impose that risk to your dragon. They are also very high in fat, so a steady diet of
them could cause fatty liver disease. If you must feed a pinkie, wait until he is fully
grown and then limit him to one a month as a treat.
http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/sexing/.

Tiles are great. You only have to buy them once. They are super easy to clean and
disinfect. They come in a lot of colors and styles so you can customize your look. They
also help keep beardie's nails filed down. And they present ZERO impaction risk.

Please consider these cons about sand before you make a final decision:

*possible impaction risk

*have to keep buying it
*heavy
*hard to dump out for tank cleaning
*impossible to disinfect (it's important to disinfect any surface your dragon has pooped
on because they do carry salmonella)
*stinks
**Absorbs moisture from poop, so that fecal bacteria is left behind even after you scoop
out the solid waste. You dragon walks through this fecal matter and spreads it about his
cage. He ends up living in what is basically a litter box.
**The left behind fecal bacteria can cause an increased risk of parasites

Here is a good list of which veggies and fruits you should feed your iggy.
http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm

Please visit http://www.greenigsociety.org and http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/ to learn

everything you need to know about taking good care of your iguana.

http://www.geckosforum.net
http://www.bluetongueskinks.net
http://savannahmonitor.org/

If you think he might have an impaction, give him 1 or 2 warm baths daily. Feel his
tummy and if you feel any hard spots, gently massage downward toward his vent. You
can give him unsweetened applesauce, unsweetened canned pumpkin, or babyfood mixed
with a couple drops of olive oil with a syringe. Feed him from the side of his mouth, not
the front or he could aspirate.

Here are a couple links to help you decide how to build your enclosure:
http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/
http://708designs.netfirms.com/customcage/customcage.htm
http://www.timelessspirit.com/enclosure.html
http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/tips.shtml
http://www.repticzone.com/forums/BeardedDragonCommunity/messages/1940408.html
You can also visit http://www.beardeddragon.org They have a DIY section in the forums
for people building their own enclosures so you can get tons of ideas there, too.

100 degree Fahrenheit = 37.7777778 degree Celsius

110 degree Fahrenheit = 43.3333333 degree Celsius
80 degree Fahrenheit = 26.6666667 degree Celsius (25.5-27.7)
60-65 Fahrenheit = 15.5 – 18.3 Celsius

What are your temps and how do you measure them? The only accurate way is with a
temp gun or a digital thermometer with a probe directly on the basking spot. This temp
should be 100-110 (37.7-43.3C) provided with a bright white basking bulb, which can be
just a normal household bulb and the cool side should be around 80 (25.5-27.7C). Temps
are essential to digestion, so if your temps are not hot enough, he could be at risk of
impaction and other digestive issues.

What kind of UVB do you use? Unfortunately, most UVB bulbs on the market are not
good quality and can cause health and particularly eye problems in dragons. All compact
coil bulbs are dangerous, and the only recommended linear fluorescent bulb is the
ReptiSUN 10.0 (not ReptiGLO) in the US or the Arcadia 12% in the UK
(http://www.uvguide.co.uk)

At night, his temps can get down to the low 60's so you most likely don't need any extra
heat at night. Beardies can see the red and blue lights so they should not be used at night
because they could disrupt his sleep, making him grumpy and lethargic during the day. If
you do need extra heat at night, it is best to use a ceramic heat emitter.

Dragons live in solitude in the wild, only coming together to mate. They see another
dragon in their enclosure as an intruder and this causes a lot of stress. Stress can cause a
reptile's health to decline rapidly. A common sign of dominance that will cause stress is
basking and sleeping on top of each other. Classic signs of stress include not eating,
sleeping a lot, and finally, one will grow while the other remains small. Eventually, they
will fight, resulting in a severely injured dragon or a dead dragon. It may not happen this
week, or this month, or this year, but it WILL happen. Check your husbandry and
separate them and I can promise you will see an improvement in their health and attitude
and they will both thrive and be happy.

It is a HUGE investment of time, money and knowledge and should not be done by a
beginner to the hobby. It costs a couple thousand to get started. An incubator or two, one
enclosure per 5 babies, each with its own heat and UVB, and at least a couple thousand
pinhead crickets EVERY WEEK to feed those babies, and you should have a vet standing
by in case something goes wrong with your female or with any of the babies. Then you
have to feed them 3 times a day, clean poop, bathe them (babies dehydrate easily). It is a
full time job to take care of those babies. And females will lay 3-6 clutches about 3 weeks
apart, each with 15-20 or more eggs. It is not something to enter into lightly and not
without a WHOLE lot of research and experience. You will not make money, in fact, you
will be lucky to break even. The market is over-saturated with hobby breeders so you
would be lucky to even sell all those babies, then you would have to take care of the ones
that don't sell. So, be educated and informed before you try a breeding project.

Switch to dubias! They are WAY cleaner than crix, don't make any noise, can't jump,
can't fly, can't climb, breed readily on their own in the right conditions. They are SO easy
to take care of compared to crix. They are very fast becoming the feeder of choice in the
herp world. Talk to anyone who uses them..once you start feeding dubia, you NEVER go
back to crix!
I made a juice extract of fresh parsley, cilantro and diluted (as per bottle directions)
activated charcoal. The product I used is charcoAid-g and it is specifically for poisoning
cases. I guess on the amount for his body weight. Note that both cilantro and parsley are
superb for chelating poisons/metals etc out of the body.

Breeding thread
http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=126455
http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewforum.php?f=75 (DIY Forum)
http://www.beardeddragon.org/archives/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=66704 (Viv pics only
thread)

First of all, you need this website: http://www.beardeddragon.org

You will learn everything you need there.

Secondly, DO NOT LISTEN TO ADVICE FROM THE PET STORE!! They don't know
squat about caring for exotics, so make sure you know everything you need before you
go, and don't let them talk you out of something you know to be true. That's why you
need the above website!

Here is a basic list:

20g tank minimum. You'll need at least a 40g breeder when he's grown, so you may want
to go ahead and get the bigger one. You can block off part of it if he seems intimidated by
the size.
Craigslist is a great place to find cheap tanks.

Solid substrate for the bottom - Repticarpet, paper towels, non-adhesive shelf liner, or my
favorite, tiles. Tiles are great. You only have to buy them once. They are super easy to
clean and disinfect. They come in a lot of colors and styles so you can customize your
look. They also help keep beardie's nails filed down. Sand, especially calcium sand, or
any other particle substrate poses an impaction risk and should not be used for a dragon
under one year old. And then washed childrens playsand is the only safe option.
You can go real cheap here, pennies for paper towels or less than $10 for tiles.
Thermometer - A temp gun or digital indoor/outdoor therm with a probe on a wire. The
stick on type are useless, and it's important that you accurately monitor your temps. The
probe goes directly on the basking spot, and this temp should be 100-110. The cool side
should stay around 80.
Wal Mart sells the Acurite Digital Weather Station for $12. It is an indoor/outdoor therm
with the probe and works perfect for this application.

Heat bulb and fixture - Lowes and Wal Mart both have metal dome work light fixtures.
These work great. The bulb can be just a regular household bulb. You might need to try
different wattages to see which one gives you the temps you need. Usually a 75W or
100W will do.
Bulb <$1, Fixure: $10

UVB bulb and fixture - AVOID THE COMPACT COIL. Linear fluorescents provide the
best UVB (besides MVB bulbs, but you can learn about that on bd.org) and REPTISUN
10.0 (not ReptiGLO) is the best fluor bulb on the US market. You can get the fixture at
Lowes or Wal Mart for a reasonable price. Make sure the fixture does not have a glass or
plastic shield over the light. Glass and plastic both completely filter UVB. The bulbs are
way cheaper if you order them online from somewhere like Pet Mountain.
Bulb: $30-$60 depending on which type you get. The fluor needs to be replaced ever 6
months and the MVB just once a year so the yearly costs are about the same.
Fixture: 24" fluor fixture at Wal Mart for $8, or the work light fixture for MVB for $10.

Then you'll want some cage furniture, a basking rock or log, a hide if you like (although a
hide isn't really necessary), some fake greenery to make it pretty. You might want to
consider something to enclose 3 sides of your tank. Some beardies freak out about all the
visibility, but some don't seem to notice. I used fake bamboo blinds to do this and it
looked great.

A baby needs to eat 2-3 times a day, as many crickets as he can eat in 10-15 minutes.
This can equal 50 or even up to 100 crickets a day. A juvie/sub-adult can eat once a day,
as many as he can eat, and an adult needs about 50 crickets a week, so you can feed him
every other or every 3 days.

You'll need a plan for your live feeders. Again, way cheaper to buy in bulk online than a
few at a time at the pet store (and healthier too, no doubt). A 20 qt or bigger plastic tub
does nicely. Cut a hole in the lid and hot glue or duct tape some screen on top for
ventilation. You can learn all you need about caring for your crix at bd.org, and you can
also learn about other feeders.

A dragon of any age needs a salad of a dark, leafy green (like collards) and some other
healthy veggie (like squash) available every day.

Here's a good website to tell you which veggies are good for your dragon:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.co…
Okay, just as important, I will give you a list of things NOT to get, no matter what the pet
store tells you!

*calcium sand
*crushed walnut shells
*any substrate that has particles
*stick on thermometers
*crickets bigger than the space between his eyes
*mealworms
*compact coil UVB bulbs
*heat pad
*blue or red night light
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmrraMcItLcezN5EuisDdvzty6IX;_ylv=3?
qid=20100612021905AAhrPLI&show=7#profile-info-DH6N7D8Paa

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Akr7ioG4fvXwR51i6c90st3ty6IX;_ylv=3?
qid=20100612123605AAVTLNo&show=7#profile-info-kVjzMSfCaa 2 females

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100621133442AAuQSoc

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhqIHCA2rx_UzfnILr0e3kefDH1G;_ylv=3?
qid=20100711182439AAB9GTA

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100612021905AAhrPLI

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100623175952AAGFYXN

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=125074&p=999945&hilit=housed+together#p999945

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=124452&p=993599&hilit=housed+together#p993599

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=104376&p=815782&hilit=housed+together#p815782
Here are just a few links I have collected that demonstrate what I have stated. Y!A will only let me post a
few, but I have literally hundreds:

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=104046&p=812650&hilit=housed+together#p812650 **

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=101470&p=789998&hilit=housed+together#p789998

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=101409&p=789247&hilit=housed+together#p789247

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=99067&p=769695&hilit=housed+together#p769695
http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=97454&p=758170&hilit=housed+together#p758170

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=96282&p=749380&hilit=housed+together#p749380

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=95036&p=740163&hilit=housed+together#p740163

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?
f=45&t=94360&p=735140&hilit=housed+together#p735140

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=93222&hilit=housed+together

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100718065836AA4g10M

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AscHElaZ.XcSmItwK9kKtFyfDH1G;_ylv=3?
qid=20100724195652AAsy77K

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=131670

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100825183742AAa5x9z

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

Reptile Supplies and Exotic Animals

PetMountain

Welcome To ReptileUV - Mega-Ray® UVB lamps for reptile lighting worldwide

www.theroachranch.com

http://www.theroachguy.com/

http://www.lllreptile.com

http://www.reptilefood.com

http://www.mulberryfarms.com

http://www.thereptileking.com/knowledgemanager/questions.php?questionid=427

http://mrskingsbioweb.com/beardeddragngrossanatomy.htm
http://www.iaqsource.com/product_images.php?product=110790 (acurite)

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m55/cswain12000/impaction01.jpg X-ray pic

http://www.petzoo.co.uk/extra_info_pages.php?pages_id=29 (Leo impaction)