Archive for bearded dragon heating and lighting
Bearded Dragon Care and Feeding
Posted by: | CommentsBearded Dragon Care. Your bearded dragon requires loving care if it’s to survive for the decade or more, some have been known to live in captivity, and you can provide it with the best care by following a few easy guidelines.
One of the most enjoyable parts of taking care of a beardie, young or old, is feeding it the live insects and varied vegetables it needs to stay healthy, so learn everything you can about the nutritional requirements.
A bearded dragon who lives in the Australian wilds thrives on variety.
Away from the trappings of human habitation, these lizards will forage for insects of all types, feasting when and wherever they find something they like.
Your feeding routine must accurately replicate the type of diet the bearded dragon needs to stay healthy, providing it with the requisite amounts of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and ever-important vitamins and minerals.
Bearded dragons absorb sunlight as they bask, synthesising vitamin D3.
At home, you can include full-spectrum UVB lighting to help your pet accomplish this vital nutritional task, but you’d still be wise to include vitamin supplements in its diet.
By allowing your insects to feed on nutritious “gut-loading” foods or dusting them with vitamin powder before you let the lizard have at them, you can supplement their diets with essential Calcium and other minerals.
One major rule you always ought to adhere to when feeding a bearded dragon is to ensure the foods they receive are appropriately sized.
As a general guideline, anything bigger than the space between the lizard’s eyes is too large, and must be broken apart. This seems a simple rule to follow, but failure to do so leads to major health issues.
Large pieces of food can become impacted inside a dragon’s body, causing lack of bowel movements, paralysis or the development of painful spinal lumps.
Always make sure to feed your dragon properly, and follow our Bearded Dragon Care blog for other essential care tips.
Bearded Dragon Care and Heating
Posted by: | CommentsBearded Dragon Care
The colder climes in many countries around the world are absolutely inadequate when it comes to providing the right care and heating that your bearded dragon needs to thrive.
Unlike mammals, these lizards gain their body heat from external sources, so owners who really do focus on their bearded dragon care ensure their pets can readily access warmth.
Bearded dragons usually absorb heat from the sunlight that blasts the arid desert-like regions they hail from.
In captivity, lizards get their heat from any number of ingenious devices people have invented to keep them comfy. The most common of these is the reptile basking light, but ceramic heat emitters and plain light bulbs are often used as well.
So how hot should that vivarium be?
Well, while the bearded dragon in your care will certainly enjoy basking in warm spots, it will need a refuge to cool down in when it gets too toasty.
Make sure you place heaters and thermometers in a fashion that creates a temperature gradient across the tank, with one hot side and one cool side.
For juveniles, maintain a temperature of at most 43ºC on the hot side; adults like it a bit cooler, around 35ºC ought to do nicely. The cool side of the enclosure must be at least 30ºC.
At night, when you turn off the visible lighting so your bearded dragon can get some shuteye, it’s best to maintain temperatures of at least 18ºC.
One thing every good lizard enthusiast knows to avoid is the rock-style heating device commonly seen in snake enclosures. Rocks rarely heat up evenly, and can lead to serious burns on an animal’s belly.
Mat style heaters are acceptable if they’ve been buried underneath the substrate so that animals cannot come into contact with them; these are perfect for keeping the tank warm at night.
Use ceramic fixtures to hold your heating elements. Bearded dragon care seems simple enough, but there are always potential hazards involved with the use of high temperature devices, so be careful, and your beardie will stay comfortable no matter how far north you live.
For more information and a special report click on this link - Bearded Dragon Care
