Bearded Dragons

(Pogona vitticeps)

Bearded Dragons are native to central to south-eastern Australia, spending most of their time climbing trees, rocks, and basking in the sun. They can be found in arid environments, on the outskirts of farmlands, and even in the desert-like brush.

• In the wild, a bearded dragon’s diet normally consists of insects, greens, and really whatever they can find as food is usually scarce. They’ll also prey upon small animals (such as other lizards). In captivity they are fed mainly greens (collard, mustard greens, endive, etc.), insects (crickets, superworms and/or cockroaches), veggies (green beans, sweet potato, butternut squash, etc.) and occasionally fruit.

• Bearded dragons get their namesake from their “beards”, or the skin along their necks that sometimes turns black when they are agitated. Both males and females can be territorial, and will express their dominance by inflating their beard, bobbing their head, and gaping. Waving is a submissive display bearded dragons make when they feel threatened, either by a larger dragon or another stressor.

• Bearded dragons are heliotherms, and therefore need a warm basking spot in order to raise their internal body temperature to aid in digesting food. They fare best when the temperature of their enclosure stays between 75-85 degrees F during the day, with a warmer basking spot of around 95-105 degrees. Basking spots can be achieved by using a heat bulb (incandescent or halogen flood light) over one side of the enclosure directly above a surface that can absorb some heat, such as a big sloped rock, or tile platform.

• Beardies are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day and rest during the night. To simulate this in captivity, lights in their enclosure should cycle between day and night periods (typically 12 hours each).
• A common issue seen in bearded dragons raised in captivity is metabolic bone disease (MBD), which is typically caused by a lack of UVB lighting. UVB plays an important role in helping bearded dragons synthesize vitamin D3, which in turn enables the absorption of calcium from digestion. As you might imagine, calcium is a integral part of bone development and health, so having UVB lighting is essential for any bearded dragon’s enclosure. Calcium can be supplemented through their diet by dusting their insects before feeding, but this is not a replacement for UVB. UVB bulbs should be replaced every 12 months or so, as they lose efficiency over time, regardless if they are still bright.