Bearded dragon care

Buy the adult enclosure from the start: at least 120 × 60 × 60 cm, ideally larger. Wooden vivariums hold heat well. Furnish it with a basking platform close to the lamps, a hide in the cool end, and branches or rocks to climb on.

Suitable substrates include a soil and play-sand mix, slate tile or lino for juveniles. Avoid loose sand on its own for babies.

This is the part people get wrong most often. Bearded dragons need a basking surface of 38 to 42 °C under a halogen or incandescent lamp, a cool end of 26 to 28 °C, and a high-output UVB tube (10 to 12 %) running most of the length of the enclosure, replaced every 12 months.

Run lamps for 12 to 14 hours a day. Turn everything off at night; room temperature is fine unless it drops below 18 °C.

Juveniles are mostly insectivores: offer as many appropriately sized insects as they eat in ten minutes, two to three times a day, plus fresh greens every morning. Adults flip to roughly 70 % plant matter: rocket, watercress, dandelion, endive, grated squash and the occasional insect.

Dust insects with calcium daily for juveniles and every other feed for adults; add a multivitamin once a week.

Bearded dragons are one of the most handleable reptiles. Support the whole body and keep sessions relaxed. Arm-waving and head-bobbing are normal social signals; a black beard means the dragon is stressed or annoyed.

Many adults slow down or stop eating in winter (brumation). If your dragon is otherwise healthy, this is normal.