Raising a Healthy and Happy Baby Bearded Dragon

If you are interested in having a bearded dragon for a pet, you will have two choices. You can choose a full-grown dragon or you can do what many people today do and opt for raising a baby. If you prefer the baby, then there are some important things you need to consider about their care.

The first thing you need to consider is where a baby bearded dragon will be housed. For most babies, a simple 20 gallon tank should suffice. As they grow, and they will do so quickly, a 55 gallon tank will be needed. You can simply buy a 55 gallon tank in the beginning and save a little money if you would like.

Another important factor in the care of these little bearded dragons is heat control. For an adult, temperatures of 95 to 100 degrees are recommended. However, for babies you will need to keep temps at around 100 to 110 degrees during the day and no lower than 65 degrees at night. It is best to keep it a little warmer than 65 degrees at night because dragons don't care for colder temperatures and in some cases, long exposure can harm or even kill them. Warmer temps will also allow the baby to sleep better. These temperatures can be kept by using a ceramic emitting heater or a reptile basking light.

Another basic is food and water. For food a baby bearded dragon should eat about 3 times a day. Typically they should eat as much as they can in 15 minutes tops. In addition, to keep a healthy dragon you should dust all food with a calcium and vitamin supplement.

Even though a dragon's natural habitat is the desert, they can become dehydrated very fast, in order to keep your bearded dragon healthy a small water tray in the tank will suffice. In addition, try and spray mist the dragon once a day with room temperature water.

Lastly, one thing that many dragon owners do is to over handle the pet. You will have plenty of time to do this, let your dragon familiarize itself with its surroundings. While it may seem like the thing to do, it can be a traumatic and frightening experience for them. While they are babies, it is best to keep handling to a minimum. As they grow more accustomed to their surroundings and as they physically grow, that is the time when you can handle the bearded dragon more often.