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.

The Nesting Tub: An Alternative to the Conventional Pond Experience

The "mega turtle tubs" or the large 40 to 50 gallon "place-on-the-floor tubs" with combination nesting areas are all the rage in "turtle terrarium" or "turtle tank" set ups these days. But there is an alternative that many have not considered and may be just what you may be looking for.

The main issue with a "mega turtle tub" is that:

- They take up floor space

- Can be a child hazard from a health and safety standpoint (Kids can fall in and touch the pet easily)

- Does not look like a piece of furniture (Can be an eyesore. They typically are relegated to the basement, a back bedroom or unfortunately to eat up space in a family room)

For the young teenager who is eager to have his own reptile the main challenge is getting a terrarium or aquarium setting that is satisfactory for both parties: mom and teenager.

Typically the major detraction from getting a reptile is the fact that a large setting is required. This makes for a major detraction in even considering a reptile as a pet. The tank on the floor is a major minus, because it eats up valuable real-estate. However, aquarium manufacturers have been in tune with the desire of the home owner to have pets on display and have developed very attractive aquariums as furniture items. They have made them almost as main display items which is a great plus for reptile enthusiasts.

Turtles in particular can be a challenge to house, seeing they require a nesting area typically and a sunning area. Lizards also require sunning areas, but too require their skin to be soaked to gain moisture to prevent them from drying out.

Turtles and lizards are on the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to aquarium layouts. The turtle requires a large tank of water and a nesting area, where as the Lizard prefers a large dry area with a smaller water tank.

Both can be accommodated for with an aquarium and with a simple pool set up. In one case the pool is a nesting spot; in the other (for the lizard) the pool is just that, a pool.

The nesting spot is quite unique in that the pool is converted into a nesting spot, whereas the rest of the aquarium tank is filled full of water. The pool acts as a nesting spot and is filled full of sand or nesting substrate. The stair section acts as a ramp into the nesting area and a ramp into the pool area, or the filled up aquarium section.

There are a couple of benefits to this particular layout. First it allows the turtle owner to use a conventional aquarium which can be used as a central attraction without the eyesore and dangers associated with large turtle tubs.

Secondly, the nesting area can be removed easily, keeping the nesting-egg laying area intact. The rest of the tank can then be drained, or filtered depending on how the water is cleaned.

The lizard tank or lizard aquarium is easily accommodated with the pool concept. One side of the tank is filled with substrate such as gravel or sand mix and then the other side is filled with the pool. It is ideal to get a pool that is removable and has an incline up and into it. Typically an aquarium will be modified with a silicon-ed partition in it that will provided a barrier from the substrate and the water. Essentially the partition divided the aquarium into two section, the dry section and the pool section.

The problem with silicon-ed partitions is that to clean the aquarium the whole aquarium has to be emptied, which is a really big pain in the neck. The advantage of the pool is that it can be removed easily, cleaned and then put pack in place. This had a major benefit in that the whole aquarium does not need to be emptied and most importantly the lizard does not have to be put in an alternate spot while the aquarium is being cleaned.

In Conclusion...

We have reviewed two novel ways to keep the standard aquarium in your home, while being able to house either turtles or lizards. The pool is the key to both systems. One uses the pool as a nesting area, the other as a pool.

Rock or White Throated Monitor Varanus Albigularis

Rock or White-throated Monitor Varanus albigularis 

SVL 400-500mm; max. SVL 850mm, TL 1 750mm.

This very large, stout lizard has strong, stocky limbs and sharp claws. The skin is tough and covered with small, bead-like scales in 110-167 rows at midbody. The head has a bulbous snout, with the nostrils slit-like and nearer to the eyes than to the end of the snout. The tail is longer than the body and cylindrical at the base but compressed towards the tip. 

The back is dark grey-brown above, with 5-6 pale yellow dark-edged blotches. The top of the head and neck are dark brown. The limbs are spotted with pale yellow, and the tail is banded in dark brown and off-white. The belly is dirty yellow with scattered spots. Juveniles are more intensely marked, and despite the common name which refers to the white throat of adults, have blackish throats.

Biology and Breeding

This monitor lives in a tunnel that it digs under rock overhangs, or in a disused animal burrow, a hole in a tree or a rock crack. It is usually solitary and hibernates, semi-dormant in its retreat in winter. Its skin is usually dulled with dirt and grime, and sullied with patches of unshed skin. It is also well-adorned with ticks in the soft skin around the eyes, nostrils and limb joints. 

The diet consist mainly of invertebrates (millipedes, beetles, grasshoppers and land snails) although it will kill and eat any animal small enough to swallow and also scavenges on carrion; baby tortoises are frequently eaten. In defence it adopts a side-on posture and lashes its tail. It will bite and hold on like a bulldog; if held behind the head it usually ejects it cloacal contents, and finally it may sham death, hanging limp (but still keeping its eyes open). If this ruse works and it is releases, it scampers to safety at the first opportunity.

The martial eagle (wingspan 188-227 cm (6.17-7.45 ft) and ratel are main predators on adults.

It rarely tames in captivity and because of its size needs a large enclosure. The flesh is reported to taste like chicken, but this monitor is protected by Provincial legislation (CITES, Appendix 11). They are great wanderers and may have home ranges up to 28sq km.

Mating occurs in August-September. The female may occasionally lay her eggs in a live termite nest, as does the Nile monitor, or even in a hollow tree, but normally uses a hole dug in soft moist soil. She may dig several 'test holes' before selecting a suitable spot. In early summer (October-November) from eight to 51 eggs (53-61 x 35-39 mm, 32-46g) are laid, depending on the size of the female. The eggs hatch in 110-120 days in captivity (27C), but take much longer in the wild. Hatchlings measure 220-282mm TL and weigh 18-21g. Many clutches are eaten by the banded mongoose.

Habitat & Range

Savannah and moister karroid areas. Throughout the Savannah and semi-desert regions of the subcontinent, but absent from W. Cape. Elsewhere, to the Savannah of East Africa.

Subspecies

Only the typical race occurs on the subcontinent. It has 137-167 midbody scale rows and white throat in adults. A poorly defined race, V.a. angolensis, from Angola and adjacent NW Zambia, has large scales on the head and along the backbone, and retains the black throat in adults. It has only 110-138 midbody scale rows. 

A small species V. exanthematicus from the West African Savannah's has a more uniform colour pattern, lacks the white throat, and has enlarged scales on the back on of the neck and only 75-100 midbody scale rows; it is now treated as a separate species.

Leopard Gecko Lighting

There are two schools of thought as to whether Leopard gecko lighting is needed; one says no, because these creatures are nocturnal anyway so why bother to give them light. The other says, yes, Leopard gecko lighting is necessary so that they still have something to differentiate between night and day.

Here are some options for lighting (or not) your pet's enclosure.

1. Because these creatures need heating due to being cold blooded, you could combine heat and light. Many people recommend heat lamps to heat an enclosure and of course these emit light also, thus killing two birds with one stone. Use the heat lamp during the day and switch it off at night if you're sure that the residual heat will be adequate. Alternatively, switch it off and use a heat pad beneath the enclosure at night.

2. If you use a heat pad alone, then you'll need some sort of light during the day, as especially in the winter months, your home won't have enough light for your pet to realise that it's day time. When using a light in or near your gecko's tank, make sure that it isn't providing additional, unwanted heat.

3. To be able to see your pet at night when he's at his most active, use a light that won't confuse him into thinking that it's actually daylight. A red or blue bulb is ideal for this as it won't upset the gecko.

4. Set your Leopard gecko lighting on a time switch so that even if you're not at home, there will be a regular cycle of light and darkness, say twelve hours light in winter and fourteen hours in summer. However, it's best if you are at home when the lights go off as your pet will believe it's time to go out hunting and will expect to find food. Don't worry about your normal room lighting as the difference between the specific Leopard gecko lighting and your domestic lights will still be sufficient to signify the onset of darkness.

5. UV lighting isn't necessary for these geckos, being naturally nocturnal, but it won't do them any harm either as long as they have a rock or some other sort of shelter available. It certainly isn't necessary for the absorption of minerals and vitamins as it is with some other sorts of lizard.

6. It is necessary for your pet to be aware whether it's night or day as these creatures become lethargic and disorientated if left in the dark all the time.

I think that Leopard gecko lighting is necessary but do be careful of the extra heat it may provide and make sure that your pet has plenty of fresh water so that he doesn't become dehydrated.