The below describes the basic care for a young bearded dragon. Adult bearded dragons have different requirements and a different source of reference should be used. We do not sell adults at this time. Therefore, only the care of young dragons will be covered here. Please note that this information is intended to cover the basic care only. There is much more to know beyond the 'basic' care of your dragon, as well as different methods used that have proven successful. This caresheet was written based on the methods we personally use, not necessarily the only ones. Do your research, visit forums that have knowledgeable and experienced bearded dragon owners as members and talk to your vet. If at some point in time, you develop concerns for your dragon's health and you have followed the basic care guidelines, we always recommend that you take your dragon to a qualified herp veterinarian. If you do not know of any, you can visit the below web sites to locate one near you:

• Anapsid.org - Veterinarians
• Herp Vet Connection

Your new dragon has just undergone a very traumatic transition from one home to another. Most bearded dragons, old & young, will suffer from varying degrees of relocation stress when anything in their environment changes. This could also include a simple change to their cage set up. Relocation stress can last from just a couple of days up to a few weeks.

The following are some of the responses you may witness in your new dragon:

• Loss of appetite
• Loss of desire to bask
• A desire to stay in the cool end of their tank or in a hiding place
• Decreased activity
• Lethargic behavior
• Increased parasitic levels
• Stress markings on under side
• Duller, lower or darker coloration

As long as their environment is set up accordingly and they are receiving adequate care, relocation stress will be only temporary and it will be just a matter of time before they return to their normal healthy state.

It is imperative that you remain patient during this time and keep the handling of your new dragon to a minimum until they get past the relocation stress period.

A young bearded dragon's nutritional needs are quite different from that of an adult's. For a young bearded dragon, their diet should consist of approximately 80% protein and 20% vegetation (greens). The opposite is true for an adult. For some young bearded dragons, it seems that they insist their diet is 100% protein, ignoring their greens all together. Be patient and keep offering the greens every day. Sometimes hand feeding the greens sparks their interest more than when it is simply lying in the bowl. I have young dragons that get quite excited when I deliver their bowl and others that simply pick at it some days and not at all on other days. It just depends on the dragon. Eventually, as they mature, most instinctively eat less protein and more greens.

You should offer your dragon a variety of greens rather than the same old salad each day. Keep it interesting for them. By all means, if they have a favorite that they will eat consistently and as long as it is a good staple item, keep feeding it and switch up the other additives.

A staple food is one that can safely be fed on a regular basis without causing negative effects. I am not going to list all of the various greens that you can feed your beardie here on this site. Beautiful Dragons has done a tremendous job putting together a reference sheet that shows which food items can be fed as a staple and others that should be fed only on an occasional or rare basis. It also shows which foods are completely unsafe for your beardie at any time. Most everybody I know in the beardie world strictly adheres to this reference sheet as their feeding guideline. The reference sheet can be found here... Beautiful Dragon Nutritional Information. Be sure to tear or chop all veggies into bite sized pieces or smaller to minimize the risk of choking.

As far as protein is concerned, most baby bearded dragons that are purchased from a breeder will be accustomed to eating crickets as their staple. Crickets are easy to find at most local pet shops or can be purchased online in bulk quantities at a more reasonable cost. Appropriate sized crickets are much easier to find at online suppliers, rather than at pet stores. Because your young bearded dragon can demolish up to 150 feeders a day, crickets are a good choice. It is important to provide your dragon with variety. Some other feeders that are appropriate for young beardies are small silkworms, small hornworms, roach nymphs and Phoenix Worms. As your dragon grows and matures, other feeders, such as superworms will be an option.

Whatever feeder you are using, it is extremely important to make sure that they are appropriately sized. A good rule of thumb is not to feed any feeder that is bigger than the space between your beardie's eyes. With soft worms, such as silkworms, this rule can be bent a bit. It is advised that mealworms are never fed as they have excessive chitin outer shells that are difficult for beardies to digest. This could lead to impaction of your beardie's digestive system and possible death.

There is also commercialized prepared food in the form of pellets and dried veggies/protein that can be purchased and is supposed to be nutritionally balanced for your beardie. I've tried offering it twice with my beardies' refusal and have never offered it again. I really cannot state any opinion on this type of food one way or the other.

Young bearded dragons need to be offered greens each day and fed protein 2-3 times per day. Allow them to eat as many feeders as they wish in a 15 minute period each time. This is necessary so that they will reach their full growth potential as adults. Never allow your beardie to sleep with live feeders in their cage, especially crickets. Crickets will chew on your beardie while they are sleeping and at their most vulnerable state. When feeding our beardies crickets, we choose to feed them in a separate feeding bin to alleviate this risk. There is nothing that I hate more than chasing down uneaten feeders after a long day. This is just our personal choice. When feeding any feeders that stay in a bowl such as roaches and worms, those are fed in the beardies' enclosure.

Be sure that food is offered no earlier than 1.5-2 hours after lights/heat are turned on and no later than 2 hours before lights are turned off. Your beardie needs an adequate amount of heat and time to digest their food.

Dragons come from arid regions and their bodies are developed in such a way that they do not waste the water in their systems. They use a minimal amount. However, this does not mean in any way that they can or should go days on end without water. In the wild, they are accustomed to obtaining their water through the vegetation and food that they eat, as well as lapping up dew drops. There are a few ways in which you can ensure that your beardie is well hydrated. Some beardie owners prefer to lightly spray their young dragons three times a day focusing mainly on the head so that the beardie can instinctively lap up the water running down its nose. Others prefer to spray the inside of the enclosure so they can lick the sides. Some owners will use a dropper or needleless syringe and drop the water on the beardies' nose for them to lick. Another preferred method would be by bathing in shallow, warm (not hot!) water for 15-20 minute periods. Beardies absorb water through their vent area which is an opening on the underside of their tail. This is the way that we've always watered our beardies. The majority of beardies will not drink still water from a bowl. I wouldn't advise leaving a bowl of water for a couple of reasons. First, it can raise the humidity inside the enclosure to an unsafe level for a beardie. Also, most beardies will use this bowl to soak in and will inevitably have a bowel movement in it. This can prove to be quite unsanitary. If you do decide to offer a water bowl, assuming your dragon will use it, be sure that it is extremely shallow, keep a close eye on your humidity and wash it well each day or more often, as necessary, if they've had a bowel movement in it.

Young beardies have a smaller body mass thus not allowing them to store large amounts of water. Also, because they eat less vegetation, it is important to water them more often. We give our youngest babies baths each day. When they get a bit older (3-4 months), we cut back to every 2-3 days. Our adults are bathed at least twice weekly or more depending on the individual dragon and its needs.

Calcium, vitamin and mineral supplements are imperative for dragons of all ages. Calcium with D3 needs to be given if using a fluorescent UVB bulb; Calcium without D3 if using a Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB). For young dragons, live feeders need to be dusted with calcium 5-6 days (one feeding) per week and dusted with a multivitamin supplement 2-3 days (one feeding) per week. Be sure that any supplements given are phosphorus free. We use a plastic cricket keeper to place the crickets or other live feeders in, pinch in the supplements and lightly shake to make sure all feeders are dusted. Because we use Mercury Vapor Bulbs in our enclosures, we use calcium without added D3. In the past we've used Rep-Cal Calcium without D3 but are currently using Pure Calcium Carbonate (ultra fine powder) purchased from the Beautiful Dragons store. We currently use Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamin as a feeder duster, as well as Beautiful Dragon's Multivitamin with probiotics as a salad topper.

Young bearded dragons up to 12" can be adequately housed in a 20 gallon long tank. These tanks provide enough floor space for your dragon to be active, yet small enough for them to easily find their prey. After they have surpassed the 12" mark, they will need to be upgraded to a much larger enclosure. The minimum size enclosure for a juvi or adult dragon is 40-50 gallons. The larger, the better. An appropriate dimension size would be 48L X 24D X 18H. There are different materials and styles of cages that can be used. All with their own advantages & disadvantages. Simple plexiglass reptile cages are readily found at any pet store and relatively inexpensive. However, you must be sure to use a screen-cover top as not to hold too much humidity. Also, some dragons are very sensitive to their reflection that they may see in the glass or plexiglass tank. This can be remedied by covering the back and sides with either a decorative fish tank mural or simple construction paper as to reduce any reflections. Other materials used for enclosures are white melamine, wood, laminate and others. Our Links page includes links to various cage suppliers offering cages made of different materials and styles. Browsing their sites will give you a good idea of what is available on the market today.

Cage furniture for a young bearded dragon should be kept very simple. Primarily, because most young beardies have a main diet consisting of crickets. Crickets can hide in very small crevices and corners. Keeping the cage simple allows your young dragon to find its prey easier. Keeping the cage simple ensures easier cleaning. Your young dragon will need a basking site that allows him to reach within 6" of fluorescent UV bulb. If using an MVB bulb, the basking site will be much lower as it is not recommended that dragons are closer than 12". The basking area can be as simple as a rock or a branch. Rocks are good as they hold heat nicely and are much easier to clean than wood. Your dragon will appreciate a hide area in the cooler side of the tank to escape the heat and UVB rays at some points during the day. We use the plastic 'wood-look' half logs for the cool side furniture/hide. All of our beardies, young and old, simply love these logs. If introducing previously used furniture or items that have come from the outdoors, they will need to be sanitized to rid them of any pesky parasites and/or their eggs. Allowing them to soak in a 10% bleach/90% hot water solution then rinsing, rinsing, and rinsing again should do the trick. Another great method is to bake them at 300 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.

Substrate refers to the material used on the bottom of your bearded dragon's enclosure. This is sometimes a highly debatable topic as some substrates are known to cause injury to bearded dragons. For young bearded dragons, paper towels or non-adhesive textured shelf liner work wonderfully. Their usage help alleviate the risks of impaction and makes cleaning the enclosure easier. Although we have never used or had any experience using any type of sand, I would personally not recommend it. There may be many bearded dragon owners that have never had issues during years of usage but there are folks that have had some horrible consequences. The same goes for walnut shells. It's been our choice to not even take the risk when there are so many other substrates available that are known to be safe. All of our cages for both young and mature dragons are designed with two different substrates. On the cool end, we use natural tumbled stone tiles which helps to keep our dragon's nails filed down, is easy to sanitize and just looks good. On the hot end of enclosure, we use kraft liner paper cut to size. The majority of the time, beardies will have their bowel movements on the hot end of the enclosure so this makes it easy to simply swap out their liner paper daily after they've gone.

Whatever substrate you choose to use, make sure that it is not made of any material that can be digested by your beardie and that it is easy to keep clean. Do your research and decide what is best for both your beardie and you.

Because bearded dragons are cold-blooded creatures, they require a certain amount of heat for adequate digestion and overall well-being. In addition to heat, bearded dragons need to have the ability to reach within the appropriate distance of a source of Ultra Violet (UV) lighting. UVA and UVB help dragons process vitamin D-3, which is necessary for the proper absorption of Calcium. If using a fluorescent tube UV source, ensure that your bearded dragon can reach within 6-10 inches of it. If using a Mercury Vapor Bulb, read the manufacture's guidelines for the particular bulb purchased. Generally, a minimum distance of 12 inches is necessary due to the strength of the UV output. However, this will vary depending on the wattage purchased. Please stay away from the coil and compact models, as they have been known to be unsafe for bearded dragons and other various reptiles.

Because most bearded dragons in captivity are raised indoors away from the natural UV rays provided by the sun, artificial UV lighting is essential. UV light bulbs can be purchased from most pet stores. However, you'll find that the online stores carry the higher quality brands at a much more reasonable price. Two highly recommended Mercury Vapor Bulbs (MVB) brands are the Mega Ray by ReptileUV and T-Rex Active UV Heat. For fluorescent tubes, the Reptisun 10.0 is a tried and trusted favorite. Please remember that not all UV bulbs are as good as others. Please visit UV Guide UK to learn more about the importance of UV lighting for reptiles and the various types of tested sources.

The enclosure will need to provide both a hot end (105-115 degrees) at the basking site and a cool end (80-85 degrees) at the opposite side of the enclosure with a nice gradient in between. MVB UV sources also provide heat. Depending on the type of enclosure you have your bearded dragon housed in, you may or may not need to supply supplemental heating. The flourescent tube UV sources do not put out heat and a separate heat light will be necessary. Household bulbs work very well and are a lot less expensive than ones marketed at pet stores. When providing a heat bulb, find one that puts out bright white lighting. This is necessary for the health of your bearded dragon's eyes allowing them to dilate properly when exposed to strong UV lighting. Supplemental white lights are not necessary when using MVBs. In order to measure the temps accurately, a digital temperature gun or probe will be required. The gauges designed to stick on the side of the tank sold at most pet stores do not accurately measure the temps. Remember, the basking site needs to be 105-115 degrees, not necessarily the air around it.

Dragons also need to be on a set daytime/nighttime schedule. An appropriate schedule would be 14/10. Dragons need a nightly cool-down period with complete darkness and uninterrupted sleep. Nighttime temps can safely drop to the 60s. Any lower than this, a nighttime heat source will be needed. Ceramic heat emitters designed for reptile enclosures are one solution. Do not ever use heat rocks or under-the-tank heaters to alleviate the risk of thermal burns to your dragons.

The humidity levels inside the enclosure should remain between 40-50.

A nice clean cage means a happy beardie. In the wild, bearded dragons can get as far away as possible from their feces. Most of our dragons, especially our adults completely 'freak' if there are feces in their enclosure or their bath water. This causes stress for them. Keeping a clean cage is a somewhat tedious but very necessary task for bearded dragon owners.

A couple of products that can be used for safe quick spot cleaning are non-scented, hypo-allergenic baby wipes or Healthy Habitat by Natural Chemistry.

For deep cleaning on a weekly or as needed basis, we generally pile all cage furniture and tile substrate into a bathtub filled with 10% bleach and 90% hot water and allow to soak for 20-30 minutes. They are then scrubbed and rinsed repeatedly until absolutely no odors of bleach can be smelled. The items are allowed to dry before being placed back into the cage. A good time to do furniture cleaning is after lights out for your beardie. Their cage can be put back together in the morning after you've turned their lights back on.

For the enclosure itself, steam cleaning works great as it kills all of the bacteria in their cage. Diluted bleach water can be used, as well, as long as you have a completely separate area to place your beardie while you clean. It is so important that the enclosure is rinsed extremely well so that no harmful chemicals or fumes are left behind. Be sure if using this method, your cage is in a well-ventilated room and take all necessary precautions.

Low levels of parasites are a normal occurrence in all animals. It's when these levels are allowed to get to a high consistent level, that your dragon's health will be compromised. During periods of relocation stress, it is very common for the parasitic levels to be raised. Most of the time, these higher levels will come back down to a safe and normal level once your dragon has had time to adjust to their new environment. Some symptoms of a parasitic infestation include runny and abnormally foul smelling stools, consistent appearance of stress marks, an inability to gain weight, loss of appetite, or loss of weight.

There are a few precautionary steps that owners can take to help keep the parasitic levels at a lower natural level:

• For at least the first 3-4 weeks, keep the handling of your dragon to a minimum. Let them first become accustomed to you and their new environment.
• Always maintain a clean sanitized environment for your bearded dragon. Choose substrate and cage furniture that is easy to clean and sanitize on a regular basis. Do not allow fecal matter to accumulate in your dragon's enclosure. Remove all dead/living feeder insects, water and salad dishes daily before lights out. Wash any food/water dishes with hot soapy water daily.
• Housing bearded dragons separately helps alleviate the chance of one passing along parasites to the other.
• Keep an environment that is low-level stress for your dragon. This is especially important when your dragon is young. Wandering cats, barking dogs, birds, other reptiles and active children can contribute to high stress levels.
• Keep a steady daily regime. Bearded dragons are creatures of habit and appreciate set times for lights on/off, feeding and other routines.
• Always thoroughly wash any vegetables and fruits given to your dragon.

High levels of parasites can cause a variety of symptoms and if not kept in check, can cause health complications and in some cases, even death. If you are concerned about parasites in your bearded dragon, please seek the assistance of a qualified herp veterinarian. Do your research on the various medications used to treat various parasites and their possible side effects. Even if your vet does not prescribe it, always administer a probiotic along with any anti-parasitic medication. Probiotics are essential for replacing any good gut flora that is killed off by the usage of anti-parasitic medication. There are a few different probiotics on the market such as acidophiliz, benebac or nutribac. We've used Acidophiliz with good results and the beardies seem to really like the taste. We also regularly use Beautiful Dragon's Multivitamin with Probiotics as a salad topper. Acidophiliz can be purchased from the Beautiful Dragon's store, as well.

There is another product on the market called Parazap, which is intended to be used as a preventive measure against parasites. Although we have not used this product in the tea form as recommended, we always mix a bit, along with the Beautiful Dragon's multivitamin with probiotics mentioned above with any gut load food given to our feeder insects (crickets & roaches).

After your bearded dragon has recovered from any relocation stress, it is so important to increase the level of interaction with them to ensure that you develop a fun loving relationship. Bearded dragons are not near the amount of fun if they are never brought out of their cage. Bearded dragons, if given lots of attention become wonderful, interesting and trusting pets. All of our bearded dragons are given individual attention and regularly allowed to explore in a 'safe area' outside of their enclosure. This is great for their physical & mental well-being. When they become more mature and when the weather allows, we will also bring them out for some fun in the sun. They are brought out to the garden, taken to ball games and even brought along on coffee house trips! When brought outside the home, they are always supervised closely and on a leash specifically designed for reptiles. Spend time with your dragon, play with your dragon, enjoy your dragon! Their personalities really shine through when given an adequate amount of attention.