Bearded Dragons.

[SPK-250]

Anybody on here have Bearded Dragons as a pet? I got a little Inland Bearded dragon the other day for my birthday and i was wondering what other people feed their lizard and how often etc etc etc. He's been hiding under his log and rock a bit but i think thats because he is still getting used to the new enclosure, after being in the shop for close to 9 months. He came out yesterday so i fed him a cricket and a meal worm which was pretty cool to watch. Then he dissapeared under the log again.

[EvilChief]

Originally Posted by SPK-383

Anybody on here have Bearded Dragons as a pet? I got a little Inland Bearded dragon the other day for my birthday and i was wondering what other people feed their lizard and how often etc etc etc. He's been hiding under his log and rock a bit but i think thats because he is still getting used to the new enclosure, after being in the shop for close to 9 months. He came out yesterday so i fed him a cricket and a meal worm which was pretty cool to watch. Then he dissapeared under the log again.

I used to breed them, I had my first pair for over 12 years, which is probably one of the oldest pair kept in captivity.

I used to feed them quite a big variety of foods, starting from crickets, worms, baby mice, salad, tomato, cucumber etc. I also gave them some multivitamin supplementarys with their food to keep them healthy.

Now my mum is looking after their offspring and they again are having off spring at the moment.

They were quite tame by the end of it, hand feed them and they used to sit on my shoulder all day and just watch the world go by. Great little pets!

[SPK-250]

yeah i cover the crickets in Multivitamin powder and then give them to him. But i've only had him for a week and before i got him he wasn't really handled at all. I've got some lettuce and tomato in his dish now so i guess if he wnats it he'll come and get it.
Another fella i know also reccomended skin conditioner liquid in their water to...condition their skin. And some other people i know have water dragons and they feed them whiskas jelly mince which has all the vitamins and stuff.

[XR Martin]

Saw this one last week

[EvilChief]

skin conditioner is crap ... also they dint need a water bowl either, they take on water through their food, hence some nice wet salad or tomato or similar is sufficient. the vitamin supplaments are not required on a daily basis, more like once a week. they need to get used to at salad etc if they have never been fed it before.
As for cat mince, yer done it as well, but only when i ran short on crickets for a day or two.

when they shed their skin, its a good idea to bath them for an hour or so. i normally threw them into a bucket of water once a week.
During the winter months they will start to hybernate which is quite normal, however before they do its also a good idea bath them.
Also change the sand of whatever you use on a regular basis and keep an eye out for flees or worms. if they ever do attract them again bath with anti flee treatment does the trick quite nicely.

and some tutoise vitamin sticks soaked in water were another favourite for my dragons ...

btw u can keep several feemales with one male, but never have two males in one area!

[SPK-250]

Originally Posted by EvilChief

btw u can keep several feemales with one male, but never have two males in one area!

How can you tell the difference between the males and females?

[EvilChief]

http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/sexing/

oh and males grow a fair bit larger than females

[PepeLePew]

Dunno much about these suckers but I like to play spot the dragon in my backyard. I nearly crapped myself the first time I spotted one until I worked out what it was. .....nice little critters.

[big_pete]

i got some nice shots of one of these not too long ago, heres one of 'em:

[uranium_death]

Do you require any permit to house bearded dragons, or are they open to keeping as pets?

I know that snakes require a license (which really only comes down to paying a free).

I'm really into the ugly stuff...spiders (love the US Tarantulas!), snakes and lizards and plan to house some in the future once I leave home. I would have some now, but the family doesn't like them. Wusses.

They're great pets though.

Also, what does your food bill come to.
What are the other costs associated with keeping them?

Thanks

[SPK-250]

Choice photos there XR6 Martin and Big Pete!

pepe i have not seen a bearded in my backyard but plenty of blueys and shingle backs.

[SPK-250]

Originally Posted by uranium_death

Do you require any permit to house bearded dragons, or are they open to keeping as pets?

I know that snakes require a license (which really only comes down to paying a free).

I'm really into the ugly stuff...spiders (love the US Tarantulas!), snakes and lizards and plan to house some in the future once I leave home. I would have some now, but the family doesn't like them. Wusses.

They're great pets though.

Also, what does your food bill come to.
What are the other costs associated with keeping them?

Thanks

So far i've got a tub of crickets and a 50gm tub of meal worms and both them came to $8. My missus chucked some chopped up lettuce in there after tea last night and he/she seems to like it. You don't need a permit for beardies but the place you get them will take your name and address for some reason i cant remember. Some snakes i dont think you need a permit for but i'm unsure about that so don't trust me. I built my own enclosure which came to about $120 all up and it's big, 1200x600x600. Got the sand, log and rocks from up at a mates farm and my mates an electrician so i was able to get the electrical gear i needed.