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BEARDED DRAGONS (Pogona vitticeps)
Bearded dragons are becoming increasingly popular as pets because they are the tamest of all the lizards. They have outgoing personalities and numerous interesting social behaviors (such as head bobbing, tail curling, and arm waving) They make an excellent addition to any collection, and are easily handled by supervised children.
PICKING OUT A BEARDED DRAGON
Most all bearded dragons in the pet trade are captive bred, so they are usually healthy. Look for a clear eyed individual with a "well filled out" belly. Make sure the dragon is alert and eats readily. Upon physical exam make sure all toes are intact, and that no scales or tail tips are missing (these will not grow back). Avoid animals with rubbed noses or damage to lips or mouth.
HOUSING
Young hatchlings should be kept in a bare cage; a 10 gallon aquarium works well. The cage substrate ( floor material) should consist of newspaper or paper towel, and one branch or rock should be placed in the middle of the cage for basking. When the lizard grows to at least 4 inches from head to end of tail more cage furniture and substrate can be added. Small hatchlings require a lot of food to survive: a lot of cage furniture and substrate causes problems with finding the food items. For adults, cages should be large. Same-sex housing is not recommended due to territorial behavior. An adult pair should be housed in no smaller than a 55 gallon aquarium, and larger would be preferable. Bearded dragons enjoy plenty of branches and rocks for basking. Substrate for adults should consist of newspaper pellets, astroturf (with no frayed edges), or a sand and potting soil mixture. I prefer newspaper pellets they are clean and absorbent. A screen lid is required, and a shallow water dish will be appreciated for bathing.
LIGHTING
Lighting for bearded dragons is very important. Being a desert species, they require a lot of heat and UV light in order to ensure optimal health. Temperatures should range between 85-90 degrees with a basking spot of 100 degrees. Temperatures should go down to 75-80 degrees at night. Heat is best obtained by using an incandescent heat lamp or ceramic heat fixture focusing on 1/2 of the cage. During the winter it also helps to have a heating pad under the hot side of the cage for extra heat. The most important item for bearded dragons is UV light. UV light can only be achieved with a fluorescent light bulb. This light should be rested above the cage, within 15 inches of the lizards. The lights should be on a 12 hour light cycle: 12 hours on and 12 hours off.
FEEDING
Feeding bearded dragons is easy due to their vigorous appetites. They will try to eat anything put in the cage, including branches, twigs, frayed astroturf and substrate. Hatchlings should eat daily. Finely chopped greens should be offered daily and animal products should be added every other day. For sub adults and adults, greens and veggies should be offered every 2-3 days and animal products every 3-4 days. Animal products include crickets, waxworms, meal worms, and pinkie mice. Dust the food items with calcium/vitamin powder 2 times weekly. Bearded dragons should be misted daily to ensure proper hydration.
REFERENCES
Weiss P.P., 1996, "Bearded Dragons As Pets," Reptiles USA Annual, 1996
Hunziker R., 1996, "Bearded Dragons From Down Under," Reptile Hobbyist, Dec. 1996
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WATER DRAGONS
- CHINESE (Physignathus cocincinas)
- S.E. ASIAN (Physignathus lesuerii)
- AUSTRALIAN (Physignathus temporalis)
With impressive features and great climbing abilities, the water dragons make exciting pets. They require a large cage, and some specimens are hard to keep captive. With the right set up and following their easy eating requirements, though, they make a nice addition to a collection.
PICKING OUT A WATER DRAGON
When purchasing a water dragon find out if the specimen was wild caught or captive bred (generally, captive bred water dragons make the best pets). If wild caught, ask how long it has been in captivity. Pick a dragon that is active and alert, eats readily, has no external parasites, and has no old shedding skin still attached. Look at the housing: the cage should be well maintained and sanitary. This helps keep the numbers of bacteria and parasites down. The lizard should be free of wounds, all toes and toenails should be intact, nostrils should be dry and free of crust, the mouth should have no mucus or bubbles around the lips, color should be good for the specific species, and weight should be good and evenly distributed with ribs only slightly visible. Water dragons' noses and nostrils should be intact: they have a bad habit of rubbing their noses off on their cage.
HOUSING
Being a large lizard, with males up to 36 inches (including the tail) and females only slightly smaller, water dragons need a spacious environment. They are arboreal lizards (they climb trees, and spend the majority of their time in trees). They are also excellent swimmers, often sinking to the bottom of their water bowl and staying under water without breathing for up to an hour. Their cage should be very large, at least a 75 gallon aquarium per 1 adult pair. Cages should not be made with wire mesh due to the nose rubbing problem these lizards experience. A large bowl of water or a watering system, deep and big enough for swimming, is required. Water should be clean and fresh. High humidity is essential for these lizards but good ventilation is also required. Plenty of branches for climbing should also be available, as well as lots of foliage. These lizards like to have foliage or a hide box in the cage to reduce stress. This also helps with the nose rubbing problem.
LIGHTING
Daytime temperature should be 85-87 degrees with a nighttime low dropping as low as 75 degrees. This heat gradient is easily achieved by using an incandescent heat lamp on 1/2 of the cage. UV light is essential for these lizards (the only way to get proper UV light is with a fluorescent UV light bulb). The heat lamp and the UV light should be on a 12 hour light cycle: 12 hours on and 12 hours off.
FEEDING
Water dragons are mainly carnivores, but will accept some vegetable or fruit matter occasionally. Finely chopped fruits and veggies should be offered 1-2 times weekly. Meat items should be offered daily to hatchlings and young adults and 3-4 times weekly to adults. Prey items include crickets, meal worms, earthworms, goldfish, quail chicks, and mice. The food items should be dusted with a carnivore specific vitamin powder once weekly. Make sure your lizard is heated to its optimum temperature prior to feeding.
References
: Mader, D., 1997, "Water Dragons," Reptiles USA Annual, 1997
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