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Bearded Dragons are becoming increasingly popular among pet owners, but sometimes they are often mistaken for the horned toad. To look at, the similarities are very close to the untrained eye, although the horned toad has longer spikes than the bearded dragon. The horned toad is a lizard native to the American Southwest, while bearded dragons are natives to Australia, and New Guinea.
The bearded dragon makes a great pet, has a lovely temperament, along with interesting markings. The small lizard species do not require a great deal of training to make them tame enough to handle. While bearded dragons are a fun pet to have, there are some things that owners and those thinking of getting a bearded dragon must know first to provide them with a happy, healthy environment to live in.
The Bearded Dragons Natural Habitat
In their natural habitat, bearded dragons live in the semi-arid rocky areas of Australia. They are good climbers, and enjoy basking on tree branches and rocks in the late afternoons. Their diet consists of small vertebrates, and invertebrates, as well as greens, fruits, and flowers that they find while foraging. Bearded dragons retire to underground burrows during the hottest part of the day. Bearded dragons are social in nature, and even in captivity quickly adapt to their environment, and use their tongue to check out their environment.
Bearded Dragoon Breeding
The bearded dragon starts to reproduce after one to two years of age, and will breed at the next breeding season. In young or immature bearded dragons, it is very difficult to tell what sex they are, as they can only be told apart by certain pores that develop after maturity. The female dragon will lay up to 1 ½ dozen eggs hidden in a shallow nest in the soil.
Enclosures, And Housing
Even though a bearded dragon grows a small size of around 50cm in length, they need adequate living space. Since bearded dragons will eat animals that are smaller than they are, it is important to house juveniles, or hatchlings some place other than with the adult bearded dragons. Males are very territorial, and will often harm others in the enclosure if they do not have enough room to run away and hide.
The place where you are keeping your bearded dragon will need to be large enough to provide them with as much temperature variation as possible. Top opening enclosures are highly recommended to stop escapees, as well as stop crickets from escaping. Your enclosure must be well ventilated, but be able to keep the heat in, and the enclosure roof must be strong enough to hold a full spectrum UV light for additional heat during colder times of the year.
Where To Find Bearded Dragons
Bearded dragons and enclosures can be found at reputable pet stores. Often, pet stores will also stock some of the live foods that are needed for bearded dragons. If they don’t, they will often be able to direct you to suppliers of live food.