By FairyTail Dragons LLC
New Bearded Dragon Owner Shopping List and Quick Care Guide
__ Enclosure – A 40g breeder (36” x 18” x 18”) is the minimum size required for a baby/juvenile dragon. A 4’ x 2’ x 18’ or larger is highly recommend for a single full grown adult.
Substrate – If this is your first dragon, keep it simple. Kraft paper, paper towels, or newspaper is easy to work with. Sand and bio-active enclosures are far more natural but your husbandry must be spot on! I have found that sand and bioactive enclosures can be initially a bit more challenging for some new keepers so please do your research to determine what is best for you. If you wish to use sand, a shallow layer of children’s play sand is best. Sift daily and do a full sand change at least once a month. Sand can generate a lot of dry dust, something to consider if you have someone with asthma in your home. A newer excellent option is “Australian Desert Dragon Habitat” sand by Jurassic Natural and is available in many pet stores as well as online. Bio-actives, generally speaking, also create less dust if asthma is a concern. Calcium sand, crushed walnut, coco fiber should not be used!
Tile, Grapevine Branches, Rock for Basking – NO HEAT ROCKS!!!!
A piece of slate tile placed directly below the basking spot on a riser (1/2 pavers are great for this), basking rock/platform, and driftwood/grapevine wood branches are excellent choices for cage furniture. Dragons love to climb! It’s a natural behavior for them and aids in proper growth and development. If a hammock is used, cool side only.
Don’t forget to provide a hide for your dragon!
__Lighting/UV/Heat –
– Zoomed Reptisun or Arcadia Linear T5 (strength based on enclosure hight/size). Length of bulb should be approx 1/2 – 2/3 of total enclosure length.
Plus…..
A separate bulb to provide heat. We recommend ZooMed or Arcadia basking bulbs. Please ask for assistance for proper wattage selection.
Basking spot needs to be approx. 102-110 degrees. Please note!!! Every dragon is different and has their own preference. Watch your animal. Constantly basking and he/she is not warm enough. Constantly on the cool side of the enclosure and the dragon is too hot or feeling unwell. You want to see your dragon moving about throughout the day. Basking (heat) light should be placed to one far side of the enclosure. UV should overlap w/ heat. Placement of heat to one side of the enclosure allows your dragon to properly thermoregulate.
***No night heat unless your home drops below 60-65 degrees on a regular basis! No red, blue, or black bulbs. Do not keep enclosure under room air vent. No under tank heating pads. IF night heat is required a low wattage CHI (ceramic heat emitter) is the best choice. Please contact me directly for assistance.
Jungle Dawn by Arcadia is the 3rd light you can offer for the health and happiness of your dragon. Jungle Dawn increases visible light levels within the terrarium.
__Hydration – Offering fresh greens and properly gut loaded feeders is extremely important to your dragon’s short, and long term, health! Dragons get most of their hydration from their food however, if your husbandry is off dehydration can occur if opportunities to drink are not provided. The smaller the dragon the easier it is for them to experience dehydration. A shallow water bowl should be placed on the cool side of the enclosure and cleaned frequently. Keep in mind many dragons will not drink standing water and prefer to drink from water sources in motion (tapping the surface of the water in the bowl with your finger or a running faucet for example). Using the “drip cup” method is a great way to create small ripples in their water bowl to encourage drinking. Make sure your enclosure is well ventilated. Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions
__Calcium w/Vit D and Multivitamin –
We suggest using calcium at every feeding. Multivitamin 2-3 days a week depending upon the brand selected. Feel free to contact us directly for assistance.
__Feeders. WARNING….Safety guideline for new keepers. No feeder should be larger than the distance between your dragon’s eyes!!!!! Failure to follow this guideline can result in death of your dragon. FairyTail dragons are fed small crickets, medium bsfl, small mealworms, and/or micro supers (limited-on occasion) as babies twice a day along with a daily fresh wet salad in the morning. During meal times, crickets should be dropped into the enclosure a few at a time until your baby is acclimated to his/her new surroundings otherwise babies can feel overwhelmed and further stressed with crickets running all over the place. Dragons are full grown at 18 months-2yrs!!! That’s a tremendous amount of growth in a short period of time. Protein is required for proper growth but do not allow your dragon to gorge during meals. As your dragon ages less protein will be required. Please feel free to ask for further feeding guidelines. ***Do not leave ANY crickets in your dragon’s enclosure at night. The crickets can chew on your dragon causing stress, injury and/or death. What goes into your feeders goes into your dragons so please provide them with proper nutrition. Greens and veggies are excellent food choices for your feeders as are several commercially available gut load diets. Remember to remove any old uneaten veggies daily and replace with fresh!!!
__Salad/Veggies. Offer daily and remember variety is key!!!
Upon arrival please set your dragon in their enclosure with the lights off! Do not preheat the enclosure. Once your new dragon has acclimated to room temps, about an hour, you can turn on his/her enclosure lights and allow your dragon to warm up with their enclosure. Do not feed your dragon until at least an hour after lights on.
Dragons are exotics and can take 1-2 weeks to settle in. Avoid excessive handling and hovering during this time to reduce stress levels. As your dragon gets acclimated handling time can be increased. Taping plain white paper up on the inside of the back 3 walls of a glass enclosure can significantly reduce the adjustment period. This can be slowly removed as the dragon acclimates over a week or 2. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at any time. Text is the best/fasted way to reach me