Baby Bearded Dragon Care Sheet
If you have always wanted a Bearded Dragon and don't know how to get or keep one this website is for you!
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If you have purchased a baby bearded dragon from MyBeardedDragons you will have been given this care sheet to help you look after him, and to tell you what he has been eating.
If you have purchased a baby bearded dragon from elsewhere, hopefully this care sheet will give you some useful information about how to care for him.
Make sure you ask the breeder what he has been eating so you know what food he is used to.
If you have purchased a baby bearded dragon from elsewhere, hopefully this care sheet will give you some useful information about how to care for him.
Make sure you ask the breeder what he has been eating so you know what food he is used to.
Put a pinch of calcium dust on his food once a day - this is vital. Beardies grow so fast they need a lot of calcium. Pet shops may try to sell you Nutrabol, which is a good vitamin mix, but you should not use this all the time. 4/5 days a week with a calcium dust, and the other days with Nutrabol would be a good mix.
Fresh veg should be given every day - your beardie has been fed on Curly Kale which is a good source of calcium. All my beardies (adults and babies) love this. Veg should be very finely chopped so he cannot choke on it. Carrot (grated finely), and finely chopped apple can also be offered, along with a selection of most fruit and veg - don’t feed iceberg lettuce as this has no nutritional value and will go straight through him.
Water
Young beardies cannot recognise standing water - I recommend putting a very shallow bowl of water in the viv, but to make sure that he is getting enough moisture, spray his food with a calcium rich mineral water (I use Evian).
If he starts looking unhappy this could be a sign that he is getting dehydrated - try dropping a drop of water on his nose, or spraying him very slightly. You can also lightly spray plastic plants as he will recognise water that is dripping down. Don’t over do this though - bearded dragons come from a desert, and too much humidity is harmful.
Substrate
Until your beardie is six months old do not put sand in the vivarium - as he eats he will pick up grains of sand, and these can cause impaction in his stomach and he may die.
Paper towels are the best flooring for a young beardie - they can be changed regularly, so you can keep the viv nice and clean.
Some people never use sand, but use tiles or vinyl instead.
When he is old enough for sand use Play Sand, as this is very fine. Do not be tempted to buy the special Calci Sand as this clumps together when wet, and would cause impaction if swallowed.
Temperatures
In your vivarium you should have a basking spot for your beardie which should be between 100 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The highest temperature should be on a rock, or piece of wood directly under the basking lamp. The other end of the viv should be no higher than 85 degrees. It is very important to maintain this temperature range. Beardies are cold blooded and regulate their temperatures by moving from one end to the other. I recommend having a dual temp thermometer so you can easily see what the temps are.
Lighting
Beardies need a UV light on for about 12 hours a day as they absorb vitamins from it. A Repti-Glo 8.0 is recommended for bearded dragons.
Brumation
Bearded dragons don’t hibernate, but sometimes they slow down in winter, and can have a period of a few weeks when they hide away and rarely eat. Whilst this is entirely normal in older dragons, sub adults, i.e. under the age of 18 months, should not brumate as they are growing too fast, and not eating would harm them.
If your baby hides away under a log or in a cave, remove the cave or log to force him to come out and be sociable again.
Problems
There’s no doubt about it - your beardie will give you cause for concern! Please email me with any worries you have, and I will try to answer where I can. Please email me at Michael@mybeardeddragons.co.uk <mailto:Michael@mybeardeddragons.co.uk>
I am not a vet, however, and if your beardie really appears to be ill, the best thing you can do is seek qualified help. Just in case you need a vet in a hurry, it is a good precaution to find out where there is a vet that specialises in reptiles in your area and have their number to hand. Hopefully you will never need it!
Having fun!
Once your baby has settled in, start to handle him. Make sure your hands are warm, and he should be quite happy to be held. When very young he will scamper a bit, but just keep calm and take him out little and often. As he grows he will become calmer, and happy to sit on you. You can get a leash for him which is the safest way to take him outdoors (but make sure he is used to it inside first!)
I hope you will have many years of enjoyment with your beardie - certainly as much as I’m having with Shrek and Fi.
Until your beardie is six months old do not put sand in the vivarium - as he eats he will pick up grains of sand, and these can cause impaction in his stomach and he may die.
Paper towels are the best flooring for a young beardie - they can be changed regularly, so you can keep the viv nice and clean.
Some people never use sand, but use tiles or vinyl instead.
When he is old enough for sand use Play Sand, as this is very fine. Do not be tempted to buy the special Calci Sand as this clumps together when wet, and would cause impaction if swallowed.
Temperatures
In your vivarium you should have a basking spot for your beardie which should be between 100 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The highest temperature should be on a rock, or piece of wood directly under the basking lamp. The other end of the viv should be no higher than 85 degrees. It is very important to maintain this temperature range. Beardies are cold blooded and regulate their temperatures by moving from one end to the other. I recommend having a dual temp thermometer so you can easily see what the temps are.
Lighting
Beardies need a UV light on for about 12 hours a day as they absorb vitamins from it. A Repti-Glo 8.0 is recommended for bearded dragons.
Brumation
Bearded dragons don’t hibernate, but sometimes they slow down in winter, and can have a period of a few weeks when they hide away and rarely eat. Whilst this is entirely normal in older dragons, sub adults, i.e. under the age of 18 months, should not brumate as they are growing too fast, and not eating would harm them.
If your baby hides away under a log or in a cave, remove the cave or log to force him to come out and be sociable again.
Problems
There’s no doubt about it - your beardie will give you cause for concern! Please email me with any worries you have, and I will try to answer where I can. Please email me at Michael@mybeardeddragons.co.uk <mailto:Michael@mybeardeddragons.co.uk>
I am not a vet, however, and if your beardie really appears to be ill, the best thing you can do is seek qualified help. Just in case you need a vet in a hurry, it is a good precaution to find out where there is a vet that specialises in reptiles in your area and have their number to hand. Hopefully you will never need it!
Having fun!
Once your baby has settled in, start to handle him. Make sure your hands are warm, and he should be quite happy to be held. When very young he will scamper a bit, but just keep calm and take him out little and often. As he grows he will become calmer, and happy to sit on you. You can get a leash for him which is the safest way to take him outdoors (but make sure he is used to it inside first!)
I hope you will have many years of enjoyment with your beardie - certainly as much as I’m having with Shrek and Fi.
Settling your beardie into his new home
The move to a new home will be a strange experience for your beardie. If you have a large vivarium it might be better to partition it so that he doesn’t have too big an area to start off with - 2ft is fine for a young beardie. In a larger area he might find it difficult to catch his food.
Leave him to settle in for a few days before handling him too much - he will get used to you being the one who feeds him, and then when you handle him he won’t be too frightened.
The move to a new home will be a strange experience for your beardie. If you have a large vivarium it might be better to partition it so that he doesn’t have too big an area to start off with - 2ft is fine for a young beardie. In a larger area he might find it difficult to catch his food.
Leave him to settle in for a few days before handling him too much - he will get used to you being the one who feeds him, and then when you handle him he won’t be too frightened.
I am often asked if I can recommend a good book on how to keep bearded dragons. The Bearded Dragon Manual, available from Amazon, is one of the best ones I have found!
Feeding
Your beardie has been eating small/medium crickets - if the crickets are too small he won’t be very interested in them, and may find them harder to catch. Feed him as many crickets as he can eat in about 10 minutes, and feed him 3 times a day if you can for the first few months. A good rule of thumb is never feed anything larger than the distance between the beardie’s eyes.
Remove any crickets which are uneaten - if you don’t these can nibble a baby when he is asleep, and at the very least cause him stress.
Your beardie has been eating small/medium crickets - if the crickets are too small he won’t be very interested in them, and may find them harder to catch. Feed him as many crickets as he can eat in about 10 minutes, and feed him 3 times a day if you can for the first few months. A good rule of thumb is never feed anything larger than the distance between the beardie’s eyes.
Remove any crickets which are uneaten - if you don’t these can nibble a baby when he is asleep, and at the very least cause him stress.