Bearded Dragons are a lovely fat lizard that is unusually friendly. Nearly all beardy owners will agree that they have a personality all their own and are very inquisitive animals with a friendly disposition. They are also fast growing and can initially double their size in little over a month! Their life span is typically 7 - 8 years but potentially up to 12?

Beardies have few requirements really (6), they require a 75w - 100w white spot light for basking during the day (9am - 9pm), an ultra violet tube of 8% output (means desert type strength) again 9am - 9pm, a night time heat source, I use a red coloured infra red lamp at the opposite end of the tank to the white light and of the same wattage (9pm - 9am). Both of the bulbs should have a wire guard fitted once the beardy is over 4 inches long otherwise it WILL burn itself on the bulb - please dont 'skimp' on this! That's it for the heating and lighting, just 3 bits coveres day and night.

If you want more control over specific temperatures then a thermostat can be fitted to one or both of the heat sources.

The other requirements are a suitablely gnarled looking stump of some sort, sand blasted grape vine stumps are great, just make sure there's no splintery bits and snaggy areas before putting it in the vivarium. This should go under the white spot light and should be no closer than 6 inches to it at the closest point, your beardy will sit here all day so make sure you position it right and make the best spot for him also be the best viewing spot for you - he ain't bothered about being looked at!

The material in the bottom of the tank is referred to as 'substrate' and for beardies this should be calcium based sand NOT BUILDING SAND, natural desert sands are also suitable. Beardies tend to go around all day licking things with their sticky tongue, substrate which have large particles or chips should be avoided as they will at some point swallow some and it can get stuck!

A large water bowl and small feeding dish complete the set up and that's it, just turn it on and watch your beardy blossom.

The above should be housed in a standard 36 inch long vivarium which is ideal for a single beardy.

All of the equipment mentioned above is available from our other site at

http://www.faunology.co.uk

Here are a selection of food packs designed specifically for your pet bearded dragon as it grows.

Each pack contains food of the RIGHT SIZE for the animal based on the typical growth rate of the species.

Bearded Dragon Food Packs

See details Bearded Dragon Food Pack - BABY HATCH - 2 MONTHS SKU: SKU16209 This pack is suitable for young bearded dragons from 1 - 2 months old and contains a variety of live food items These should be offered in addition to vegetable material (which they may decide not to eat initially) to ensure a balanced diet. We recommend that you also provide pelleted ... Our price: £7.50 (Euro € 10.93) including VAT 17.5% (£1.12) Quantity   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50  Buy Now  See details Bearded Dragon Food Pack - BABY 2 - 4 MONTHS SKU: SKU1676 This pack is suitable for young bearded dragons from 2 - 4 months old and contains a variety of live food items These should be offered in addition to vegetable material (green beans, cabbage, apple, dandelion leaves & flowers, sowthistle, peas not mushy! etc) to ensure a balanced diet... Our price: £8.75 (Euro € 12.75) including VAT 17.5% (£1.30) Quantity   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50  Buy Now  See details Bearded Dragon Food Pack - JUVENILE 4 - 6 MONTHS SKU: SKU3876 This pack is suitable for young bearded dragons from 4 - 6 months old and contains a variety of live food items These should be offered in addition to vegetable material (green beans, cabbage, apple, dandelion leaves & flowers, sowthistle, peas not mushy! etc) to ensure a balanced diet... Our price: £8.75 (Euro € 12.75) including VAT 17.5% (£1.30) Quantity   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50  Buy Now  See details Bearded Dragon Food Pack - JUVENILE to ADULT 6 - 9 MONTHS+ SKU: SKU6542 This pack is suitable for bearded dragons from 6 months to adult and contains a variety of live food items These should be offered in addition to vegetable material (green beans, cabbage, apple, dandelion leaves & flowers, sowthistle, peas not mushy! etc) to ensure a balanced diet. We ... Our price: £8.75 (Euro € 12.75) including VAT 17.5% (£1.30) Quantity   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50  Buy Now  See details Bearded Dragon BOOSTER Pack FROM 4-5 MONTHS SKU: SKU16212 This pack should be used from 4 - 5 months and contains a pack of Waxworms and Giant Mealworms. These should be used in conjunction with the appropriate food packs above, the idea is that you should now be offering at least 4 different insect species to your animal, each one gives something a lit... Our price: £7.50 (Euro € 10.93) including VAT 17.5% (£1.12) Quantity   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50  Buy Now