Bearded dragon care sheet
For successful bearded dragon care -be sure and get one that's been bred in captivity, as the ones caught in the wildcan be unpredictable and difficult to keep healthy. Before you purchase a lizard make sure there is a vetin your area that has experience with reptiles. These bearded dragon facts will help you, but a qualified veterinarian will make sure you succeed in giving proper bearded dragon care. 
Feeding Bearded dragons are omnivores. As a baby and adolescent they need a lot of protein, but veggies should be offered to them every day. The protein comes in the form ofcrickets, roaches and some other insects that you need to gutload(feed healthy veggies to a day or two before the Dragon eats them)and dust with a multivitamin and calcium powder. The size of the insect offered should not be bigger than the widthof the lizard's mouth. In fact, the insect should be a decent size smallerthan the lizard's mouth. 20 to 50 insects(in this case we'll use crickets) should be offered to ababy bearded Dragon -a day(spread out on two separate feedings). Yes, it can get expensive. In addition to this,fresh veggies should be offered daily, even though your baby bearded dragonmight not eat much of the veggies -if any. After about a year, you can slowly move your pet lizard's diet to primarilyfresh veggies with crickets three to five times a week. As an adultyour dragon will tend to prefer the fresh veggies. Dandelion greens, mustard greens, collard greens, and turnip greens are allgood veggies to offer for proper bearded dragon care. Lettuce has an extremely low nutritional value, you probably shouldn't be eating itlet alone your pet lizard! Spinach is thought to be a green that might not be appropriate for certain lizards.Bearded dragons are one of them. I've heard of some people feeding theirbearded dragons spinach, but they limit the amount to a very infrequent rate.Green beans, winter squashes and carrots can be given but make sure the squashhas been cooked(thus softened) and allowed to cool. The green beans and carrotsneed to be chopped very finely so the bearded dragon can manage to chew andswallow his dinner. Studying these bearded dragon facts might prevent a trip to the vet later. Water Providing a water dish is probably not a good idea, it can be a cesspool for bacteria.If you go with the water dish, you need to change it daily because pet lizards have a nice habit of defecating in their water dish. A good way to provide water is to spray mist their salad. Another good wayis to take an eye dropper and put some drops on their nose as if it was a raindrop.You should be giving your pet bearded dragon a bath once a week, your dragonis apt to grab a drink there as well. Housing A good bearded dragon habitat should be no smaller than 75 gallons.Bearded dragons are territorial, so housing them together can be a problem.Two female bearded dragons can be housed together, but even then their behaviorhas to be monitored. If one is eating more than the other, or if one seems to beoverpowering the other in any way shape or form it's probably a good ideato put them in separate cages. Never put two males together.It's up to you to provide good bearded dragon care so that the stresses of captivity won't take their toll. Furniture or stuff for your lizard to climb on, engage with,or hide under should be provided. When possible you want to try to combinesomething to climb up on -with something to hide under. This saves on floorspace. Check out this video that creates a
fake rock wall
that incorporates something to climb on, a basking spot, and a hiding place.
Ideally, for a good bearded dragon habitat you want two hides, one on the hot side -and one on the cold.This allows your pet lizard to regulate its temperature. As far as a substrate(material or substance on the ground) I've seen everything fromnewspaper, paper towels or play sand. Sand in general is not encouragedbecause of the risk of impaction. If your pet lizard, while eating a cricketor a veggie, gets some sand in its mouth -it could consume the sand. This isn'tgood as the sand could get clogged in the dragon's digestive system. When discussing bearded dragon facts, this can be a bit of a controversy surrounding the sand issue.The argument for sand comes from the fact that sand is closely related to abearded dragon's natural substrate -that of loose dirt. The reality isa bearded dragon in the wild doesn't have a great chance of living beyondone year. The odds are stacked against him, and I would bet it's safe to saythat impaction probably plays a role in a wild dragon's longevity. If you have to have sand in your bearded dragons habitat then put sand on justone side of the cage. Put the dragons salad dish on the side -without sand,and feed him crickets in a separate container. As far as cleaning the cage, you want to spot clean every day and clean the entirecage at least every other week. I use a mixture of half water and halfWhite vinegar-in a water bottle. I let this air out before putting the bearded dragon back in the cage. 
Lighting
For proper bearded dragon care, you need a heat light plus a UVB light. I recommend a mercury vapor bulb, as this is the closest mimic of the sun available. A lot of people say they experience a different pet lizard with a mercury vapor bulb. A healthier pet lizard with more energy and life. The mercury vapor bulb also emits heat of which your lizard needs to digest its food. If you don't get to a mercury vapor bulb you'll need to add a second light fixture to supply the heat. Either way you'll want the light fixtures to be ceramic-based. You need to provide a basking spot for your pet lizard. This spot needs to be in the range of 105° to 112°. You need to get a thermometer to make sure your temps are accurate, I use a temp gun. The cooler side of the cage needs to be in the range of 75° to 85°. Put the light or lights on an inexpensive automatic timer. Have them on for 12 to 14 hours. You want your pet lizard to be exposed to the UVB light and heat for at least an hour before you feed him. This will allow him to be able to digest his food.
Brumation Of all the bearded dragon facts -Brumation is the most difficult to accept and understand. It's the Reptile equivalent of hibernation. Every beardie seems to be slightly different when it comes to Brumation. Some will sleep for up to five months at a time, and other lizards will seemingly skip the entire process. One factor might be -how long your bearded dragon's blood line has been in captivity. Other factors might be -can your dragon see an open window, if so they can check out the seasonal changes. Or, is the owner trying to mimic a winter daylight schedule and temperature schedule. Or your bearded dragon could choose to do whatever he or she wants. An adult beardie(juveniles should not brumate or be encouraged to brumate-they need their protein) will usually start to slow down around October. The basking light should be maintained as normal(the UVB light) because if your beardie wakes up and decides to eat (you should provide a little food during Brumation) he will need the light to be able to digest his food. Some people lower the temps to around 72°(room temperature) to simulate the seasonal change. If you happen to notice your beardie eating during Brumation, it might be a good idea to occasionally put him on the basking spot to encourage good digestion.
As with any care sheet with any pet lizard(or any other animal) it's always a good idea to read several different care sheets to learn as much as possible so your pet lizard can be healthy and happy. This is of course true with providing excellent bearded Dragon care. Seek out more care sheets and bearded dragon facts to enable you to provide the best possible care for your pet lizard. Share your bearded dragon care tips!Do you have some helpful stories that could aid a fellow bearded Dragon owner?
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