Here are the Top 10 Bearded dragon facts you should know about if you consider buying a bearded dragon.
Bearded Dragons are one of the most popular reptiles, I mean they look like a small dragon, it is not suprising that they are so popular.
However there are definitely a few things you should know about before buying a bearded dragon. I wrote this article for absolute beginners, to make sure that you do not have wrong expectations before getting a bearded dragon. Further I want to help you to make your beardie healthy and happy. 🙂
1 – The most popular dragon
The most popular bearded dragon is the central bearded dragon, or how I call it: The normal beardie with the spikes …lol.
There are 8 subspecies of bearded dragons. The Lawson´s dragon, or dwarf bearded dragon is the number 2 when it comes to popularity.
The dwarf bearded dragon looks more like a young normal beardy without spikes, in my opinion they are also adorable little dragons, but I would always go with the bigger spiky guys.
2 – Prices vary
Here in Germany most people buy their reptiles from breeders whom they trust. If you do not know a breeder, you ask other friends with reptiles or do a little bit of research in forums. Buying reptiles from a pet shop is like Russian roulette here.
First of all, the animals are overpriced most of the times in those pet shops and secondly, a lot of them are sick.
In America on the other side, it is totally normal to buy reptiles in a pet shop, or to order reptiles from an online pet shop and that is totally okay. As long as the pet shops care for the animals that is okay!
I watched a lot of american reptile unboxing videos and the reptiles always looked healthy. Further I´ve chatted with some of those video creators from Youtube and all of them told me that their reptiles were still alive and healthy.
However the prices of the animals vary extremely. Bearded dragons are lower priced reptiles, as long as you do not buy a special colour variation. I have seen prices from $30 to $100 for one beardie.
3 – Bearded dragons are loners
As human beings, we do not want animals to be alone, since we think they would miss a friend. Bearded dragons, however, are loners. It is okay for them to be alone. In Australia you will always find beardies lying in the sun alone.
So if you want to have two or more bearded dragons, make sure, that you only get one male beardie. This is very important, because two males most probably will fight the whole day and that can end very badly.
In fact it would be best to buy two tanks and place them next to each other, if you want to have two bearded dragons. This way the reptiles will show their natural territorial behavior (for example waving) without crossing the line and hurt each other.
Before you ask: Nope this is not stressful for the beardies, it´s just natural.
4 – Bearded dragons need a big tank
Baby dragons need a 20 gallon tank. In my opinion this is the optimal size for a baby. This way they can run around in their tank a lot, but they will also be able to catch their food quickly and easily.
If you need a terrarium for your baby dragon have a look at this article: Terrarium for baby bearded dragons.
If you have an adult bearded dragon that is 20 inches or longer you will definitely need a 40 gallon tank, but that is the minimum. In my opinion a 120 gallon tank would be better, but that is totally up to you.
If you need a terrarium for your adult dragon have a look at this article: Terrarium for adult bearded dragons.
5 – Bearded dragons love the sun
Bearded dragon are cold blooded, that means that they can not maintain their body temperature like humans. They need the sun to regulate their body temperature. Further they are used to the sun of Australia. That means they like it warm and they like it bright.
So you need to get a good bearded dragon lighting. If you need some help with your terrarium lighting or just don´t know what to buy, simply have a look at this article: Bearded Dragon Lighting Guide.
6 – Beardies eat vegetables
Not very dragon-like, huh? However it is the truth. Most reptiles only eat insects, spiders or small mammals. Adult bearded dragons should mostly eat vegetables, but they should also eat live food several times per week.
Here is an article on bearded dragon diet.
7 – Beardies can be sensitive
You probably think to yourself now that bearded dragons are one of the most robust reptiles you can get. Yes, bearded dragons are very robust and most of them are very calm.
However that does not mean that you should place your bearded dragon inside a Hip Hop Club with loud music and loud people who move quickly. Okay I overdid it a little bit with this (lol), but I think you get what I mean.
Beardies have big holes on the sides of their head which means that they have a very sensitive hearing. So place the tank in a more quite place of your house.
8 – Bearded dragons brumate
It sounds quite funny, since they live in Australia and there is no real winter. However bearded dragons brumate indeed.
That means for around 10 weeks a year your beardie can be very inactive and you should not offer a lot of food. This also means that you won´t spend a lot of time with your beardie during brumation. Read my brumation guide if you want to learn more.
9 – Bearded Dragons poop
Shocking, right? But it is true, beardies do poop …and that can be pretty disgusting to be honest, haha. If you have a good bearded dragon story on that, how about leave it in the comment section below? I am sure it would be a good read!
10 – Bearded dragons need time
Most bearded dragons are totally calm, but they need time to become calm and “tame”. You can take your bearded dragon out, but it has to get used to you first, so if your beardie is aggressive in the first time, don´t worry.
I hope that you like my Top 10 bearded dragon facts. Do you have some additional facts? I would be very thankful if you would name them in the comment section below. This way we can help a lot of people who consider buying a bearded dragon!
Any questions? Just leave me a message in the comment section, I always get back to my readers quickly.
All the best,
Pierre
Poop story! On the way home the other day I had my almost 3 month old baby bearded in the car with me, we had just went to get him food. Well suddenly he frantically tried to get off of my but I put him in my hand to calm him, then he got in this strange position and I was thinking “Hmm that’s a weird stance” then… Boom watery and thick mix poop in between my fingers! And I had nothing to clean it with Soo I just chilled with poop in my hand for like 10 minutes until I arrived home..
Hey Cheyenne,
haha oh my god that sounds horrible, but I am actually laughing too hard right now!
Yeah that is definitely something future bearded dragon owners should know: Bearded dragons like to poop in the weirdest situations, haha.
My dragons also poop a lot and there is one story I will write down here on my website, so stay tuned haha.
Hope you were able to clean the mess quickly after that! Thank you for sharing this hilarious story!
Cheers,
Pierre
I have a poop story. So my bearded dragon likes to treat my bedroom as a litterbox. Seriously she has pooped on my floor, bed, and me more times than I can count. She has pooped in her cage ONCE in the past three weeks.
One day I let her out and she was on my laptop. She always wiggles her butt when she’sshe’s pooping and I noticed she had started this so I picked her up and put her in her cage really fast. She dodoesn’t poop. So I figured I just scared her or something and left her in there for a while. TWO HOURS later she still has not pooped so I figure I was wrong and I decide to let her out again. 2 minutes later there is a turd bigger than her body on my floor (sshe is about 8 months old) and it smells horrible.
real good to know i have a bearded dragon did’t learn anything except on the burmate vary good and you are right on the poop thing.