it is important to consider the bearded dragon as a two-stage lizard even if you want to invest right away in the larger enclosure it will need when fully grown. The very best size for a 6–7-inch juvenile dragon is a 30- inch-long by 12-inch-high enclosure, which is essentially a 20-gallon long tank. You can keep the dragon in this size tank for about four months after bringing it home. Keeping a baby dragon in a larger enclosure is problematic because the dragon may fail to find its food, water, basking sites, and shelters. He may be overwhelmed by the size of the tank and feel insecure and stressed. The UVB may be placed too high to be effective. As the baby grows, however, you will need to provide a larger enclosure.
The smallest enclosure for one or two adult bearded dragons is either 4 feet long by 2 feet deep or 6 feet long by 18 inches deep. A standard 55-gallon (48-inch-long by 13-inch-deep) aquarium can house a single adult specimen, but do not go any smaller. A smaller tank will restrict activity in a way that is not optimal for the animal’s welfare. Bearded dragons cannot thermoregulate in a tank or enclosure that is too short. Bearded dragons need to adjust their internal temperature accordingly to become hungry, to digest food, and to cool off to prevent death.
The most widely sold enclosures in the reptile trade are all-glass tanks. These are fine for bearded dragons, but there are two potential problems: many stores do not carry the larger sizes, and their size and weight make them challenging to transport. There are also large, lightweight plastic molded enclosures with sliding glass fronts sold in the reptile trade (e.g., Vision Herpetological) that can be designed for housing bearded dragons. You can order these enclosures online if your local reptile store does not stock them.
Fire and Ice Dragons uses 48-inch-long by 24-inch-wide by 24-inch-high white melamine enclosures with solid tops, bottoms, backs, and sides; sliding glass front doors; and vents in the back. They are easy to clean and very bright internally. They keep the dragons happy and, thus, showing their best colors.
When choosing an enclosure, it’s important to consider your bearded dragon’s needs first and foremost—not what will look best in your home. One customer built a bearded dragon setup from an old cabinet because he collected antiques. The floor of the cabinet was almost square in length and width, and the cabinet was very tall. It had a dark wood stain. He removed the front doors and installed glass. Then, he went to buy the bearded dragon. There were some problems, though. First, the size of the cabinet was inappropriate: 36 inches by 24 inches, rather than the minimum 48-inch length that an adult requires. Next, the stain on the wood was very dark, making the entire enclosure dark, which would have made a bearded dragon miserable. Bearded dragons like their enclosures bright and white to reflect as much light as possible. Remember, these dragons are from Australia!
Bearded dragons like bright enclosures that let in as much light as possible.
In another example, a very wealthy person built a spectacular outdoor bath and shower room out of stone. His idea was to create a huge matching bearded dragon enclosure in this room. Without ever having raised a bearded dragon before, he spent many thousands of dollars erecting what he thought would be a beautiful spectacle to impress those who visited. He had an exhibit built that was 7 feet tall by 10 feet wide by 2 feet deep, with an all-glass front and an end-to-end rock wall. The rocks covered the entire 7-foot height, and a waterfall ran the length of the enclosure, ending in a floor with a recycling drain (the same water from the waterfall went back up and over again and again). There were also some narrow rock ledges up the entire height of the wall.
When I saw this elaborate enclosure, I was stunned (but not for the reasons that the owner intended). While the animal-free exhibit was gorgeous, my first thought was: respiratory infections. My second thought? Parasitic overload. My third thought? The smell. Bearded dragons defecate like any other living creature, but this incredible expanse had no way to adequately clean and disinfect it. The water was recycled! Also, no one took into consideration that the dragons could easily slip on wet, narrow rocks and fall 7 feet to their deaths. I could go on and on. The bottom line? It would have made a fantastic rainforest exhibit for ferns, plants, and dart frogs, but certainly not for bearded dragons.
Another customer built a bearded dragon enclosure into a bar. However, this person designed the bar around the needs of his three bearded dragons. He built the actual enclosure to be 7 feet long by 3 feet wide by about 3 feet tall. He had lights installed in the interior, and the lights and temperatures were autoregulated. There were sliding glass doors on both sides for misting, feeding, and cleaning. He then built a carved-wood bar around the dragons’ enclosure. In this scenario, the owner addressed the dragons’ needs first, and his wants second. As a result, his dragons lived happy, healthy lives for years. The bar looked great, too!
That said, it is not necessary to go to extremes to maintain a healthy dragon. A simple 48-inch by 24-inch by 24-inch enclosure for an adult bearded dragon will keep the dragon healthy and happy throughout its life.
Any plants inside the enclosure must be free of pesticides and other chemicals.
Outdoor Setups
In a few warm areas of the United States, such as southern California or some parts of Florida, bearded dragons can be kept in outdoor screened or covered pens year-round as long as they are provided with shelters from rain and have areas of soil or piles of hay to burrow into. In some other areas of the United States, bearded dragons can be kept outdoors in simple pens during the warm months. Breeders have built effective pens inside greenhouses. To be a suitable place for a bearded dragon pen, a greenhouse should have controls for monitoring and maintaining desired temperatures, including whitewash, opening panels, fans, and heaters. It should also have pipes run nearby for easy access to water.
Bearded dragons can enjoy some supervised outdoor time in a safe environment.
Inexpensive alternatives to pens are large plastic enclosures, screened on all sides, that are sold in the reptile trade. They are ideal for allowing lizards to bask outdoors in sunlight (see Chapter 4 on heating and lighting); however, do not place these all-screen enclosures on concrete or asphalt. Because both of these surfaces absorb heat when exposed to sun, dragons may quickly overheat and die. In any outdoor situation, the dragon will need access to shade, water, and climbing areas.
Some new owners think that any outdoor exposure is beneficial, but this is not true. Keep in mind that if an adult bearded dragon’s preferred basking temperature is 105 degrees F, and your outdoor temperature is 70 and breezy, that dragon will be cold.
Watch your dragon for its reaction to the outdoor conditions. When we were in Maryland, we frequently had summer days of 90 degrees F. Because we had read that exposure to natural sunlight was good for the dragons, we built an expensive screened outdoor pen for summertime sunning. Surprisingly, our dragons hated being outside. They were dark and stressed in the outdoor enclosure and tried every way they could to escape. When placed back in their indoor enclosures, their bright colors returned, and the stress marks faded away. Always pay attention to your dragon’s reaction.
Substrates
Because of the potential risks of sand impaction, some people choose to initially raise baby bearded dragons on newspaper instead of sand. However, there are better options. Our evaluations of various substrates follow:
No substrate: Many breeders raise their babies
