Bearded Dragon Cage – What’s Needed?

The ideal Bearded dragon cage or vivarium should be glass panels with a solid back panel. The front panel should always be glass. This is so you can see your Bearded Dragon pet but also so he can see you.

A Bearded Dragon cage for a baby dragon should not be too big as your dragon might not be able to find it’s water, food, shelters or basking spots. It’s best to start off with a small enclosure up to 30 inches or 76 cm long. As the dragon gets bigger the bearded dragon cage will need to be bigger also. The smallest enclosure for one or two adult bearded dragons would be a 6 foot by 2 foot (1800 x 600).

The enclosure has to be large enough otherwise the health of your dragon will suffer. It's important that they are given the room to climb and move around. There also has to be adequate ventilation either by air vents or a mesh top.

In warm climates a Bearded Dragon cage can be placed outside. The enclosure must have a screen or be covered. Ideally the outside enclosure would have a covered area to escape from the sun and rain and also an area exposed to the elements for sun basking. The enclosure also needs to be secure to protect the bearded dragon from predators such as foxes and cats etc.

Avoid placing outdoor enclosures on concrete as these surfaces absorb heat and it may become too hot. On top of grass or sandy soil would be good.

For an inside bearded dragon cage it is important to provide three things. The three things are lighting, heating and the right flooring or substrate.

Substrate can be newspaper, sand or sandy soil. If using sand make sure to clean it regularly by removing faeces. Sand can benefit by being sieved now and then and being completely changed every 4 weeks.

Bearded Dragons need UVB light for their health. In the wild they bask on top of rocks in the sun to absorb the rays and heat. In a Bearded Dragon cage you must provide UVB lights which is crucial for their development and the absorption of Calcium. Bearded Dragon diet and Bearded Dragon food is very important to get right but without the right UVB lighting it's impossible for your dragon to digest food and absorb calcium.

Lastly the heating is also important provided by an incandescent bulb. Place this 100 – 150 mm above a basking rock and preferably at one end of the enclosure. This way your Beardie has somewhere cool to retreat to when they have had enough heat.

Ideally it would be good to have an indoor and an outdoor cage if possible. This way you can be sure your Beardie is getting natural sunlight during the day. If you are able to take your Bearded dragon outdoors for natural sunlight then a UVB light in the indoor enclosure isn't really a requirement.

via discounthorsetack.org