How To Care For Bearded Dragons

hi i have a BD and he to has stopped eatinhe is nearly one years old can u help as this is startin to worry me

hi moo67 firstly how long have u had ur dragon?

hi mate. my bearded dragon has the shakes, its toes keep twitching! do you know why is this?

I last made a post 115 days ago dont get online much and had to find your answers. Kratos has doubled in size from his hatling days but im still a newbie with them. he has gotten used to me. I had put sawdust down instead of sand and she really likes it, hasnt caused any problems, does anyone else use sawdust ? the meal worms bury themselves into the sawdust I was shocked to find out there like catapilla/ butterfly evolvers and when I left them for a week i had a tub of littkle beatles lol. I have tried giving Kratos a few wax worms she seems to scoff them okay, but does not like brockerley if she doesnt like veg is that a problem should i take her back to pet shop or vet ? she now eats locusts size 3 and crickets aswell as the worms, ive heared they reach full size in 1 year is that correct ? thanks all !

I work for a water testing company and you would not believe what is in your water! City water ususally has high chlorine levels that can damage your animals insides and the hardness and mineral levels in well water can be overpowering to not just bearded dragons but any animal especially fish and reptiles! Using bottled water can be expensive but atleast you will know you are keeping your animal safe and healthy. Whole house water treatment systems are fantastic but Brita and Pur sink filters and pitchers dont always do the job. Never give a water dish to a baby or juvenille dragon as they almost always will stick their entire nose into the water dish and get water into their lungs. If this happens immediatly raise the temperature in you beardies tank and moniter him/her very closely as water in the lungs can lead to pneumonia which is more common in reptiles than most people think. Calcium with D3 and vitamin supplements along with a UV light and heat bulb made for reptiles(8-12hrs light/day) are the bare essentials if you want your beardie to have a chance at survival- no blacklights DO NOT WORK!!! Subtrates should be added with caution and never put a dragon on sand as the risk of impaction is way too high. There are mixed opinions about calci sand but either way impaction can still occur with this substrate. Millet and Repti Carpet are the easiest ways to go but it wont matter what substrate you use if you dont keep your tank clean. Crickets must be fed gutloaded and dusted with calcium and vitamins to keep your beardie healthy. Mealworms and other worms are great but if fed all the time willl not be satisfactory enough to meet their nutricional needs. NEVER FEED YOUR ANIMALS ANYTHING THAT YOU FIND OUTSIDE! Bugs from outside get coated with pesticides and fertilizers and can lead to poisoning in any animal. Vegetables are also very important and Collard Greens are amoung their favorites, but feeding greens such as lettuce alone will give your dragon the runs. Never feed any reptile iceburg lettuce or any kind of citrus as these foods are toxic! Firefly's aka lightening bugs are deadly to bearded dragons so keep these away from your bearded. Ususally on a monthly basis your dragon will shed its skin. Do not rip off the shed!!! We have a snake with scabs for eyes who with one look can tell you why you shouldnt peel off shedding skin. To own a bearded dragon make sure you have the proper sized enclosure for it or be ready to upgrade as it grows. It breaks my heart to hear of people keeping their reptiles in 10 and 20 gallon tanks. This is like placing your animal in prison so dont expect it to live long. Most importantly make sure you get your animal's habitat before you get the animal, and remember- a free animal is never free! Now you know so please take care of your animals and do not get an animal that you cannot care for!!!

I would just like to say to anonymous that ur information was extremely helpful. There thing i find very annoying is that on all different websites the information is different.Do u actually have b.d urself??

To Mr Caramac, The Anonymous person is correct. You, however, have just shown your ignorance. Look here: http://www.aquaria.info/modules/PNphpBB2/files/impaction01.jpg This shows the impacts of calci-sand on a bearded dragon. Last week, my husband, had to put down 16 bearded dragons because of this impactation because of people like you who haven't done their own research. If you go to the regions where the Bearded Dragons come from you will find hard clay like substance. You put the facts together. - Mrs R.