bearded dragons

boof

boof

Well-Known Member
20+ year member
My pet children's python died today. I am thinking of getting a baby bearded dragon. Has anyone got one or kept one before? Have you got any tips for a first timer?
thanks.
 
why did it die boof? how long does a children's python live?

i have kept neither but bearded dragons have gotta be way better than water dragons. the latter always foul up the water and really should just be kept outside.

apparently bearded dragons make really good pets tho....
 
Yeah they are fine and easy to keep, aslong as you provide them with UV they make great pets, i had 15 babies, they all raised well on termite and crickets, Mark this is your area of expertise wanna say ssomething?
 
It was old. I got from a bloke that had it for a while. I had it for a couple of years. I don't know why it died.
 
Hi Boof, I have Bearded Dragons, have bred a few too, Keep the babies warm night and day, as for food white ants are good so are small crickets and woodies, a small shallow water dish is good. I provide some wood for climbing, best to keep them well fed or they can start picking at any smaller ones for food. Hope thats of some help
 
I was looking at getting one a while ago but went boring and got fish...

I did quite a bit of research and they look like low maintence, excellent pets...
 
Yes Jeremy they are low maintence, babies have to be fed more often than adults, I had Tropical fish for many years, the move to Herps was a big step after years of fish but no turning back now
 
MARK said:
Hi Boof, I have Bearded Dragons, have bred a few too, Keep the babies warm night and day, as for food white ants are good so are small crickets and woodies, a small shallow water dish is good. I provide some wood for climbing, best to keep them well fed or they can start picking at any smaller ones for food. Hope thats of some help
Click to expand...

Mark, the only thing that I would add is to lightly dust the food once a week [no more] with calcium carbonate powder.

As Ben said, the UV light is essential but bear in mind Boof that the lizards need to get close to the source of the light. A branch at about 45 degrees from the ground up under the light should allow them to adjust their body position in relation to the rays.

We also feed very finely chopped greens, flowers [they love yellow ones] and maybe some tiny pieces of chopped grape very second day or so.

For water the dish needs to be shallow as MARK said but you may find that they ingest water better if you spray it on them in a fine mist from a spray bottle. Spray the top of the head and they will lick the drops as they run down that depression between their eyes. Sometimes [like on really hot days] they will actually soak their bodies in the shallow water or you can spray them with the spray bottle. It is amazing to see their bodies soak up the water! If you get Pogona vitticeps [the Inland Bearded Dragon] then the water won't be quite so crucial to them.

Hope this helps.
 
Steve Robinson said:
Mark, the only thing that I would add is to lightly dust the food once a week [no more] with calcium carbonate powder.
Click to expand...

Thats quite right Steve, I use the very fine calcium power, The Inland bearded dragons come in a range of colours from red, orange, yellow, white and the gray. Great animals :cool:
 
Thanks guys for all the advice. I have to ask my wife if I can get one. (That's right I said ask my wife!!!) Is the coastal bearded dragon a better option for me as far as it's dependance on weather conditions? I plan to house it outdoors once it reaches a good size. I live near Wollongong, it's usually mild weather but it can get cold overnight in winter.
 
Boof, the Inland bearded dragon species would best be kept indoors where it is dry and warm, the coastal species should have no problems outside
 
Yes Boof, go for the coastal if you want to keep it outdoors. Down your way is a bit too humid for the inland species unless kept in humidity controlled cabinets. [There's nothing worse than watching an inland species - including Shinglebacks - slowly dying of pneumonia]. Give it plenty of cover so that it can hibernate in the winter - bark, hollow logs that sort of thing. Although I think I would prefer to keep it indoors for the first couple of winters. Hatchlings are tiny little things.

If the boss let you keep the python you should be home and hosed for a beardie!
 
i have a central,

he comes in at night, and we have a alrge aivary for him, cause theres no substitute for real uv light!

hes healthy, though hasnt grown as big as i though he would by this time, a diet revewi i think i need.
 
nah i want a tortoise. and not a freshwater "tortoise", a REAL tortoise.... that has galomphing feet and eats lettuce. he can live in my garden and grow old with me.

(alas, i live in probably the only nation on earth where i am denied this simplest of pleasures.... *sniffle*)
 
Yeah, true!
Australia is probably THE most restrictive nation on earth when it comes to private ownership/importation/export of animals. (Some would say that's a good thing - I'm in two minds about it. I can see the reasons behind the draconian legislation that supposedly free citizens live under in this country, but I don't have to like it!)

Let's look at the subject of this thread;Bearded Dragons. They are kept and bred worldwide by reptile enthusiasts, but until very recently it was almost impossible for a private individual to keep them in Australia.

There's a whole industry built around them in the U.S.- people are making a decent living just breeding Bearded Dragons, but it's no thanks to the Australian government - the founders had to be smuggled out (to Germany, from where they have spread around the world.)

In the opposite direction, there are Aussie reptile enthusiasts desperate to get their hands on exotic reptiles which are taken for granted in the U.K, Europe and the U.S., such as Burmese Pythons, Boas etc. TOTALLY illegal in Australia!
 
It probably has been discussed before, but it bugs me that a law-abiding citizen of this country, who is prepared to obtain a licence and submit to govt. inspection cannot legally pursue his or her hobby in this way. (I'm not talking about "cowboys" who want to keep cobras or rattlesnakes; I'm talking about the person who would like to keep an Iguana or a Cornsnake.)

It doesn't affect me personally; I'm not a reptile enthusiast. (I'm a bird-keeper.) It's just a matter of what's fair or unfair.
 
yeah i agree! when i was in renmark they had Heaps of Leopard Tortoise, the cornsnakes were beautiful andboth make great pets (demonstarted overseas)

But back on topic

boof any progress with the Wife?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top