ideal dragon enclosure

[PetMumma]

after lots of thought we are about to welcome a Beared Dragon into our family. it will be our first lizard! A few questions from the more experienced...

the lizard's primary person is a 10 year old boy who has passionatly wanted a lizard since he was 6.

1. so many beautiful lizards t choose from. Any recommendations as to which is best? we live in canberra - we are thinking of an eastern beareded? but love the look of the Boyds Forrest.

2. what is the ideal enclose size for a dragon?

3. we have located a couple of Dragons at the RSPCA in canberra - what is the go with rescuing an adult lizard (as opposed to getting a hatchling)?
thanks for your help

 

[Chris1]

i would say for a 10 year old boy a central beardy would be perfect, great colours, great size and if handled properly from a young age, theyre great handlers, like most animals, you get out what u put in, some dragons ive babysat really dont appreciate handling, while those i keep myself are happiest snuggled up with their pet humans,...

forest dragons are gorgeous but from what i hear stressy and not for handling.

minimum recommended enclosure size is 4x2x2 foot, but there are new laws coming out where that might be to small eventually,..

rescuing and adult is a lovely idea, but from what ive seen with some of the adults ive rescued/babysat ur son might get bitten, so make sure if u do rescue an adult its handleable.

id go with a 3-6 month old, just so its a bit more forgiving if husbandry mistakes are made, but is still young enough to grow up with him and how he decides to go with handling etc,...

beardies are awesome!!

 

[hailey]

i live in canberra 2 and just got my first lizard. i picked a shingleback because there slow moving and very happy to cuddle up and steel your warmth. make sure you get a sorce of heat, in canberra as you know it gets cold. but on warm days i turn off my heat lamp. congrats on deciding to bring a new friend into your family. im sure what ever you pick your son will get many years of enjoyment out of it.

 

[PetMumma]

thanks so much for this. hadn't considered a shingleback... but will explore this too.
oh, and can anyone give us any tips for how to select a good breeder (oh lol that's the person not the lizard!).

 

[damian83]

i would say for a 10 year old boy a central beardy would be perfect, great colours, great size and if handled properly from a young age, theyre great handlers, like most animals, you get out what u put in, some dragons ive babysat really dont appreciate handling, while those i keep myself are happiest snuggled up with their pet humans,...

forest dragons are gorgeous but from what i hear stressy and not for handling.

minimum recommended enclosure size is 4x2x2 foot, but there are new laws coming out where that might be to small eventually,..

rescuing and adult is a lovely idea, but from what ive seen with some of the adults ive rescued/babysat ur son might get bitten, so make sure if u do rescue an adult its handleable.

id go with a 3-6 month old, just so its a bit more forgiving if husbandry mistakes are made, but is still young enough to grow up with him and how he decides to go with handling etc,...

beardies are awesome!!

chris i have two central beardies aswell and they sleep with us on the couch watching tv at night
petmamma - i would recommend central beardies as well, but the choice on the pet is entirely up to you, make sure you read about care maybe buy a book on them just before buying/making the enclosure..
i built mine out of white melamine glass sliders and channel with mesh on top cost me 150 its 4 foot by 650 by 550mm, you can find pic in my profile of the dragons and the tanks,

good luck with what ever you purchase i hope it brings him and you alot of enjoyment

 

[giggle]

I dont know about 4x2x2 being minimum. Plus beardies dont have to use height so much being terrestrial. I would definitely recommend that the enclosure be 2foot (600mm/60cm) wide... gives comfortable turning room. They mostly run about their cage in the search of food and spend the rest of their time lazing about. I would say 3(900mm/90cm) long x 1.5(450mm/45cm) high x 2(600mm/60cm) wide is your minimum for one beardie. Of course the bigger you can afford the better... if you can spare the space. Im in a townhouse so decided to go up with the enclosure rather than with extra length. At one stage I had a second level but he never used it, so I just put in branches and vines which he uses. But my Beardie is a bit of an odd-ball.
If you are getting your beardie out frequently... which at 10 years I was always playing with my pets then you will find he may get a bit of exercise out of the enclosure.

 

[Tinky]

Centerals are a great lizard. Went through a similar process as you are over the past couple of years with my children.

My kids are not good on the cleaning and maintenance side of things.

A few tips
Bigger tank is better. Height offers temperature gradient.
Keep the tank in the lounge room. It will get used to you, and you will spend hours watching each other
Ensure that the tank has a good heat source, (perferably on a thermostat)
Dragons need UVB, so you will need to provide this, probably through a seperate fluro light
Find a local reptile/pet store that sells crickets
Substrate - search this site to underatand issues with substrate choice. I have lino on the bottom of my viv for easy cleaning

Have a look at the photos on my profile to get an idea of my set up. Happy to answer any questions if you PM me.

 

[camt44]

Another tip: Beardies eat lots of food... When mine were young, they were going through 500+ woodies or crickets every 2 weeks each, so unless you bulk buy, you are going to spend a fortune feeding them off pet shop containers... Breeding woodies I think is the best option, at least when they are older, so then you get free food. But while they are young, buy in bulk from places like herpshop, jemmi woodies or the ARCade
Cam

 

[damian83]

If you are getting your beardie out frequently... which at 10 years I was always playing with my pets then you will find he may get a bit of exercise out of the enclosure.

have you thought of getting a ferret harness and walking it outside

 

[babba007]

I would definately recommend breeding woodies. They go through lots of live food when they are young. So easy to look after and cheap to maintain. We have had our Centrals since hatchies, and as long as your son is gentle with them, they'll be fine. My boys, 6 and 8, are really involved in looking after our 2 lizards. They give them vegies daily, and will feed them woodies, and mealies as a treat. Our lizards love to sit with us on the lounge and have cuddles too. They really are awesome little creatures.

 

[babba007]

This is a pic of our enclosure. Its 1200 long x 1000 high x 600 deep

 

[meecrob]

Being in Canberra the only lizards you will be able to keep are Eastern Bearded Dragons, Blotched & Eastern blue tongues and Shinglebacks if it is your first reptile. You have to keep one of them (or a long necked turtle) for two years before being able to move on to other reptiles so that would rule out central beardies and Boyds at this stage.

You should go talk to Peter at Reptiles Inc. He has all of them in the store so you can check them out and decide which would be best for you.