Yes, bearded dragons are easy to maintain.
Size
Beardies don’t get large as they seldom grow beyond 2 feet long. This is a nice size for these pets.
Young beardies will need a sizable enclosure of at least 3-4 feet long and 12 inches wide.
An adult dragon would require a habitat of a minimum 6 feet long and 16-20 inches wide.
The best recommendation is to not overcomplicate things. New beardie owners have a tendency of over decorating the pet’s cage hence end up overcrowding it.
When they are newly born, it is best to put beardies in different tanks. The adults can crush the young ones or even eat them.
Feeding
Beardie dragons eat both animal and veggie matter. They can eat pretty much anything in moderation. If you give them pellet food formulated for beardies and with the right level of vitamins and minerals, they will eat it.
Fruit and vegetables can be offered every day in moderation. For example: tomato (don’t feed too often because it contains too much moisture), banana, apple (peel, otherwise blockages can occur!) and endive.
Bearded dragons prefer brightly colored vegetables, preferably yellow, and they love dandelions.
Both the leaf and flower are eaten, but the stem is poisonous and should not be fed!
In short, bearded dragons are the easiest reptiles to feed!
Water and Vitamins
You can use a water bowl to give water to adult beardies two to three times per week. For littles ones, we recommend a low bowl of water to avoid downing. Feed them daily.
Note that bearded dragons always need calcium, vitamins, and minerals, so you have to sprinkle a preparation over the vegetables and insects.
A lack of calcium causes irreversible greening of the bones and skull or rickets. Adult bearded dragons need less calcium than younger ones but too much calcium can also cause problems, such as calcification of organs.
Handling
Beardies are known not to scratch, bite, fight or whip you with their tail if you pick them up gently.
They always hope for the best, so they are naturally “tame”. As a matter of fact, beardies are safe even for kids 12+ years as they won’t bite them.
Note that if you handle them roughly and hurt them in any way, they may bite.
Appeal
Bearded dragons are attentive creatures which is unusual for most lizards. They can wave one of their front arms in a circular way just like humans!
Daylight Lizards
Beardies are daytime animals meaning they are active in daytime just like most people. You can feed them, handling them during daytime unlike geckos which are nocturnal lizards. You can’t observe them without a special red or night-light bulb.
Heat
These pets need heat. Any ordinary incandescent light bulb will do the job. Turn it on during the day and off at night. Try to keep the temperature at 90 F.
Safe
Studies have shown that most reptiles carry the salmonella bacteria that can be passed to humans. No bearded dragons have been reported in such studies as of today.
Follow standard procedures or guidelines to avoid bacteria when taking care of your beardie.
Summary
Yes, bearded dragons are low maintenance compared to other reptiles such as snakes, turtles, and chameleons.
You simply need to keep them hot, clean, and fed few times per day. They also need enough space to round around.
Read our detailed post answering the question can bearded dragons eat spinach.
My name is Brad and I am the main editor of BeardieZilla.com.
The only goal of this site is quite simply to be able to help you. To help you by the means of my experiment, of the relation which I maintain with my bearded dragon as well as some of my knowledge about beardies.
I hope that you will find answers to some of your most pressing questions here.
Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the blog!
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