The needs of pets are given importance by good pet lovers. Your bearded dragon pet is among those luxuriously basking in some Australian semi arid desert when they were unceremoniously collected for breeding and petting by humans. So the least that you can do is to make sure they have a good home. What can be better but a thoughtful bearded dragon cage?
Bearded dragons, just like any furry pet, get stressed with changes in its environment. Its stress is magnified when the conditions in a bearded dragon cage is hostile, wanting and unhygienic. The ideal condition is something that effectively mimics its original habitat. If you think about the semi arid dessert sunlight, substratum, food, water supply, the temperature, and humidity - chances are, you will get it right.
1. A cage of sufficient size that can allow them to move with relative ease. Hatchlings need a cage of about 10 to 15 gallon capacity and mature beardies must be housed in approximately 55 to 65 gallon capacity tanks.
2. Any type of non toxic material can be used as long as it is easy to clean. The walls must also be smooth to prevent injuries.
3. Make sure that the substrate or the bottom material can contribute to the retention of heat which they like so much coming from a semi arid desert.
4. It is important to take note of primary and secondary heating sources which are 70F at night and 78 to 88F during the day because the cage temperature should be warm enough.
5. The need for white visible light may be satisfied by installing an incandescent and a fluorescent bulb.
6. To make sure the vitamin D3 is synthesized these pets must be exposed to enough sunlight for the ultraviolet light called UVB. This can come from artificial sources, however, the ideal source will still be sunlight.
7. To keep them cool, an adaptation they developed while in the desert is through cooling off by dipping in a shallow pool of water.
8. Housing more beardies in a common cage may lead to competition for food. It is advised to have a bigger cage or separate smaller ones for the males during breeding seasons when they can be more aggressive.
A perfect bearded dragon cage may not be attained easily, but mimicking the environment in a microcosm can be done quite efficiently.