Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Bearded Dragon Care and Feeding

Bearded Dragon care is easy with a little
knowledge and goes a long way towards ensuring
your pet remains healthy.Bearded Dragons are very
docile lizards that get their name from the spiny
scaled space that covers their throat. The male
dragons will "puff" this area up as a sign of
dominance and defense. Bearded Dragons are a
fantastic choice for first time reptile owners,
especially for families with young kids that are
searching for a reptilian family member. Beardies
are medium sized reptiles growing 18-24 inches in
length. They are omnivorous creatures, which
means they naturally eat plants and insects. In
captivity they often do better on a vegetarian
diet.

Their diet should consist mainly of calcium
coated crickets, superworms, other insects,
earthworms, pinky mice, dark leafy greens such as
romaine, collard greens, kale, escarole, and
red-leaf lettuce, and fruits & veggies such as
strawberries and beans. Any food items presented
to your Bearded Dragons should be no bigger than
the space between their eyes.

Bearded Dragons are native to central Australia
and are basically desert-dwelling lizards. Their
colour varies from a dull brown or gray to
straw/yellow to fiery orange-red. Bearded dragons
are a very popular pet, They are extremely
adaptable to different habitats, and may be found
in woodland, scrubland, and grasslands.

Bearded dragons are superb pets for adults or
kids, and are often used in schools as class
pets. A Bearded dragon takes up less space than a
dog or cat and is much cleaner. Bearded dragons
are not prone to bad health but they can get
worms or mites. If your animal is bleeding from a
wound or internally (bloody vomit, or blood in
the faeces), is paralysed, has abnormal swellings
on any part of its body, it may have a broken
bone, or has ingested a potentially toxic
substance, get your pet to a vet right away.

Bearded Dragons are quite rare reptiles, whose
astonishing biological charactaristic is their
extremely long facial hair. This makes them
unique among reptiles, not only due to the fact
that they have hair, but also that many of them
have very stylish goatees.

Bearded dragons are primarily desert dwellers.
However, they do spend the hottest part of the
day in relatively cool areas As with all desert
creatures, too much heat may be just as dangerous
as too little. During the day the temperature
should range from 76 F (24 C) on the cool side to
86 F (30 C) on the warm side, with their basking
area ranging from 90-100 F (32-37.7 C).

When threatened these lizards assume a defensive
posture, opening their mouths and pushing their
throat skin forward to make their 'beard'. They
are usually bought at a few months of age,
measuring only 15 - 20 cm (6 - 8 inches). They
should be alert, but fairly tame (not too docile
though as these lizards tend to become tamer and
slower as they age).

They are active lizards, and like to climb
around. Put some sturdy angled branches or twisty
grapewood into their enclosure, and you'll
probably see the dragon climbing and exploring.
Bearded dragons are a diurnal basking species,
and as such, need exposure to full spectrum light
in order to properly synthesize vitamin D3 and
for calcium absorption in the GI tract.
Specifically they require light in the UVB. While
their appearance is similar to iguanas, dragons
tend to be more docile than iguanas and far less
demanding.

Bearded Dragons are not like most reptiles you
can buy at a pet store. They enjoy being handled,
they eat greens along with crickets and you don't
have to feed them mice for them to get proper
nutrition. Bearded dragons are commonly available
at pet stores, reptile expos and breeders'
websites. Captive-bred specimens are usually
recommended because they are much healthier and
more acclimated to captivity than animals caught
in the wild.

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This part is important, so read carefully.

Go to my website right now to learn about bearded
dragon feeding. While you are there you might
learn a thing or two about bearded dragon care as
well. Sign up for my free Beardie Secrets
newsletter.

http://www.beardeddragonkeeping.com/

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