Chapter One

Bearded Dragon Care Book
Chapter 1

Bearded Dragons are good for first time reptile owners because they are gentle and easy to handle, and east to take care of. Bearded Dragons in the wild come from Australia. But don't buy your lizard wild breed, there are not alot of bearded dragons in the wild so if you do you'll hurt the enviroment, so buy yours captive breed. Bearded Dragons live from 7-10 years so buying one is a long time commitment.

Bearded dragons can be bought as hatchlings (young). And if you do you will have to feed them diffrent for a while. Hatchlings (birth to 3 months), feed them 1 piece of food, 3 times a day everyday, but dont feed them mealworms. After 4 months of age you can feed them about every other day, and they can eat mealworms. You can also sprinkle vitamins on their food twice a week.

Bearded Dragons can eat:

insects= crickets, grasshoppers, mealworms, earthworms.
greens= turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, kale, chard, chicory, escarole, Boston lettuce (not iceburg!).
Ocasional Foods= grated carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, squash, apples, pears, melon, banana, grapes, oranges, cook potatoes, peas, beans, strawberries.

Don't feed a bearded dragon:
Spinach, Rhubarb leaves, Beets, Cauliflower.



Recipe: Beardie Salad Treat
Only feed them this once in a while.

Ingredients:
1 leaf of boston lettuce,
1 grape or cherry Tomatoe,
1 slice of cucumber.

Instructions:
Cut boston lettuce us to small slices and cut the tomatoe into small bits.
Then slice the cucumber into small strips. Mix it together. (Depending on size of lizard, you may only feed it half the serving.) You may add a little bit of vitamins to this.


Recipe: Beardie Fruit Salad
Serve this once in a while.

Ingredients:
1 slice of apple,
1 half of a strawberry,
1 slice of pear.

Instructions:
cut up everything to small bits. Mix it all together. You can add mealworms to this. You can also add a little bit of vitamins to this. (Depending on lizards size, you might want to feed it half the serving.)


Do's and Don'ts:

Do= handle your bearded dragon alot but also give it time to it self, take good care of it, give it attention, feed it health foods, take it to the vet when needed.

Don't=Let it out unsupervised, let it around dogs or cats or other big animals, feed it the wrong foods.


Facts:

1. If you put two males in the same cage they with fight.

2. Dont put two kinds of lizards in the same cage.

3. You can walk a bearded dragon on a special harness and leash.

How To Choose A Healthy Bearded Dragon:
To choose a health lizard, you lust look at their skin and eyes. Their skin should have no scratches or wounds and should not have discolorations. Also check if they have alert eyes, and that it seems awake and not fighting.

First step in good cage care is to make sure its the right size. if you buy a baby one you need about a 20 gallon one. if you bought an aduly you need a 40 gallon or larger. you also need to keep a humidity meter and temometer in the cage. Make sure your cage has a screen top or ventilation. Also you will need a heat lamp and heat pad. Dont get hot rocks, lizards burn them selves. Also buy turf and drift wood and rocks and a hide. When setting up the cage follow these steps: first clean out cage, then place heating pad on one half of the cage bottom, then cover the wholve bottom in turf, set the hide in the middle of the cage, then set in all the rest of the decorations, then place the themonmeter and humidity meter on the inside of the tank, and place the heat lamp on top of the cage over the side with the heating pad. After you have it all set up, its not ready for the bearded dragon. Turn on the heat pad and heat lamp. Then check back and wait till the tempeture on the hot side is around 80 F-83 F
but not over 89 F. Then mist the tank with a spray bottle to make it humid in the tank. You will have to spray the tank once a day while you own a bearded dragon. Now the tank is ready! Put the bearded dragon in the tank gently. Let it get used to its new home for about a week without holding it or touching it, just feed it. After a week, go to touch it slowly and gently for the first time. After a few times with that you can hold it normal but more gentle.

Read up on bearded dragons and things mentioned in this chapter.
Then go on to read chapter 2! If you have any questions e-mail me at: [Only admins are allowed to see this link]