BeardedDragons.co.za
"Pet Bearded Dragon Care & Information (Pogona vitticeps)"

Bearded Dragon Housing

How do you keep a Bearded dragon?

Yes, its actually possible these days to keep a Bearded dragon in your own house. Because of their nature and individual personalities Bearded dragons make excellent alternative pets.

Bearded Dragon Housing

The basic Bearded dragon needs are discussed elsewhere, this page only mentions Bearded dragon housing.

Bearded dragon housing can actually be by a few meanings. It is broadly categorized as inside and outside housing. Inside Bearded dragon housing is by means of some sort of enclosure, for example a large cabinet, aquarium / tank or plastic cage. Even if only for backup purposes, it is recommended that you have some sort of inside housing for your Bearded dragon.

Although inside housing is recommended, it must be said that a Bearded dragon should also have full access to an outside enclosure with natural sunlight. Most of the time outside enclosures will be used as temporary housing (if the weather allows, or only for basic ultraviolet requirements).

Housing Bearded Dragons Together

One adult male can easily housed with a harem of females if the space allows. When another Bearded dragon male is added to the mix the bearded dragon housing size must be significantly increased to prevent Bearded dragon territorial behavior.

An entire clutch (20 - 30) of baby Bearded dragons can be housed together in the same sized vivarium required to keep one or two adult Bearded dragons in. When babies reach the age of five to six weeks the groups need to be significantly reduced to not more than ten Beardies per container. Groups should only consist of Bearded dragons that are more or less the same size. When too many, or different sized juveniles are housed together the incidence of Bearded dragon biting behavior increases.

Bearded Dragon Housing Requirements

Basic Bearded dragon housing should be safe (both for you and the Bearded dragon inside) and it should protect the Bearded dragon from possible predators and Bearded dragon parasites. It should also be able to maintain the environmental requirements, such as Bearded dragon temperature and humidity.

The size should be large enough for the Bearded dragon or dragons to move in freely and to be able to function normally on a physiological level. A floor space of at least (900 x 350)cm / (35 x 14)" for a single Bearded dragon, and at least (1 300 x 420)cm / (50 x 17)" for an adult pair is recommended. The floor space should increase with at least 25% for every Bearded dragon housed after that.

A very important aspect is sometimes neglected is that the Bearded dragon housing container should be able to hold the additional accessories, i.e. fluorescent  and / or spotlight fittings and electrical wiring that goes with it.

The Advanced Bearded Dragon Manual
For Basic & Advanced Bearded dragon care incl. Bearded dragon housing & more...
beardeddragons.co.za