Are you looking to get a cage for the bearded dragon of yours? Read on…

You have gone to your pet shop and decided that you want to buy a bearded dragon. Next in line is to get a home for it. Cages are one of the ways to house your pet. You can go for an aquarium that has a tight fitting rid. A 10-15 gallon aquarium would be enough for new hatchlings while adults will occupy 55-60 gallon aquarium. If you go for a wire cage for the bearded dragon please have it made with plastic coat to avoid injuries on your pet.

It is worth noting that wire cages are not recommended for the fact that they do not retain heat. Get a simple cage that you can easily clean. If you have a wooded cage, make sure it is sealed with a water proofing agent. The bottom of your bearded dragon’s cage should be well done. One can place flat newspaper or better still sheets of brown wrapping paper. Never use gravel, wood shavings, cedar shavings or wet agents.

Remember your bearded dragon, just like any other lizard, will need to do some exercise climbing and basking on branches. Therefore do some landscaping in the cage. You can do this by placing branches of different sizes securely. For comfort and safety of your dragon get those that are wide as your dragon. Try as much as possible to an ideal habitat for your dragon by having smooth rocks. These are good for wearing down toe nails. Hiding places are also a plus and if not used you should move them to another place.

The cage for the bearded dragon should also have plants. Apart from being a source of humidity, shade, and making your dragon feel secure, they make the enclosure look beautiful. Go for non toxic ones e.g. dracaena, ficus benjamina and hibiscus are good ones.

The bearded dragon is cold-blooded. Its habitat is mainly woodlands and desert environments. For this reason they require higher temperatures to ease digestion. Keep your dragon’s cage at 78-88°F during the day and in the 70s at night. Remember that if your dragon is cold, he won’t be able to digest his food properly. This will make him prone to illnesses. To be sure you should have thermometers to check the temperatures.

If on the other hand you want have two dragons in one cage, remember that reptiles are territorial. They may result to fighting. Male and female will cohabit peacefully. However, the male is likely to be very aggressive during the mating season and you would need to separate them. Larger male bearded dragons are also likely to keep smaller cage mates starved off food and heat sources, they may also feast on them. In deciding to have bearded dragons in one cage, use a larger cage. This may decrease competition but you have to keep monitoring them.

Lastly the cage for the bearded dragon should be cleaned from the food bowl, water bowl and the cage itself. You can use a specially formulated sanitation product or household bleach. All the items should be then rinsed thoroughly and left to dry before you resemble them. After the cleaning and placing your dragon into the cage you should clean your hands. Well that is all you need to put into consideration when acquiring a home for your bearded dragon.