# Bearded Dragon



## drkwing (Aug 9, 2004)

A buddy of mine is thinking of getting a bearded dragon so I thought I would see if you guys have any advice that may help. He will be using a 38g reptrarium on its side, sand substrate, heat lamp, night lamp water dish and probably some sort of wood or rock decor for climbing. Any comments or advice would be much appreciated, thanks!


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## Drunkenblade (Aug 15, 2004)

I attended This years Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas.....

At Roger J. Klingenberg DVM's lecture he made it a point to mention that Bearded Dragons are a Vertical lizards, not Horizontal lizards.:nod: They tend to only be seen on the ground in the wild escaping threats or picking off insects....

He also stated...
"Husbandry requirements 
Bearded dragons originate from the red desert areas of Australia and the most important requirement is the provision of heat. A typical set-up consists of 20-30 gallon enclosure with a screen lid that will accommodate a heat lamp and UV light fixture (vitamin D3 production is dependent on UV exposure). An under-tank heating pad is also useful for night-time basking. Substrates that have worked best include alfalfa pellets, newspaper, or fine soil or sand. Water is best provided in a ceramic dish that cannot be easily tipped and spilled. Food consists of insects such as crickets, wax worms, and super mealworms, and can comprise 50% of the diet. The other 50% should consist of a variety of good quality vegetables. Young dragons are primarily insectivores, but switch to a predominantly vegetarian diet as adults." (Klingenberg, WVC2004,Lecture Notes)

I personally used Crushed walnut shell for substrate.... and Most of my B/D's Loved Mangos, as a treat!


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

:nod: crushed wallnut shells is the best imo 
but everything sounds good so far
and add a cave


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## AL CAPONE (Jul 29, 2004)

Drunkenblade said:


> I attended This years Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas.....
> 
> At Roger J. Klingenberg DVM's lecture he made it a point to mention that Bearded Dragons are a Vertical lizards, not Horizontal lizards.:nod: They tend to only be seen on the ground in the wild escaping threats or picking off insects....
> 
> ...


 thats untrue my beardie loves scaling large trees and basks and sand works better it looks more natral to their natral habitiat


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