An adult bearded dragon needs a vivarium about 4 ft (120 cm) long, a hot basking spot and a high output UVB tube. Its diet moves from mostly insects to mostly greens as it grows.
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Bearded dragon
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Enclosure size
For one adult, RVC gives 48 x 24 x 24 in (122 x 61 x 61 cm) and RSPCA 120 x 60 x 60 cm, a little smaller. RSPCA Australia suggests 1.2–1.8 m long, 0.6 m wide and 0.6–0.9 m high. VCA starts a juvenile in a 20 gallon tank and moves an adult to 60 to 100 gallons or more, at least three times the lizard’s total length and at least 16 in (41 cm) wide.
A kit named for bearded dragons can still be too small. Zoo Med’s 20 and 40 gallon ReptiHabitat Bearded Dragon Kits are 30 x 12 x 12 in and 36 x 18 x 18 in, both short of RVC’s adult size. Aqueon’s 75, 48½ x 18½ x 21⅛ in, is long enough but under 24 in wide and high. Exo Terra’s Vista 120XL is 120 x 60 x 60 cm, exactly RSPCA’s size and 1–2 cm short of RVC’s on each side. More on why gallons don’t tell you the floor size.
House dragons alone: RSPCA, RVC and RSPCA Australia all advise it, and RSPCA Australia says they may fight and injure each other.
Heat and light
- Hot end: 38–42 °C (RSPCA), basking 35–40 °C (RVC).
- Cool end: 22–26 °C (RSPCA) or about 25 °C (RVC).
- Night: not below 20–22 °C (RSPCA) or about 20 °C (RVC).
- UVB: a high output 10–12% tube (RSPCA, RVC), UVI 3.0–5.0 in the basking zone (RSPCA). RSPCA gives albino dragons a basking UVI of 3.0 at most.
RSPCA heats the bright end with a 60–100 watt bulb in a wire mesh guard, hung so the dragon’s back can’t get closer than 25–30 cm, and runs it on a thermostat. VCA puts heat sources outside and above the basking end and warns against hot rocks and sizzle rocks. A ceramic heater that gives off no light keeps the night warm enough if the room gets cold. See heat lamp vs heat mat.
UVB doesn’t pass through glass, so the lamp goes inside the vivarium: a high output tube up to half the vivarium’s length, as far into the hot end as possible. RSPCA checks it with a UV index meter. RSPCA Australia asks for at least 12 hours of light a day. VCA replaces UVB lamps every six months, or as the maker directs, even if they still give visible light, and notes that a bulb labelled “full spectrum” doesn’t necessarily give enough UVB. See UVB strength explained.
Substrate, humidity and water
Keep the humidity at 30–40%, measured at the cool end (RSPCA) or in the middle (RVC).
The sources disagree on sand. RSPCA allows sand or a sand and soil mix for healthy adults, as long as it’s reptile-safe, such as clean children’s play sand. VCA says to avoid sand, gravel, wood shavings, walnut shells, corncob and cat litter, which could block the intestine if swallowed. Both rule out calcium sand, which RSPCA calls dangerous, and RSPCA also rules out bark and wood chips.
Everyday diet
Young dragons eat mostly live insects and adults mostly greens. RSPCA feeds babies twice a day and juveniles and adults once a day. Insects such as crickets, locusts and calciworms should be no bigger than the dragon’s mouth, dusted lightly with supplement powder just before feeding. RVC removes live food not eaten within 30 minutes. The shares by age and the greens to limit are on what do bearded dragons eat.
Bearded dragons can carry salmonella even when they look healthy, so wash your hands with soap after handling, feeding or cleaning. RVC’s salmonella advice says children under five should avoid contact with reptiles, and households with a child under one shouldn’t keep them.
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