Bearded Dragon Lifespan

March 5, 2013 by  
Filed under Bearded Dragon Info

There are a variety of ways that you can do to lengthen the bearded dragon lifespan. By following the right care and strategy, your bearded dragon pet can live longer yet healthy. The captive bearded dragons are healthier than those wild-caught bearded dragons. They can live longer if their owner is able to give them the proper care for them to survive.

Generally, a bearded dragon can live from 7 up to 10 years as their average lifespan. Some “beardie” species can actually reach up to 12 years to live. It is believed that breeding females have shorter lifespan than the males due to the stress that they experience with reproduction. That is why many breeders have stopped using some of the female animals to breed after 3 or 4 seasons to avoid them from stress that can cause death.

Normally, bearded dragons that have reached up to 12 years are the ones that are given proper care and nutrition by their owners. If you are an owner of a bearded dragon, your pet too can also achieve to live longer than usual. Here’s what you can do to lengthen your bearded dragon lifespan.

Know what are the diseases and disorders that your bearded dragon pet can get. Know how to avoid these kinds of illnesses and the treatment solutions that you can apply to your pet once they occur. The most common diseases that bearded dragon can get are:

  • Impaction
  • Respiratory Infections
  • Hypovitaminosis A
  • Calcium Deficiency
  • Mites
  • Thermal Burns
  • Terminal Ingestion
  • Internal Parasites
  • Stomatitis
  • Dehydration
  • MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease)
  • Dystocia (Egg Binding)
  • Skin Problems
  • Coccidia
  • Internal Parasites
  • Other Parasites

Bearded dragons are not able to groan or even create any sounds or gestures so it’s best to use your observation skills in order to determine when something goes wrong with them. If you have a healthy bearded dragon and one day you find it acting differently, you can go to your vet to see if there’s something wrong with your pet and take the proper action.

You must be aware of your pet’s behavior, determine which is normal and which is not. Pay attention to their eating habits and if they’re still able to do their bowel movements as normal as the usual. You should also pay attention to the amount of urine (those are the white solid or powdery substance) that goes out during the bowel movements. If you have seen something unusual, this can be a possible sign of kidney problems.

You should also know the food items that your pet should eat or avoid. Bearded dragons are being fed properly according to their age. By giving them a balanced nutrition, they can stay healthy and live longer. A bearded dragon that was purchased from a pet store is infested with roundworms, hookworms, pinworms, coccidia and other types of pests.

It is always recommended to consult your veterinarian on how to give your bearded dragons the right care, proper nutrition and other treatments to lengthen your bearded dragon lifespan.

Comments

24 Comments on "Bearded Dragon Lifespan"

  1. Debra schroepfer on Tue, 14th Jun 2011 5:45 pm 

    I was curious about beardie’s lifespan and what I have read is they can live up to 12years. Puff is now 16 years old and doing well. He is 18 inches long and not colorful but sweet . Any thoughts on what species he might be?

  2. Meredith on Mon, 27th Feb 2012 10:16 pm 

    What does it mean when it says “A bearded dragon that was purchased from a pet store is infested with roundworms, hookworms, pinworms, coccidia and other types of pests.”? Are they all?

  3. thomas on Tue, 3rd Apr 2012 4:01 pm 

    i think my lizard is healthy because he has great muscle and runs around he did have mental problems as a baby but when he turned 1 he calmed down but can you tell me if this is wrong he has a small yellow spot next to his tail what is it

  4. thomas on Tue, 3rd Apr 2012 4:02 pm 

    here he is

  5. thomas on Tue, 3rd Apr 2012 4:02 pm 

    yay

  6. Craig on Mon, 9th Jul 2012 4:08 pm 

    My beardie just passed today after I had him for 6 years from a small juvenile. He was 60cm long with a girth of around 25cm and a head width of 15cm. He seemed fine over the weekend, I had him out on Friday and he fed fairly well yesterday considering he was bibernating (it’s winter here in South Africa), his tank has the UVB 10.0 tube and I had 2 x Infrared lamps, a 100w and a 75w as it gets pretty cold here, -5C at night is not uncommon. He had never been sick as far as I was aware, he had no calcium deficiency as far as his back legs/hips were concerned (infact my local vet and many pet-store owners always commented on his great condition), although he was a seemingly lazy beardie, if you handled him/took him out of his cage he would immediatly be alert and move around to explore but was not scittish or tried to run away. I even gave him an Introboost bath just last week as recommended by one of the local pet stores who was impressed with his condition and size and suggested that he may of had some german giant in him.
    The only thing I noticed when I saw that he was no longer with us was a small amount of opaque sticky discharge from his left nostril but nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.
    What do you think may have been the cause?
    Many thanks for reading this mail, I feel all alone reg my love for my beardie he realy was my best friend.

  7. CailinMarie on Mon, 20th Aug 2012 10:47 am 

    thanks for this information. My daughter “inherited” a beardie from school after the teacher retired. He’s always been quite robust but in recent months is getting frail. We did take him to the vet and have him dewormed and some other things, but I was just finally able to contact the teacher. He guesses that the beardie is now between 11 and 12 years old. 🙁 so perhaps he is simply an old dragon. We will try to keep him comfortable as long as possible.

  8. Skyllar on Sat, 29th Sep 2012 9:56 am 

    I love bearded dragons

  9. Skyllar on Sat, 29th Sep 2012 9:57 am 

    Hey berdie my bearded dragon died to day 🙁

  10. diane Pritchard on Mon, 18th Nov 2013 7:08 am 

    Our bearded Dragon was a rescue Dragon that didn’t have enough uv light wen it was young so his leg bones are not properly formed. He doesn’t have much strength in them.he just seems more lethargic than normal but his motions are normal and he’s eating normally too.

  11. Ann Marie Shrader on Fri, 22nd Nov 2013 5:01 am 

    Hi. thanks for the info. I have a bearded dragon, about 8 years old. He is going through an extended hibernation period which seems unusually long. He is starting to shed as well, which may be a good sign. Any thoughts or comments?

  12. jackie on Mon, 25th Nov 2013 8:54 pm 

    while shedding I bathed my beardie with warm water to help him, now he seems to want to soak in his water dish. His tank is not to hot and humitity is right on, is this bad or just a silly quirk?

  13. Juliana W. on Thu, 12th Jun 2014 4:11 pm 

    My mom’s just passed away today. We got him back in 1999 and we believe he was about 2 years old. That would make him 16 years old.

  14. Tina on Sun, 3rd Aug 2014 5:07 pm 

    I have a 13 year old bearded dragon he is the best…I love him like he is one of my kids
    He eats bananas strawberrys kale carrots crickets pinkmice.worms he loves it

  15. Melissa on Tue, 21st Apr 2015 10:21 pm 

    I have a 2 year old beardie that is very beautiful. yellow in color, eats his greens, crickets, and mealworms, (sometimes doesnt get fed every day though) and I think he has impaction. He only goes every few days in little bits and it is hard and white, sometimes black…is this normal?

  16. Charlie Sue on Fri, 29th May 2015 10:49 am 

    I have a Beardie that turned 15 last January. I got him for Valentines day in Feb. 2000. He is now more active than he’s been in years. I feed him mixed veggies and romaine lettuce every day with meal worms (giants) about four times per week. I do have to hand feed him the worms because he doesn’t seem to see very well. Other than that he’s doing great.

  17. melody on Sun, 13th Sep 2015 12:40 pm 

    Max is 12 she is 12 and has her first sign of any distress. She had a minor seizure in her bath. She has been in perfect health. Her whole life she has been active and loving

  18. Emily on Tue, 17th Nov 2015 6:14 pm 

    Ann, bearded dragons do something called Brumation. This is when they don’t completely shut down, they only sleep longer and eat less, or stop eating all together. When they hibernate, offer them food. They do it all winter.
    Jackie, give your lizard a moist area, it helps them shed.

  19. Theresa on Fri, 8th Apr 2016 11:19 pm 

    I have a bearded dragon who is 14 years old. She has had a hard start but is doing well now. She loves dandelions and greens. She also loves to go after crickets and mealworms, it is fun to watch her. On sunny days I take her outside so she can get some sunlight and walk around in the grassy areas or sit in a tree

  20. Kayla Magee on Sun, 17th Apr 2016 11:34 am 

    My bearded Dragon is about 2 years old he moves a lot and i soak him normally he really doesn’t like it but when I forget to soak him sometimes he lays in his water bowl and sleeps comfortable I don’t know if that’s a sign of anything he gets exercise normally but sometimes he sits there and sleeps.

  21. Jody on Sat, 14th May 2016 5:18 pm 

    My bearded Dragon loves to soak, once or twice a week. It also seems to help her go to the bathroom. I think it’s normal, healthy behavior for them.

  22. admin on Thu, 13th Oct 2016 4:18 pm 

    So sorry to hear this, Craig 🙁
    The site has been dormant for a while, so I only got your message now. I hope all is well for you now.
    Do you currently have any Bearded Dragons?
    Cheers,
    Ann

  23. admin on Fri, 14th Oct 2016 2:56 pm 

    You’re right. No all Beardies purchased from pet stores are infested with problems – a better phrase would be “Bearded dragon that are purchased from a pet store ARE OFTEN infested with roundworms, hookworms, pinworms, coccidia and other types of pests”. Many times they are are healthy and fine, but often they are not.

    Thanks for pointing this out.
    Ann

  24. admin on Fri, 14th Oct 2016 2:59 pm 

    So sad to hear this, Skyllar 🙁
    The site has been dormant for a while, so I only got your message now. I hope all is well for you now.
    Do you currently have any Bearded Dragons?

    All the best,
    Ann

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