One of the causes of impaction could be food. Normally the problem occurs when bearded dragons consume food items which prove to be larger than what their digestive system could handle. If the food item is large enough, it would have a hard time moving along the digestive system thus it results to problems such as impaction. In order to prevent such things from happening, you should be well aware of the fact that the size of the food items to be consumed by your pet should be not larger than the space between its eyes. This is the most common way of measuring whether the food is digestible for the pet or not. There are food items which bearded dragons could eat, however because of their size they could only increase the chances for impaction to occur, thus you should be cautious in the size of the food item that you would be feeding your pet.

Aside from food, temperature could also contribute to the occurrence of impaction. Basically there are certain temperature levels wherein bearded dragons are able to digest food properly. Bearded dragons have a hard time digesting food if the temperature is not right. It should be noted that the cage of the pet or the place where the pet is placed should be sustained with a temperature between 100 to 115 degrees. This is the most appropriate temperature that encourages proper digestion in bearded dragons. Provided that bearded dragons eat a certain food item which is not easily digested and given that the temperature is not right, impaction is likely to happen.

Aside from the food items that bearded dragons are constantly fed with, there are other materials that may be located near them which they could accidentally consume. Particularly to items placed inside the cage, these items which are not exactly edible could pose a threat to bearded dragons. There are reported cases wherein these materials could also lead to impaction. For example substances such as pellets of any kind and a number of dried plant-based materials have been noted to cause impaction for some case. Available supplements in the market also pose risks for impaction. The more important thing in keeping away from and avoiding the occurrence of impaction in bearded dragons is always a cautious and observant mind. As a pet owner you should be able to guarantee the surroundings of your pet as well as what it consumes.

Healthy bearded dragons

Feed your bearded dragons a variety of nutritious foods that are essential for their growth and resistance for infections or illnesses.

Know the proper feeding according to your pet’s age. Baby bearded dragons are given with an specific amount of food which is right for their age while adult bearded dragons are being fed with the right amount of food and the number of times they have to eat. Always give a precaution when feeding your pets to avoid overdose or lacking of nutrients from the foods they take.

Bearded dragons are omnivores so they welcome meats and plants. Meat contains the highest protein but too much protein intake may cause overdose for your “beardies”. Although vegetables such as spinach and other dark leafy veggies are rich in calcium, they are sometimes not healthy if being fed in large amounts. Dandelion Greens, also known as weed, mustard greens and collard greens can be fed to bearded dragons regularly.

Crickets are also being fed to bearded dragons so it’s essential if you give your crickets with healthy stuff. Your bearded dragons absorb all the nutrients from the crickets. Baby bearded dragons are being fed with crickets properly and with precaution to avoid impaction.

You can also present their food with powdered vitamin supplements.

Feed your bearded dragons with the essential foods in right temperature. Never give them frozen lettuce and the like.

Mealworms are also one of the best sources of protein. Give large amounts of your bearded dragon only the right amount of mealworms so that it’s easy to digest and you can also avoid digestion problems.

Always check your bearded dragon’s cage if it has the proper temperature which is essential for their digestion. What some owners don’t know that if they left the bearded dragons cage in a cold temperature, this may cause “beardies” digestion problems. These desert reptiles are cold-blooded that’s why they prefer to live in a warm temperature to survive.

Other common factors such as stress may lead your bearded dragon to eating disorders which may result constipation and more exposed to parasites. Putting your bearded dragon in a quiet and calm environment can be beneficial of taking care of them.

Giving them a warm bath is also essential for them as it may give refreshment and helps eliminate the production of bacteria that you can get from their skin.

If there are unusual movements or signs of discomfort occurred, you might think that your bearded dragon is sick. It is advisable to take them to an expert veterinarian as soon as possible before it gets worst. You can also ask advice from your vet on how to give the proper treatment at home and what are the things to avoid. By doing your part as an owner, it is possible that you can have a healthy bearded dragon.

The first type would be the Coastal Bearded Dragon. This can be usually located in the eastern and southern parts of Australia and in contrast to the other breeds of bearded dragons; this type is not often preferred by pet enthusiasts. The coastal bearded dragon looks very dull in color and relatively dark. Inland dragons are rather chosen because they are easier to tame compared to the coastal ones, and they are also larger in terms of size. Spots can rarely be found on the neck area of coastal dragons. Among all other types, the coastal bearded dragon appears to have a very strong physical structure, higher resistance to temperature change, including coldness and high levels of moisture in the environment.

Second, another type of bearded dragon is the Rankin Dragon. If the Coastal Bearded Dragon can easily be located in the eastern coast of Australia, this on the other hand usually lives around Queensland, most on the central area. This type is the rarest of all the existing bearded dragons in the world; therefore it is very difficult to acquire even a single Rankin Dragon. It is unique in such a way that Rankin dragons inflate their beards. Their size is an advantage compared to the inland bearded and coastal dragons. This feature has caught the attention of bearded dragon owners, breeders and the like. It created such a demand wherein it therefore became too difficult own one. The maximum size for this type would be around 13 inches, which is very small.

Last among the types of bearded dragons, there is the Inland bearded dragon. This is the most common among all types and is also known as the central bearded dragon. This type is what we often see in pictures and such since it is unusual for people to see. They are the gentlest and the friendliest among the other breeds. Pet enthusiasts are utterly fascinated with its breeding characteristics, making them attractive for breeders to hold them captive. The demand for them is very high and likewise cheap, so they are made available in the market. Inland bearded dragons have a very obvious spot in the neck area, making it easy to distinguish them from the other types.

As discussed, the types of bearded dragons vary according to several factors. Like the Inland bearded dragon which has a very distinctive spot, the Coastal, which is hard to tame, and the Rankin dragon that lives in Queensland. In conclusion, they all are distinct yet important. And that uniqueness is what makes them all special.

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.

In this article, you can find bearded dragon facts that will make you aware of how to give a healthy and proper care to a bearded dragon lizard.

Originated in Australia, the bearded dragon lizards come with six to seven species of Australian dragons. The Pogona vitticeps (Amphibolurus vitticeps) is considered as the primary species of all the Australian dragon species. All bearded dragons that have been bred in captivity from Germany were exported to the US.

The bearded dragon lizard is able to live a healthy and active life style. These reptiles can interact very well not only with their owner but to other bearded dragons as well. Breeding of bearded dragon lizard is not that hard and if you have a proper egg nesting area and incubation for the breeding process, a female bearded dragon will be able to produce multiple clutches of eggs yearly. The captive bearded dragons are healthy because they are not exposed to pesticides unlike the bearded dragon lizards that are wild-caught.

The captive bearded dragons also have rare birth defects and most of them survive after birth. However, bearded dragons often come in different colors after the breeding process although they are still belong in the same species. You can see an early sign of improper breeding if the bearded dragon has a growth problem. To avoid inbreeding problems, ask your breeder about your bearded dragon lizard’s history. Inbreeding problem may also occur if a person have bought bearded dragons from a pet store and breed them even without knowing that they are related.

Just like any other reptile, bearded dragons may carry Salmonella, a bacteria that can cause food poisoning and can also be lethal if neglected especially for children with low resistance in infections. By handling the bearded dragon lizard carefully and properly, you can ensure your health as well as your family.

An aging bearded dragon lizard may show signs of depression. A warm bath will make them enjoy because it relieves their shedding skin as well as the unwanted bacteria that you may acquire from them before putting them in your lap.

Bearded dragons should be offered a wide variety of selection for their healthy diet. Too much meat such as chicken or beef may result kidney problems or failures because meat are high in protein. Feeding them with crickets should be done with precaution. One quarter inch crickets are enough to feed the baby bearded dragons while half inch crickets may be fed to the young bearded dragons. The feeding patterns of the bearded dragons will change according to their age. The adult bearded dragon may be fed in one day but not in the following day especially during the winter seasons.

With these bearded dragon facts you can ensure your bearded dragon’s health by giving them the right care and balanced nutrition.

Protein

In the case of a very young bearded dragon, it is extremely reiterated that when a bearded dragon is at that stage, it should be provided with a lot protein particularly with the foods included in the baby bearded dragon’s diet. Protein and additional forms of it assists in the development of the pet’s tissues as well as its bones. In this case, it is particularly essential that the diet of a baby bearded dragon is constantly and sufficiently supplied with protein. The diet of a baby bearded dragon should be provided with vegetables and insects with high protein content.

Insects

When feeding your baby bearded dragon, you should take note there are a lot of kinds of insects which you would be able to give your pet. Some of these insects are: mealworms and the likes such as silk worms, cockroaches and even crickets. However although you could feed wax worms to your pet, it is not so much advisable to feed a baby bearded dragon with it since it has a high fat content. Another concern that you must take note of when feeding insects to your pet is that even though there are many insects included in the list of possible food for your pet, you should take note that for a baby bearded dragon the size of the insect that you would feed it should not exceed it’s the width in between the eyes of the pet. Provided that the insect you fed your pet does not meet this width and is actually exceeding it would only lead to nourishment problems of the bearded dragon. Oversized insects could lead to blockage and worse even seizures. You can feed as many insects as he can eat in 15 minutes. Make sure that you don’t leave any uneaten insects inside the enclosure.

Vegetables

Apart from insects you could also feed your baby bearded dragon with some vegetables. It is recommended that a baby bearded dragon is given vegetables on a daily basis. Most of the time, the recommended types of vegetables would have to be the greens such as dandelion greens. Other famous vegetables would have to be carrots, cabbage and even broccoli. However although you could in general feed your baby bearded dragon with vegetables is extremely prohibited that this kind of pet be fed with iceberg lettuce. This kind of vegetable contains the nutrients which could help the development of this reptile pet.

Firstly, adult bearded dragons have a tendency to be territorial. As a bearded dragon develops, they start of initiate social hierarchies. Most of the time bearded dragons turn out to be somewhat quiet and even aggressive.  Normally, the social relationships that they tend to create come in an appeasement manner. In terms of the sexes of bearded dragons, both sexes possess beards; however males have a tendency to exhibit theirs more repeatedly, particularly in rituals linked with courtship. The beard has a tendency to turn into dark to jet-black. Aside from this, at this particular time, the beard would blow up at some point in the exhibition. The beards could also open their mouths and even further blow up the beard to come out as even more daunting. At this point, there are many behaviors to take note particular in male bearded dragon behavior.

The male would display a speedy bobbing of its head, going up and down. Most of the time males exhibit this action with a dark beard. Basically the male bearded dragon would do this kind of display in order to present its authority over males who are smaller as well as to female bearded dragons he wished to mate with. In this case, it should taken note of that such movements that are observed from a male bearded dragon could be attributed to two facts. One is to show power and the other to show desire.  As you can see, bearded dragon behavior is not that different from human behavior.  The only difference in bearded dragon behavior, is their inability to rationalize decisions, whereas humans CHOOSE not to rationalize decisions!

Another important behavior to take note regarding bearded dragon behavior is the manner in which they stand. Beardies, as they could also be pertained to, stand on 3 legs. In addition to this it also waves one of its forelimbs in an unhurried spherical pattern. Bearded dragons particularly do this for species recognition purposes. Apart from this, bearded dragons exhibit this kind of behavior to indicate submission. For instance a smaller bearded dragon would display this behavior upon meeting a bearded dragon which is larger that its size or less dominant bearded dragon would exhibit this behavior when confronted with a more dominant one. In the case of female bearded dragons, they do this particular act to keep away from male bearded dragon aggression, particularly when male bearded dragons are bobbing their head as it was mentioned earlier.

Taking note of the behavior of your pet bearded dragon helps you to determine which stage they are and what conditions do the actions of bearded dragons entail. It also helps you understand why your pet acts in a particular manner.

When feeding bearded dragon, you should be aware of the important things to avoid feeding mistakes such as the amount of protein or calcium they need, the number of times they have to eat in one day, the essential foods that they have to take at their age and the like. Also ensure that they only have the required amount of vitamin A to avoid overdose.

Bearded dragons love crickets so you must give them not just an ordinary cricket but a healthy cricket. What you give to your cricket is what your bearded dragon will have so it’s best to take care of your cricket by nourishing them with healthy foods and good environment. You should also pay attention to your cricket’s storage. Baby bearded dragons are more eager to eat crickets in bigger size but this can lead them into impaction.

Bearded dragons are just like humans, they should also eat clean and healthy foods to keep them healthy and alive. You can avoid any diseases by washing the vegetables thoroughly before they eat. Make sure that they are chopped finely to avoid choking and impaction. Bearded dragons can also be fed with fruits such as mangoes, strawberries, carrots, zucchini and squash.

Their body and food’s temperature also matter to them. If they are given food items with wrong temperature or those that do match with their body’s temperature, they will not show any appetite and it will be hard for them to digest the food. This may also cause problems in digestion such as constipation and the like.

Maintain your bearded dragon’s cage cleanliness. Always clean the dish and clear uneaten foods such as greens and veggies inside its cage on a daily basis. When feeding them with a prey, always remember to match its size to your pet’s mouth. A younger prey is much better because it only contains lower chitin.

A right content of water should be offered to bearded dragons by spraying, misting greens and veggies or putting on a dish. Aside from the normal foods, you can also give your bearded dragon vitamin and mineral supplements. You can also powder these supplements on crickets.

Do not over feed your bearded dragon. Although bearded dragons used to look and act as hungry reptile, they should have a regular eating schedule which is only done once in the morning or evening. Always remember that bearded dragons does not accept or absorb any kind of foods so you should not give them anything that is not recommended for them to eat. Know their limitations and the foods that are prohibited. By being aware of tips in feeding bearded dragon, you can ensure their health to live longer.

Stop worrying because it is just normal; in fact, it’s a part of their life cycle. In this case, your pet is undergoing a bearded dragon brumation.

Bearded dragon brumation refers to the semi-hibernation state that these reptile pets undergo during the winter months, that is common among reptiles. During the winter season, the reptiles adapt to the changing temperature by being dormant for thermoregulation. These animals usually find places for them to insulate and adjust to the temperature that is called hibernaculums. Rocks, burrows and even the water are examples of hibernaculum found in nature.

All reptiles may not have exactly the same way of brumation. Some factors that may affect them are its specie, nature (whether captive or not), existence (number of years living) and gender among many others. But there are also patterns that are observed commonly among them like reptiles’ brumation starts when temperature starts changing and dropping (start of fall) and ends when temperature starts to rise again. Most of them have lessened activity and have lesser consumption of food and water. They may also have the changing of skin. The length of brumation cannot also be generalized as it also varies from one reptile to another.

Your bearded dragon is a reptile, therefore, it undergoes brumation. But, contradict to some beliefs, some bearded dragon do not undertake brumation.

Bearded dragon brumation usually starts when your bearded dragon turns one year old, and in its second winter. You will notice that it start to have a decrease in appetite, sleeps more and prefers to stay on their hiding places. Just because it is normal, this doesn’t mean that you have nothing to do but wait for its process to end. Remember that reptiles stay alive by relying on their stored fats (glycogen) in their body, so their fasting is understood. But it should be put in mind that they still need water, so always make sure that their water container is existent.

Misting their noses and letting them lick it is another option. Since their brumation has something to do with the temperature, try to mimic the temperature of what they were used to by adjusting the lighting around them. Let them sleep or hibernate as much as they want, but also make it to a point to gradually check you pets every now and then.

Owners should understand brumation and their bearded dragons because their brumation can also be controlled by “starving them” or decreasing the food intake, setting their lighting temperature and mimic imitate the nature of bromating. But this process is discouraged when it comes to sick pets. For more information, consult your veterinarians to clarify the things to want to know.

1. Essentially, variation is a key ingredient. Providing your bearded dragon with only crickets as its source of food would only lead for it to be malnourished. Try to make its diet a lot more exciting by providing different kinds of foods.

2. On the subject of preserving and sustaining health of bearded dragon as well as its diet, it is necessary to take note of two things related to the feeding of your pet with merely crickets; essentially you could fill the crickets some healthy matters. Fundamentally the type of food the crickets eat determines the kind of food that your bearded dragon would get to eat. So you have to take note of what the crickets are eating. Apart from this, you could also add supplementary vitamins to your bearded dragon’s diet.

3. In case you are feeding your bearded dragon with vegetables, it would be important to know that spinach as well as other dark leafy vegetables is considered not healthy in huge amounts. These kinds of vegetables could filter the necessary calcium that your bearded dragon is need of.

4. It is a general rule that your pet bearded dragon should never get to eat any amount of iceberg lettuce. Its feeding is particularly prohibited.

5. Some green vegetables prove to be very beneficial to a bearded dragon, among these are:  collard greens, Dandelion greens and the like. These kinds of greens are extremely good for the health of a bearded dragon thus regular intake is allowed.

6. One reliable source of protein for a bearded dragon is mealworms. On the other hand, it should be noted that when these mealworms are consumed in huge amounts, the bearded dragon may have problems digesting them and digestion complications may be encountered.

7. Nevertheless, it should be noted that when taking care of a bearded dragon everything has to be in moderation and they have to be controlled since overdoing things could lead to a lot of problems. When providing a variety of approaches when taking care of your bearded dragon, putting in small amounts would be the more appropriate choice.

8. Aside from taking care of the food of your bearded dragon, you should also be aware of the temperature that is present in the cage of the bearded dragon. Temperature plays an essential role for the digestive system of a bearded dragon. You have to properly moderate the temperature of the cage to avoid encountering problems.

A bearded dragon proves to be a great pet since it could provide a certain kind of companionship. In order to receive that different kind of companionship, you have to do your part of taking care of it as well.