Bearded Dragon Care Guide

Bearded dragons are medium-to-large lizards that typically reach 18 to 24 inches in length from snout to tail. They are native to the arid deserts, woodlands, and scrublands of Australia. With proper care, they have a 10-15 year lifespan. Due to their docile nature, unique personalities, and tolerance toward handling, bearded dragons are incredibly popular pets for both novice and experienced reptile keepers alike.

Housing Requirements

As a semi-arboreal but primarily ground-dwelling species, bearded dragons need terrariums that offer plenty of floor space, as well as some opportunities to climb.


Enclosure Size: The minimum recommended enclosure size for a single adult bearded dragon is 4’L x 2’W x 2’H (120 gallons).

Grow-Out Enclosures: Baby bearded dragons can temporarily be kept in smaller "grow out" enclosures (like a 40-gallon breeder), but be warned—they grow exceptionally fast and will need their adult enclosure within their first year of life.

Cohabitation: Cohabitation is strictly not recommended. Bearded dragons are highly territorial and solitary animals. Housing them together often leads to severe stress, competition for resources, and dangerous fights that can result in missing toes, tails, or worse.

Heating & Lighting

Bearded dragons are sun-worshippers that require intense heat and specialized UVB lighting to thrive and properly digest their food.


Temperature: You must provide a temperature gradient. The hot basking spot should reach between 100-110°F (38-43°C). The ambient temperature on the warm side should be around 85-90°F, fading down to a cool side of 75-80°F (24-27°C) so your dragon can thermoregulate.

Nighttime: Turn off all heat and light at night. A nighttime temperature drop is completely natural and healthy. As long as your house does not drop below 65°F (18°C), no nighttime heating is required.


UVB Lighting: This is absolutely mandatory. Bearded dragons require high-output, linear UVB lighting (usually a T5 12% or 14% bulb) overlapping with their basking spot. Without it, they will develop Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), a fatal calcium deficiency.


Plant Lighting: To keep your live plants thriving in a bioactive setup, we highly recommend a full-spectrum LED plant grow light. This, combined with your heat and UVB, will establish a brilliant, natural 12-hours-on, 12-hours-off day/night cycle.

Humidity & Hydration

Bearded dragons are arid desert animals, so their overall enclosure humidity should remain low, ideally between 30-40%.

Hydration & The "Clean-up Crew Oasis": Even in an arid setup, your clean-up crew (isopods and springtails) needs moisture to survive. This is where our Custom Natural Stone Bowls shine. Made from real sandstone, these water bowls naturally wick moisture into the soil over time. This creates an oasis under the bowl where humidity-seeking bugs can gather and breed, provides a small, reliable trickle of water to the roots of nearby live plants, and gives your dragon a clean water source to drink from.


Humid Hides: Bearded dragons occasionally need higher humidity to help them shed their skin. By soaking porous rock like our natural sandstone caves, you can create a localized, natural "humid hide" without raising the humidity of the entire tank.

Bioactive Substrate, Plants, & Decor

An arid bioactive enclosure gives your dragon an incredible amount of environmental enrichment. Digging, foraging, and climbing stimulate your pet's natural instincts and promote overall wellbeing.

Substrate: Your bioactive enclosure requires a specialized arid mix that holds burrows but stays dry on the surface. If you ever need to top off your substrate, you can get our premixed arid bioactive soil directly from Pets That Don't Bark.

Décor & Basking Spots: Use thick branches, cork bark, and rocky surfaces to encourage climbing. We highly recommend our Custom Natural Stone Caves for arid setups. Not only do they act as a fantastic, heat-retaining basking spot and a secure hiding cave, but their rough texture acts as a natural nail file to grind down your dragon's sharp claws. Additionally, the textured rock is the perfect surface for your dragon to rub against when they are shedding.

Leaf Litter: Even in an arid tank, keeping scattered leaf litter around the base of plants or under hides gives your clean-up crew food to eat and places to hide.

Diet & Nutrition

Bearded dragons are omnivores, but their dietary needs change drastically as they age. They require a balanced diet of live insects and fresh, leafy greens (like collard greens, mustard greens, and turnip greens).

Hatchlings and Juveniles (0-12 months): Need a diet of roughly 80% live insects and 20% greens. Offer appropriately sized live insects 2 to 3 times a day, and keep a fresh salad available at all times.

Adults (>12 months): Their diet flips to roughly 80% greens and 20% live insects. Provide a fresh salad daily, but only offer live insects 2 times a week to prevent obesity.

Note on Relocation Stress: It's important to remember that reptiles can get easily stressed when moving to a new home. If your baby dragon doesn't eat much for the first few days, don't panic. Give them space, avoid handling them for the first week, and let them settle in.

Supplementation: Both salads and feeder insects need to be "dusted" with a light coating of calcium powder. Because you are providing a high-quality linear UVB light, you should primarily use a calcium powder without D3, though a multivitamin should be given periodically according to the manufacturer's directions.

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