Raising Bearded Dragons

Raising bearded dragons is very much like caring for adult bearded dragons except that babies require care to be "perfect".

A sturdy, fit and well-fed adult bearded dragon will let you make a few mistakes.

If the heater breaks down and you haven't noticed you'll get away with it for a few days, though likely he won't be himself.

If you forget to feed him one day beause you're ill, or have a hectic day ahead of you, sure he'll likely be hungry but so long as you remember next time he shouldn't suffer too much.

However, as with all animals, bearded dragon babies are more fragile than their adult counterparts.

And remember that even baby bearded dragons can fight if there isn't enough to space. And even if there is, a "pecking order" develops in which different animals feed in order of the hierarchy.

This means that if you are raising bearded dragons in big groups (5+ individuals) you need to pay careful attention to each and every animal as if you're not providing enough food for example, there is likely to be one bearded dragon at the bottom of the food chain who getting next to nothing to eat.

He may slowly fade away through lack of nourishment.

If you don't create enough places to bask, the most subservient animal in the cage may not get warm enough, which could make him ill or stunt his growth.

My suggesting when raising bearded dragons therefore is to keep them in only small groups of up to 3 individuals, or even better, individually.

You need to ensure you pay lots of attention every day to every aspect of their environment.

Is it the correct temperature? Is there a hot basking area, and also somewhere cooler where they can escape to?

Is there somewhere for them to hide incase they get frightened?

Is the cage clean or is there rotting plant matter and faeces all over the cage which could result in sick bearded dragon lizards.

Is there fresh water available?

You should make regular daily checks on all the "facilities" just to ensure that the captive environment you're providing is ideally suited to them.

Also, try to spend some time each day (when you're feeding them livefood is ideal) to simply sit and watch them. Behaviour is a fascinating thing, and by carefully observing your bearded dragon(s) it should become pretty obvious if an animal is ill, or at least not on top form.

If this is the case, get him down to a specialist reptile vet as soon as is humanly possible.