Bearded Dragon Habitats
Pogona vitticeps, or central bearded dragon lives in the drier regions of Australia in areas ranging from coastal forests to dry interior thorny scrublands. They are found mainly in rocky, sandy locations and may even be observed close to human habitation.
Bearded Dragons loove to climb. In captivity they need cages with climbing areas that be used every day.
If you keep a number of bearded dragon lizards together, it is a useful to provide a number of branches and rocks to climb on to reduce squabbling for the "best" vantage-points.
These are likely to be the highest, and two or more adult males may fight seriously to gain and maintain control of this branch.
Having a number of climbing areas will give your bearded dragons choice and so reduces the chance of fighting.
The cage environment you are trying to create should be a dry, "desert-like" environment, with places to climb and hide (eg rocky outcrops and hide caves). Like all reptiles, you will need to provide fresh water, preferably in two locations in a larger cage. Some owners do not put water in the cage, preferring to spray it on the dragons vegetable food. This is a matter of preference and you may find that misting their food is sufficient.
The bearded dragon cage should allow sufficient space for them to run about and catch crickets, which is great exercise for them. They should also allow them to move about freely.
As bearded dragons can be fast, bearded dragon cages are better suited to having sliding glass doors and a lid for access from above to prevent them suddenly racing from the cage.
As bearded dragons love to climb, if you have a lid, you need to make sure that the top of the cage does not allow them to escape using high branches from within the cage.
It is also a good idea to have the cages very well ventilated. Fitting a mesh top that can sit on the cage during the day, allows fresh air to circulate freely, while still retaining your pet inside the cage. My cages have wooden lids but I can fit a mesh top onto the cage during the day.
If you have a larger terrarium, fake rock walls are also a good idea for bearded dragons as it allows them to climb up and move about in different areas with different vantage points.
Making a bearded dragon cage about 2' or higher allows some more possibilities for putting in branches, rocks and other climbing aparatus.
Your bearded dragon habitat should have a basking light for the day. The temperature for basking should be about 90°-110°F.
Ideally a heat mat under about 1/2 the cage should be provided, depending on where you live. Bearded dragons, being a desert animal, can tolerate fairly cool conditions at night so this is not essential if you live in a warmer climate where nightime temperatures do not fall below about 40°F.
Your bearded dragon cage size should be about 60 gallons for a full grown animal, which is about 36''x24''x18''. As always with a reptile cage, a bit bigger is better but a habitat of this size is very suitable.
Home made bearded dragon houses are made from many materials, including glass, plexiglass, melamine and wood.
You will also need to include a UV light which is essential for your pets health and the production of Vitamn D. Reptisun 5.0 UVB is the best of these from our research.
The cages you can make with plan plans from Reptile-Cage-Plans.com are very suitable for bearded dragon habitats.
Mark Chapple is the author of "How
to Build Reptile Enclosures"
Find out how to build reptile cages, also perfect for bearded dragon habitats.
Full color pictures, detailed diagrams and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions.
http://www.reptile-cage-plans.com