Bearded Dragon Lifespan

Bearded Dragon Lifespan

Pet Bearded Dragons have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, or even longer, so they’re quite a commitment and it’s important to keep them in a way that mimics the wild as much as possible. On this page and in our video below, you’ll learn more about how to care for your bearded dragon and how to keep them healthy and happy.  How long does a bearded dragon live? 10-15 years or more!

Our bearded dragon lifespan guide provides you everything you need to know to keep your beardies thriving happily and most of all in good health. Understanding proper care will enable you to prevent health issues from ever developing later on in life. Health issues in reptiles are notoriously difficult to diagnose until they are too far gone.

Bearded dragons for sale are no exception to the rule of proper care. That is why it is so important to provide proper care to your new pet bearded dragon for sale from the first day.  This often means shopping for everything your new pet will need well before they arrive at their new home.  Do not make the mistake of starting to explore proper care once you have an improper setup!

Bearded Dragon Care Guide

Be weary of bad reptile care information that is often nothing more than very outdated.  Be careful of these old ways of thinking and listen to the experts.  Here at TS we have a real biologist on site, 24/7/365 for your reptilian care needs!

Bearded Dragon Lifespan – UV Lighting and Temperature

Once you have decided to use a tank, or cage as your new bearded dragon’s habitat, you can look at adding in light.  If the light is the length of the tank, chances are it also can provide the basking area for heat and temperature control.  Remember, baby Bearded dragons are cold blooded so they use the heat and cool ends of their habitat to thermoregulate.

The UV light will enable them to grow but also allow them to process the calcium and vitamin D they take in.  The vitamin D their body will create and metabolize through exposure to UVB lighting.

Using a heat element, and UVB lamp, or one for both

Either using a smaller UVB lamp and a heating element or heating lamp OR a larger UVB lamp that provides both.  The First option is a little bit more controlled as your heating can come from a heat lamp or heat element.  Using a reptile thermostat tied directly to the heat source also works wonders for proper temperature control.

Stay away from using heat pads, heat matts, or heating rocks.  These can burn your dragon and quite honestly, like the sun, we believe heat should come from above.

May types of bearded dragon lighting are available

Using a timer is important to simulate normal day and night cycles and will keep your dragon happy and healthy.  We do not recommend just turning them off and on daily based on your schedule, unless it is pretty much exactly the same.  A cheap timer will give your baby bearded dragon for sale proper day and night cycles and also make sure that they do not get over exposure to UVB.

If you are not going to use a reptile thermostat, we recommend dialing in your hot spot using a heat gun to get an exact temperature. During the day time you want a basking spot on one side of the habitat that is 105-110 degrees F. The most common mistake people make with a new setup is not getting their basking spot hot enough.

Hot and cool sides of the baby bearded dragon habitat

The cool side of the habitat should be in the 80s to verify they are correct either use a heat gun, or a thermometer on each end of the enclosure is even better.  At night the temperature can drop into the 70s for younger dragons and into the 60s for adult and sub-adult dragons. Night time heat is usually not required because most homes don’t go below 60 degrees at night.

If you have a dragon that is less than 12 inches long and your home gets less than 70 degrees F at night then use a ceramic heat bulb at night. Ceramic bulbs emit heat but no light and will not disturb your dragon’s sleep.

Bearded dragons life span  – habitat basking spot

To get the basking spot the right temperature you are going to give your dragon a branch to climb on and get closer to the heat bulb for this reason make sure the branch is not close enough for your baby bearded dragon to get burned.   The most common type of basking heat source is either a MVB or heat lamp that is 100 watts.

If you are using one bulb that provides both heat and UVB, such as a mercury vapor bulb, then all you need to do is follow the guidelines in this section regarding distance and temperature. With both of the essentials provided for (heat and UVB) you don’t need any additional lights so that is up to you.  T5 HO lamps will provide a better range and quality UVB where as Mercury Vapor lamps are an in between.

Using a UVB Lamp or Heat Lamp or both?

If you are using one bulb for heat and a separate bulb for UVB, then you will want your UVB bulb to be a strip/tube type bulb that runs most of the length of the cage.  We recommend buying a light fixture that is about 80% of the length of the entire enclosure, not the exact same size. You can also use a circular bulb placed over the basking spot, next to your heat bulb or heating source.

Check your UVB lamps every 6 months.  We replace ours here at the shop every 6-7 months no matter what.  UVB bulbs are not as straightforward as you may think at first. Just because the light is on, does not mean it is being effective. In order for them to be effective there are a few guidelines you need to follow. If you don’t follow these guidelines then the UVB will be wasted without reaching your dragon.

UVB lighting and Barriers

UVB is sometimes can have hard time passing through barriers. Glass, plexiglass, and metal screens allow light to pass through them, but will some of the UVB. Most people use cages with screen tops and place the lights on the screen. For this reason, when possible we recommend mounting your UVB lamp within the enclosure as opposed to on top of the screen cage.   Check out our sister store for more baby bearded dragons, bearded dragon for sale as well as bearded dragon morphs.

What UVB lamps do you recommend?

It is helpful to use a high output bulb to effectively penetrate past a screen. These will be labeled as t5 lamps.  The T5 is skinny but the most powerful.  The Reptisun 10.0 HO bulb is an example.  High output bulbs need to be used in a high output fixture.

Always follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for how far away the bulb should be from your animal. High output bulbs are powerful and need to be a minimum safe distance from your dragon or they can cause a sunburn. Any UVB bulb that is too far away will be ineffective. If the appropriate distance is not provided on the box then you can usually find it on the manufacturer’s website.

Replacing your bearded dragon for sale’s Lighting

Most UVB bulbs need to be replaced every 6-7 months, even though the bulb still appears to be working. The light will turn on, but the UVB output degrades with time.  This is because the active agents within the bulbs that are responsible for creating the UVB light eventually run out. Once they are used up the light will still light up and turn on until the filament burns out. However, it will no longer produce the invisible UVB that your dragon needs. Refer to the manufacturer of the bulbs you are using to find out exact details on how long the lamps will work, under “lamp lifespan”.

Bearded Dragon Habitat

Before you setup your enclosure, you will have to decide on how large it will be. We recommend using the final large enclosure size from the first day.  This will enable you to keep it together without having to constantly switch habitats.

Bearded Dragon lifespan – habitat size

For an adult bearded dragon for sale, the you should use nothing smaller than a 40 gallon breeder style tank.  Typically these will be around 36″x 18-24″ in size.  The larger habitat you can provide the better.  We recommend going big from the first day so you are not updating the size every few months to accommodate the growth of your pet bearded dragon for sale.

Types of baby bearded dragon habitats

There are many types of cages you can use for your new pet bearded dragon for sale.  Using an open air setup like a cage over a tank is not a problem either.  No matter what style you choose, make sure that the top of it enclosure allows you to sit or hang a UV light fixture over your new baby bearded dragon so they can soak in the UVB and get their Vitamin D.

Baby Bearded dragon life span – diet

Feeding your baby bearded dragon for sale is easy but also super important.  When considering what type of food your new pet bearded dragon for sale needs most, consider that variety is key.  When young, baby bearded dragons for sale will consume mostly insects.  However, that does not mean that is not important to both dust their insect food with vitamins and minerals, but also to offer a wide variety of other foods for them.  While they will not be interested in many veggies or greens, or fruits when babies, they will grow a sophisticated pallet if you allow them to do so.  This means offering wide variety of veggies and fruits.

Baby Bearded dragon insect diet

It is up to you to make sure they are eating safe insects so be sure to only feed what makes sense. As far as tasty insects go, you can’t go wrong with all types of insects, with crickets being the most popular.  Feed things like black soldier fly larvae, cockroaches, crickets, Dubia roaches, butterworms, earthworms, even redworms and superworms are enjoyed. These insects are safe for bearded dragons and are relatively easy to get at the local pet shop, also available here at TS.

Bearded dragon vitamins and supplements

Bearded dragon for sale require high quality foods like insects, greens and veggies as well as proper calcium supplementation in order to live strong and healthy lives. It’s ultra important to provide your baby bearded dragons for sale with enough calcium for strong bone development. We are here to provide you information in order to help you understand the requirements concerning calcium and your new pet bearded dragon for sale.

baby bearded dragons for sale – calcium supplementation

1st of all, every bearded dragon needs calcium in order to build healthy bones and maintain a strong metabolism, this is key.  However, amount of calcium that baby bearded dragon to adult bearded dragons for sale need depends on the their age and size.  As a matter of rule, typically bearded dragon hatchlings for sale require about 650mg per day, juveniles require around 800mg per day, subadults require 1000mg per day, adults require 1200 mg per day.

Bearded Dragon Lifespan – Cage Decor

Bearded dragons are ground dwellers but will climb rocks and low branches. Provide branches to climb, rocks to bask upon, and shelter to hide in. Ideally a rock should be placed under the heat lamp and a similar item in the cool area as well. Hardy plants like sanseviera, aloe, palms, and cycads may be used.

Humidity and your Beardies Habitat

Proper humidity is also an important part of your bearded dragon for sale habitat.  We recommend using a hydrometer to properly measure your humidity.  Levels of 30-40% are best and should be maintained by adding moisture to the air.

Some owners will run a morning fogger where as others will simply place a water source that is too high for the dragon to get into somewhere in the habitat.  By keeping humidity in the proper range, your new pet bearded dragons for sale will shed properly, and most of all not dehydrate due to how dry the air could possibly be.  Keep in mind that open top habitats will need more humidity supplementation than closed top setups like pvc enclosures with glass fronts, etc.

Bearded dragon morphs for sale

Be sure to check out all the amazing colors available within the bearded dragon morphs for sale here! We offer some amazing dragons including:

If you are considering purchasing a bearded dragon for sale and looking for the best bearded dragon price anywhere, you have found the right bearded dragon breeders near me.

Buying the perfect baby bearded dragon for sale

With the widest selection of hand tame baby bearded dragon for sale, Turtle Store is your Beardie Shop.  We are proud to have a real biologist on staff, and work with some amazing bearded dragon breeder lines.  Our bearded dragon morphs for sale include some of the hottest and newest as well as classic colors.  When choosing your new pet bearded dragon baby, be sure to choose TurtleStore.com!

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