Bearded Dragon Vivarium

The Pogona, native to Australia, is a popular pet lizard because of its gentle nature. These lizards are commonly referred to as 'bearded dragons', courtesy of the spiny scales they have on their throat. They make great pets, as they need little care and are not aggressive or poisonous. These lizards have a life span of 10-20 years, they do not bite humans, and they eat almost anything. All these qualities make them a good choice for pets. An adult bearded dragon can grow up to 16-22 inches and weigh 10-12 oz. They are found in the wild in Australia and are comfortable in desert like arid climatic conditions and rocky terrain.

To house this lizard you will need to build an ecosystem which resembles its native landscape. Do not get overwhelmed by the word 'ecosystem', it might sound complicated and intricate, but it is actually quite easy. You can have a box-like aquarium or you can let your imagination go wild and think of different designs. Whatever shape you choose, there are some basic structural sizes that you will need to maintain for a bearded dragon vivarium. These exotic pets can grow up to 22 inches, so the size should be big enough to house it and have enough space for it to move around. An ideal vivarium size needs to be 4 feet × 2 feet × 2 feet. You can get a ready-made vivarium from a store, but it may cost you a lot of money. Building one at home is the best option, all you will need is some basic carpentry skills.

Lights and Temperature
One of the things that you need to pay attention is the light and interiors of the vivarium. These reptiles need sunlight to absorb vitamins from bearded dragon food and they get enough of it in the wild Australian desert conditions that they live in. To recreate the effects of sunlight, you need to have UVB lights in the vivarium and you need to keep them on for at least 10-12 hours per day. When putting in the lighting, you also need to remember that these are cold-blooded animals and need the light to regulate their body temperature. So you will have to maintain different temperatures inside the vivarium, the variation should be at least 20 degrees.

Vivarium Flooring
The substrate of the vivarium is very important, a reptile carpet from the local store will work in some cases. Use the reptile carpet if you have young bearded dragons because this will prevent any injuries from ingesting sand or wood chips, if you have it as a substrate. However, if you have old dragons, or when your dragons grow old, you will need to have fine sand for the flooring as this keeps their nails in shape. In the desert these reptiles also eat a little bit of sand for their calcium needs, you can get reptile sand from a local pet store to fulfill this bearded dragon habitat need.

Landscaping
These reptiles roam around the Australian desert and are found on poles near human habitats. It is essential to create their natural habitat in the vivarium, have a couple of branches in the vivarium for them to climb. Have rocks and loose sand to give them a different feel under their legs. Have branches arranged in a way that they provide shade from the hot temperature.

To house these pets, a bearded dragon vivarium is an essential accessory and special attention needs to be given to the temperature and substrate. You can also put two bowls for food and water in the vivarium to feed these amazing reptiles.