Bearded Dragons

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Have you ever wanted a bearded dragon? Well, go out and get one because I will provide a simple guide on what to do when you get one. Most people go out a buy books, which is perfectly fine, even though you'll use 3% of the information they give you. They will talk about stuff you don't need. You only need a few main things. I'll help you get started:

Supplies:

1. Buy a 20 gallon fish tank.
2. Buy a bag of sand that will fill the tank up to about 2 inches from the bottom.
3. Buy some drift wood that will fit in the tank.
4. Buy a water and food bowl.
5. Get some foliage (fake) to stick to walls.
6. Buy a lizard cage top, it looks like a screen. (Make sure it is 2 squares w/ hinge, not 2 long rectangles w/ hinge.
7. Buy a 100 watt heat lamp, a florescent light, and a red heat lamp (60 watt.)
8. Make sure you have a metal shade to go with those lamps.
9. Get a power taps (multiple plug-in surge protectors)
10. Buy 2 timers (1 with 2 outlets)
11. Buy a stand that holds a 20 gallon tank (good to have cabinets underneath for storage.)
12. Also, it's good to have a drill at hand a couple of short, non-pointed screws to go with the size of the drill bit.

Set-up:

Ok, that about all you need for supplies. Here's how to set it up.

1. Put the stand in your house somewhere.
2. Put the 20 gallon tank on top of it.
3. Pour in the sand.
4. Place drifts wood in various spots (one high up and some other decently sized ones.)
5. Make sure you leave enough room for the water/food bowl (kind of push it in the sand a little, so it's not so high up.
6. Stick the foliage to the glass walls.
7. Next, get the heat lamp and night lamp and drill 2 holes in them (the part that would lie on the screen, drill the holes at opposite ends.)
8. Put the clamps on the screen and drill holes into the screen through the holes in the lamps.] DO NONE OF THIS WHILE ON THE CAGE, METAL IS NOT GOOD FOR YOUR NEW PET. DO THIS OUTSIDE OR IN A SAFE PLACE.
9. Get your non-pointed, short thick screws and screw them in the matching holes (now your lamps are secured to the screen!)
10. Just place the florescent lamp on the empty part of the screen (it should cover some good space.)
11. a piece of driftwood should rise up to the heat lamp for the Bearded Dragon to bask in the heat.
12. Plug your surge protector into the nearest outlet.
13. Plug your timers in the open spots.
14. Connect your florescent lamp and heat lamp to the same timer.
15. Connect your night lamp (red lamp) the single timer.
16. For the double timer with florescent and heat lamp, put the tabs in for "on" at 10:00AM and "off" at 8:00PM.
17. For the red lamp, put the tabs in for "off" at 10:00AM and "on" at 8:00PM.
18. Make sure the lamps go on and the logs won't fall if they're touched.
19. And go out and buy a nice background poster of a desert for your Bearded Dragon to tape to the back of the tank!

Information:

There you go! Taking care of your Bearded Dragon and information on obtaining it:

1. Buy your bearded dragon. Make sure it looks healthy, not sickly and no bowed legs. It should be responsive and alert. The price: $50-$100. Get a baby that's not a newborn.
2. Take him home in a box, with air holes at the top.
3. Place him/her in his/her new home, with the lamps "on" (agreeing to that specific time of day)
4. Do not play with it yet. It takes about 2-3 weeks for it to acclimate to its new environment. If you break this rule, it can die from new habitat change stress.
5. Go out and buy a nice new package of lettuce from the store (get non-cut up leaves that are still on its stalk. Do not buy Romaine lettuce, it's to watery and has no notorious for your Bearded Dragon.
6. Finely cut the lettuce to fill the small food bowl, which is about a handful of lettuce.
7. Place it in its food bowl.
8. Get a bottle of water, and pour it into the water bowl.

Care:

1. Your Bearded Dragon should have fresh lettuce and water once a day.
2. Give it a bath once a week. All you have to do is fill up the bath tub with about an inch of warm water. Get a softened toothbrush, soak it in the water and lightly brush your Bearded Dragon.
3. Make sure he gets to come out of his cage allot. Take him out when you watching T.V. or something. They like just sitting on your shoulder or chest and just staying there as you walk around.
4. If you take it outside, just place it in some shrubbery or a small tree. Keep a close watch for predators, but still let it have some fun.
5. Clipping its nails: if you have drift wood that is somewhat rough, do not worry about clipping nails. They will wear down as he/she walks on the driftwood.
6. Other animals in the house: Cats love to watch beardies walk around in their cage, therefore they can knock over some lamp and cause a fire. Simply, keep the door closed when you're not at home. Otherwise, they get along with dogs, but cats like to eat them, so your choice. which I think I know what it is.