A Red bearded dragon is the coolest looking dragon with some red and orange colors
The Red bearded dragon is a specific morph of bearded dragon known for its red hues
Bearded dragons are great pets to own. They have great temperament and actually like to be handled unlike some other reptiles
there are things you need to know about before owning your bearded dragon long term
For example
- how humid does its tank need to be
- how much should they be eating daily
- what to do if their shedding skin gets stuck
There’s much much more you need to know about when owning a bearded dragon and this also applies to a red bearded dragon as well
Table of Contents
Are Red Bearded Dragons Good Pets to Own?
Bearded dragons have rapidly grown in popularity because of their simple care needs
if you’ve always wanted a lizard type of pet these guys are the best place to begin
They do need certain special care but once you understand what those are it’s easy to maintain
one of the most important things you need to know is to have the right tank size
many many new owners think that a 40-gallon tank is good for the entire life of the bearded dragon which is completely false
An adult bearded dragon needs much more room to run around
A baby bearded dragon doesn’t need much room to run around even though they are much more active
The other thing you need to be careful of is food
They can eat many things humans can eat but new owners don’t realize that bearded dragons need a healthy amount of calcium
Calcium is needed to keep the bones healthy and to prevent Metabolic bone disease
many new owners need to know that feeding your bearded dragon too much fruit can actually cause MBD (check out the linked article to find out why)
Appearance
Red bearded dragons have this nice orange/red hue to them
All bearded dragons have this dinosaur look to them but what makes them distinct is their little “beard” under their chin
its this little mass of scales under their chin and they can actually do things with it
they can puff up their beard to look bigger and more threatening
They can also turn their beard black when they feel stressed or uncomfortable so its not just for looks
Their beard will give you information about how they’re feeling
Bearded dragons can grow up to about 24 inches in length depending on the subspecies
Most of this length is going to be their tail! They have long tails
They will also weigh between 450 grams to 530 full grown. Some less and some more
Red Bearded dragons are going to be easy to see because they are so different in color compared to many others which are more brown and tan colors
Red Bearded Dragon Care sheet
This list here is what you’re going to need to know going forward to keep your bearded dragon healthy and happy long term
Its important you follow this as close as you can with the budget you have. I know not everyone can afford the same setup as someone else so do your best
Tank
I recommend a pretty big tank even when your bearded dragon is a baby
If you start off big you won’t need to upgrade so often or at all
I recommend a 120-gallon tank of the bat
Bearded dragons love to climb things so make sure there is tons of room for decor
You want to add Hides, trees, logs, rocks, branches, and other cool things to climb on
I do a nightly routine of cleaning my beardies tank.
Having a dirty tank can lead to many different health problems especially since the humidity in the tank will be high
Doing a daily spot clean will help keep bacteria, fungus, and viral infections down
At least once a month do a deep clean of the tank
This means pulling out all the decor and cleaning the substrate, walls, corners and creases, everything you can see
The biggest thing you will notice is dead insects and rotting food. The heat from the lamps and lights will make food rot quickly
Lighting
Bearded dragons are normally from hot dry climates which would provide them with the required UV lights they need in the wild
Bearded dragons need UV lighting and heat to help with digestion and health
The right lighting will go a long way and this is the light I recommend
This is the basking light i recommend as well
The basking light is going to provide them with the right heat but I will go into the heating part later
Make sure you change the lights every 6 months even if the light bulb is still working
Also, make sure to turn the lights off at night to create a cooler tank at night
Heating, Temperature and humidity
this is important to your bearded dragon’s health and vitality
You need to provide a temperature gradient throughout the tank like this
At night you want to make sure the tank doesn’t go below 75 degrees Fahrenheit or they can get too cold
This is the thermometer i use to keep a close eye on temperatures
The humidity levels need to remain between 20% – 40%
You can raise humidity levels yourself by misting the tank and by putting extra water in a bowl under the basking light
Certain substrates will hold onto moisture better like moss and mulch
If the moisture is too low it can be hard for your bearded dragon to shed its skin
if moisture is too high then it can get respiratory infections and get sick. This could result in you having to take them to the vet
Substrate
the substrate is the one thing that confuses most owners because pet stores give crap information about how to actually take care of bearded dragons
Stay away from loose substrates as much as possible. Sand, gravel, pebbles, mulch
Stick to reptile carpet, ceramic tile, and newspaper
The problem with loose substrates is your bearded dragon can easily ingest it when its eating live food or its salads you give them
this causes something called impaction
impaction is when they have eaten something that won’t pass through their digestive system and can cause digestive trauma
if left too long they will have to go to the vet to be taken care of and that could mean surgery which you should obviously avoid at all costs
The right substrate is going to be a personal preference but I like stuff that I can easily clean
Cleaning loose substrates is a huge pain and another reason why you should avoid them
You can easily clean a ceramic tile by spraying it down and baking it in the oven (yeah that’s a thing) which kills all bacteria quickly
If you don’t get the ceramic tile you can get reptile carpet which isn’t as easy to clean as ceramic tile is but easier than loose substrates will be
Cleaning reptile carpet is as simple as taking it out and soaking it in a sink with soap and hot water
Don’t put it in with your clothes in a washing machine… just don’t
Red Bearded Dragon Diet
A Red bearded dragon doesn’t eat anything special compared to regular bearded dragons
You want to be giving them fruits, vegetables, and live protein
The Protein you’re going to be giving them is going to be Dubia Roaches and crickets and worms
Some owners won’t be used to the idea of needing to feed your bearded dragon gut loaded and dusted protein but you will get used to it
For dusting, I literally take the roaches and put them in a sandwich bag with calcium powder
Give it a nice shake and then you’re good to go
Young bearded dragons need much more protein than adults beardies do
Young beardies need about 70 to 80 percent protein and the rest vegetables
The reason why young bearded dragons need so much protein is that they grow really fast
They need proper calcium supplements as well but I will put a list of those down below for you
Adult bearded dragons need less protein and more vegetables
I literally just put a salad together with a tiny bit of fruit
Adult bearded dragons need 70% vegetables and around 20% protein with around 10% fruit
I personally don’t feed my bearded dragon fruit every week. What I actually do is I feed my bearded dragon a lot of fruit during one week out of the month
You want to keep the phosphorus levels down. If they’re too high then what happens is that phosphorus will bind to the calcium and it won’t be absorbed into the bloodstream correctly
That’s why too much fruit can cause MBD (metabolic bone disease)
How to keep your Red Bearded Dragon healthy
Keeping your red bearded dragon healthy is a simple as knowing what they like and don’t like through trial and error
like anything in life, it takes time and patience to see what stresses them out and what doesn’t and this will vary from beardie to beardie
You want to be replicating the wild as much as possible with your bearded dragon without the stress of predators
Stress is a major factor in your bearded dragon’s health and mental health
if the temperature of the tank is off then they will not feel to great and be stressed out
Make sure you check the humidity levels
Possible health issues
Metabolic Bone Disease is caused by too much phosphorus in the diet and too little calcium
to avoid this just keep the fruit content low
Respiratory infections – these can be caused when the humidity levels are too high. You will hear cracking and wheezing coming from your bearded dragon’s mouth
Too much bacteria and Fungus thriving in your bearded dragon’s tank will cause this to happen as well so make sure you stay on top of cleaning
Parasites – This will cause your bearded dragon to become sick and lethargic. Sometimes food that isn’t clean will cause this. Make sure you keep an eye on your bearded dragon’s Poop. Like I said before you can tell a lot about their health from their poop
Mouth Rot – This is when they develop a sort of bacterial infection around their mouths. Their mouths will swell up a lot and they will dispel mucus
Lifespan and longevity
Red bearded dragons can live a long time if they are well taken care of
They can live up to 15 years while living in captivity
in the wild bearded dragons will have to deal with much more outside influences on their health and well being
in captivity, they don’t really have to worry about much since you will be their caretaker
Breeding
Female bearded dragons will breed and lay eggs about 6 weeks later
Now the best thing you can do is separate the bearded dragons once they have mated because they can get very aggressive and want to hurt each other
if you’re going to take care of the breeding process yourself i would make sure you have a place where the eggs can sit. A box or a plastic bin or something with some soil in it will help
The eggs will need to be incubated and watched over
Shedding
Red bearded dragons do shed and I did a whole article about this that is linked above
Adults will shed around 1-2 times per year. They can experience stuck shed when they are doing this in which you can give them a bath to help them out
Baby Bearded dragons will shed a lot more. usually once a month or so
The best way to keep a bearded dragon happy with shedding is keeping moisture levels between 20-40 percent
Brumation
Bearded dragon brumation is basically when they hibernate
Their metabolism will slow down as if winter is coming
They will actually do this in the wild because food is harder to come by in the wild during the winter
They won’t always do this in captivity especially if you keep them away from the windows
However, if this does happen they will be very slow
I wrote a whole article about it and you can check it out here
The cost of a Red Bearded Dragon Morph
Red bearded dragons are a lot more expensive than their counterparts
A red bearded dragon can cost around 400 CAD or 250 – 300 USD
The more rare a color is and the harder it is to breed the more expensive it is going to be
The darker and more elegant the colors are the more expensive it will be as well
Summary and Questions
I’ve owned my beardie for quite some time now and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences
The first 3 months were tough. I want to give you realistic expectations
it took my bearded dragon quite some time to bond with me and trust me
Red bearded dragons will be awesome to have. Many people that come around your place if they do will look at their colors a lot since they are visually striking
if you’re on the fence about getting a bearded dragon you won’t regret it but just be very patient with them
it can take some time before they decide you’re trustworthy
Good luck with your bearded dragon!
