Are You About to Lose Your Bearded Dragon?
Owning a dragon is really not that difficult. They make great pets that can live with you for many years. The longest living dragon in captivity lived over 10 years.
With a little knowledge so can your dragon. Heres a short list of common and deadly mistakes novice owners make.
- Not Monitoring temps. Temperature in your beardies environment must stay within range. A few cold nights can kill your beardie. A low basking temp will leave your beardie unable to digest its food. This can cause impaction. Keep the cool side at 75-85 and basking around 95-110.
- Hot Rocks! A major mistake. Dragons are unable to sense heat from their belly properly. This can lead to burns and even death.
- Hot Pads. Once again a big mistake commonly made by novice owners. Although Heat pads are not as dangerous as hot rocks. The risk is still there.
- Leaving live food in the cage overnight. Especially with babies, who are unable to defend themselves. It may not seem like a bad idea. You may have even done it a few times before. But the risk is real. Your dragon must likely wont be looking for food over night. So don’t do it.
- Substrate. Probably the most common mistake made. If it can fit into your beardies mouth, chances are they may try to eat it. This can also lead to impaction.