Pic is actual dragons of mine
Inland Bearded Dragon
Bearded dragons are an Australian reptile. They are very social animals and end to tame easily. Bearded dragons are nice pets to have, interesting and Relatively easy to care for. They do have requirements – when I say requirements, I mean really… they require certain things.
Bearded dragons are Daytime lizards (Diurnal). They bask in the sun, and at night sleep – and when they sleep, they are usually in really compromising positions and positions that look too painful for a human to take.
Bearded dragons have voracious appetites! Especially when young.
Size max:
2 foot
Housing:
One single adult should be in a 3 foot by 1.5 by 1.5 minimum. This is so there is enough for a hot side and a cooler side. 2 - 3 should be in a 4ftx1.5ftx1.5ft. 4+ should be in a much bigger cage. Or else they will get cabin fever… that’s bad news.
When housing multiple lizards, keep in mind, this is never a guarantee. Some will fight and may KILL each other….. o if this is the case, always have a plan B.
Female with females is generally ok – BUT, they may fight. If they do, then remove them and separate them. If they don’t get along, making them spend time with each other will not help.
Male and Female Combo CAN work. Many say that the female might be stressed out by the males constant attempt to mate. Constant means if the male spends 70% or more of its time TRYING to mate then this is bad news.
Example:
If they cannot feed or bask due to the male wanting to make whoopies all the time. Separate.
If the male is constantly trying to mount the female so the female cannot bask and get heat and light……. Separate.
On the other hand:
If the male once in a while tries. And female can eat, isn’t underweight and can bask…. This should be ok.
Male to Male: I don’t think so.
Substrate:
Some say paper towels. How boring! NEWS PAPER!!!?!?! Wow boring!
I prefer desert sand from exo terra or reptile one. Its actually from Australia…. Their home world! Sand is good, easy to clean and dry.
Textured tiles are also used and work well.
Temperature:
Daytime temps can be hot. They are desert animals. In their country of origin temperatures can reach more than 50 degrees celcius. So rock surfaces may be this hot. IN captivity, optimal temps is preferred.
On the hot side, should be high 20c. ON the cool side should be low 20c. Basking spot should be at least 35c to 45c. MINIMUM or else they will not digest food.
The warm and cool side is usual for reptiles for thermoregulation.
(Thermoregulation: reptiles are cold blooded means that the atmosphere temp is their body temp. If they get too hot, they must be able to cool off in the cold side or under a log and if too cold, move to the hot side. )
Night time, the temps can drop to even 15c. But its better to keep the temps minimum 18c at night. But remember, in the desert…. Temps can reach single figures at night!!
Lighting:
You must have a full spectrum Reptile tube. Exo terra repti glo desert tube is most suited in my opinion. It is 10% Uv. Most are only 5% to 6%. Obviously the higher the % the better Exo terra tests that the bulb is still effective up to 50 cms. But of course, your tank should have logs and climbing things… and the highest point should really be with in 20 to 35 cms of the tube.
Basking lamps is a must. Its probably better to use a basking bulb that emits light. Though ceramic heaters are ok, and easier to maintain as they last for years. The basking bulb literally mimics the sun – the instinctively go under the brightest hottest spot… and it helps with colour too! Bulbs should not be your average hardware store bulb. Preferred bulbs are reptile basking bulbs with high levels of UVA. You may even get MERCURY VAPOUR BULBS that emit UVB and UVA! But NZ does not have it right now!
Try to have a outdoor temporary cage.. Like a rabbit hutch or small aviary. In a hot sunny day, winter or summer… you can put them outside to get natural light.
Sexing:
To sex Beardie, they must be 5 months plus.
Males have two bumps under the anus. On the sides under the base of the tail. These are two sex organs… They have two in case one fails good idea! Males have very very prominent pores just on the bottom of the hind legs. Male anus line is more curved. 
Females do not, they have very faint pores and no double bump, they have a flat surface here. Females anus line is much more straight.
Breeding:
I am not a breeder … YET, so I cannot tell from experience. If anyone there breeds them…. Your input would be better.
Handling:
Beardies like being handled.
Shouldn’t really be picked up from the tail. If you must then ensure that you pick up from the very thickest part of the tail…. But they don’t like it. Don’t pull and yank on the legs. Or grab the head and pick it up.
If you want just gently put your palm facing up and put it under its legs and body, it should automatically jump onto your hands.
Taming Juvis;
To tame juvis. Plenty of handling is required. Do the same but maybe use two hands, one on top and one at the bottom so they don’t jump off and run away… bye bye expensive lizard. If you have a dog, expensive snack. If you have a cat… expensive toy.. then snack. If you have a hungry flatmate….well…. expensive snack.
Feeding:
Diet:
You may feed insects. Crickets, locusts, mealworms, super worms, cockroaches, moths, wax worms, cicadas, bees, even wasps should be ok and the occasional pinkie for extra calcium. In the wild, they will eat all these insects.
Veges should be high in calcium and vits. NEVER ICEBURG Lettuce, nothing in it. Even cucumber is just water. No Citrus.
Courgettes, pumpkin, buttercup or nut, apples, pears, kumara, celery, leek, broccoli, beans, peas.
Generally what they like to eat. Best to not waste your time with useless veges. Veges high in Vitamin A, C, D. Calcium.
http://www.nutritiondata.com/
this site will tell you the amount of calcium and nutrients in what ever food you wish to see.
Offer food daily.
Juvis
Juvis need more insect… as they get older then should be given veges and fruits and greens. From about 2 months old, they should start being fed veges and greens.
Adults:
More greens than insects. Veges and fruits should make most of its diet.
Feeding Problems:
You will find that some will take veges easily. My male NEVER eats veges! I don’t know how to make it eat veges. My female eats veges but really… it also doesn’t like it. You may starve them out, eventually they will eat…. But there are other methods.
This argument is debated always. Veges are important for vitamins and calcium. If you supplement then this should help in this area. If your beardie does not eat veges… then there are steps to take. Gut loading your insects. Refer to gut loading section.
Supplementation:
Calcium dusting for insects always. I prefer the calcium with NO D3, as you can over dose on orally ingested D3. I just use calcium with no D3 for each insect dusting. Then maybe twice a week, dust with calcium with multivits which should also include D3.
You may sprinkle these on the veges and greens also if that’s what you want to do. Do not overdose on multivitamins!!!
Gut loading: Extremely Important
24 to 28 hours before feeding the insect (except wax moth) you should put the crickets, mealworms or cockroaches in a container and put a high calcium food there. Maybe Kumara is good or bok choy or pumpkin. Sprinkle the insets food with calcium. Then before feeding, dust the insect further. What the insect eats, will be what the lizard eats. Hence loading guts.
Selecting a Dragon:
Dragons when babies will fight, bite and all that. Missing toes and short tails are common. You may want a dragon with no toes or short tail… its up to you. Price might be cheaper… well, it better me. Like buying a car with scratches…. You barter!
But,I prefer clear eyes. Alert… if you move your finger they will look quickly. Long tails! Should be 1.5 the length of their bodies at least! Or close to it. No missing toes…this makes it hard for them to be nimble in the enclosure with logs and plants. Though they will thrive with missing toes….i don’t like it.
General Comments from experience:
Never go cheap on the Reptile tubes and bulbs. If you see them limping, take them to the vet. (Lynfield Vets on white swan road are the only exotic animal vets in Auckland) They are very good at this.
Feeding can be a pain. You must make sure you have enough insects. Don’t think you will try to save money by buying only veges. Small beardies might not grow as well with just veges. Also hunting helps them exercise and be alert.
I find it hard to feed mine veges. So I put commercially prepared fully balanced pellets by flukers with the mealworms. Say…. 1 part mealworms, 2 parts beardie pellets…. When they get the mealworms, they will or may get some pellets too. I dust the mealworms of course. Dust heavily as mealworms do not retain much dustings.
If you have an outdoor cage. Put them outside if you know it will be sunny and hot or warm-ish. 2 hours of sunlight is lots for them, they like that… during summer, I had my beardie outside for 3 straight months… they will take up the sun and develop nicely colourwise. But during winter, even once or twice a week… take them out for some sun.
My female
My male
Hopefully they will make babies with really contrasting yellow body and red stripes on the back.