Without a doubt one of the most popular lizards for begininers is
a bearded dragon. The care of a dragon is quite simple but there are
rules which must be followed to keep one healthy. Lighting is the
main concern for a dragon, they are desert creature and must have
UVB light as well as a basking light. The tank should be laid out
with a hot zone , created by a single basking light, and a cooler
zone. The hot zone should be near 115 for baby dragons and 100 for adults
with a gradual decrease to around 85 degrees for baby and 75 for
adult on the cool end and at night. Substrate is a topic of much debate
but most will agree that any dragon under one year should NOT be kept
in sand due to infections and possible inpactation problems. For this
we recommend reptile carpet which can be cleaned and reused many times.
When they are in season, we carry small to medium dragons which are used to eating crickets as a primary food source with a small amount of vegetables. As your dragon grows he will need more vegetables and fewer crickets. Eventually he will eat mostly leafy vegetables and a few dozen crickets or mill worms every other day. During their growth spurts dragons can consume as many as 75 crickets per day, it is important that you dust these crickets from time to time and or feed them calcium rich food sources. By following these simple guidlines you can be sure you are doing your best to keep your animal healthy and well for years to come.
The best greens for your dragon are Mustard, Turnip, Dandelion, shredded squash, adults love blue berries. NO KALE, NO SPINACH, NO LETTUCE these are not good for your dragon and can lead to problems.
What light should I use?
All to often a new reptile owner will see a near endless sea of lighting choices for his or her reptile and have no idea of what he or she may actually need. Remember that each reptile is different, some require a lot of light, some lower light, some need UVB and others need no light at all. The first thing you need to do is research your particular animal. Is it noctornal? If so, chances are it needs no light at all or you may wish to use a red or black light on him for viewing. Bulbs can be broken down into three levels, there are bulbs that are used for heat such as basking and spot bulbs. Bulbs that produce necessary UV radiation which herps need to metabolize vitamin D. These are the UV and UVB bulbs. The other light is just that, it's used for lighting the enclosure for viewing. We carry a full line of lights and full combo lighting hoods for nearly any size tank or enclosure.
What's the best beginner snake
?
If you have never had a snake before and you are interested in getting your first pet snake we suggest doing some research on what particular species you are interested in and buying a baby. The best small size beginner snakes are Corn snakes, milk snakes, and king snakes. The best larger sized snake has to be a ball python. When raised from a baby , these skakes have a typical pleasant disposition one whould not expect in a larger snake. There are many different breeds of each of these snakes, some are more rare than others and demand huge prices while others are relatively inexpensive. We can order almost any non-venomous snake, if you are looking for something give us a call first we might be able to find it.