Bearded Dragons are native to Australia. Their scientific name is agamid lizard, in the genus Pogona.

Description: Bearded Dragons have flat bodies, and a thick triangular head. Adults may grow up to 18-26 inches, from head to tail. When threatened, they will expand a spiny pouch under their jaw, inhaling air and puffing up to make itself appear larger, as many animals do so. The pouch resembles a beard and hence is why they were called, Bearded Dragons. Males have a distinct set of pre-anal pores between their back legs and have hemipenal bulges at the vent area. Females don't have any bulges/pores. You can easily see the pores by looking at underside of the dragon. It's easier to see the bulges if the tail is vertical. Males and females are comparable in size, males usually have broader head and thicker tail, than the females. Adult males turn their throat pouches black during courting and signaling dominance. Females have been known to do this as well though.

Diet: The usual Bearded Dragon habitat is dry and sparsely vegatated, so food may often be difficult to find. As a result, Bearded Dragons are omnivorous, capable of subsisting on a wide variety of food sources, including vegatables and insects. A safe/typical diet for Bearded Dragons is veggies, lettuce, and feeder insects.

Their stomachs are large enough to accommodate large quantities of food. Young Bearded Dragons tend to eat more animal-insects,small rodents than vegetation. As a Bearded DRagon ages it is usual to eat less animal and more plants, leveling off at around 80% plant and 20% animal diet.

Poisonous Foods: Insects caught from the wild are not recommended, due to viruses and the risk of pesticide exposure. All animals with bioluminescence chemicals are fatal to Bearded Dragons. Avocado, spinach, rhubarb, cabbage, kale and anything containing high oxalates are fatl to your beardie.

Handling: When handling a dragon make sure all of its' body is being supported. Make sure that you are not holding it by it's chest. If you are, be extremly careful, you are making it harder for your dragon to breathe. You want the most comfortable position for them, which is lyig down in your hand.

Housing: For adult beardies, you should use a "Breeder", a 40 gallon "Breeder" or larger. These tanks provide the best floor space, and floor space is truly important, giving them room to turn around, lie down and run to and fro as it chooses.

You also want to add accessories to the tank, incase you have a "curious beardie", the percentage of it escaping goes way down. Bearded Dragons bask most of the day, getting the heat they need to digest their food. It is very important to have around 2-3 basking spots in the habitat. Electric or battery powered heating systems as HotRocks can malfunction and thus give your beardie stomach burns, they are not recommended. Beardies also do alot of climbing, so you must have rocks and logs. Your beardies' habitat should have something to hide under, at least 1 or 2 places. Any items taken from outside must be boiled or baked before putting it in the cage, removing contaminants. You may also add some plant-life to the habitat, its' suggested you just go to your local pet store and buy the plants there instead of "outside plants", it's safer to go with the pet store.

Baby beardies, you're able to use a 20 gallon long enclosure. Young Bearded Dragons are capable of growing up to an inch a week or more if provided with the proper tempertures, habitat and UVB lighting. They are very hardy lizards, but they are reptiles and will hide health problems as much as possible, being out in the wild showing that you have a weakness you'd probably would live long. Common diseases include mites,thermal burns, impaction, dystocia, dehydration, respitory infections, internal parasites, stomatitis, coccidia, calcium deficiency,metabolic bone disease and agamid adenovirus. They will outgrow the tank in 3 to 5 months so be prepared.

Lighting and Heating: Bearded Dragons must have proper lighting. A UVB light is needed. There are two options, flourescent strip bulbs or mercury vapor bulbs. These bulbs have different ranges of UVB output; owners must ensure the proper distance from bulb to the basking spot so the beardi can absorb the rays properly. Bulbs are replaced every 6 months. A beardie needs 12 and 14 hours of daylight, much less or more makes them sick and lethargic. Without adequate UVB the Beaded Dragon will develop Metabolic Bone Disease and won't eat as much.