Decorating Your Bearded Dragons Cage

Transforming your bearded dragons cage into a happy habitat is a pretty straight forward process. It doesn't take an architectural genius to add some substrate, place the remaining pieces into the enclosure, and plugin a couple lights. However, there are a few safety and "user-friendly" tips to keep in mind while playing the part of 'beardie interior designer'. You want a set up that is safe for your pet, easy to maintain and not too over-crowed. In the long run this will make life much better for the both of you.

There is a reason that beardies need large enclosures to be content. This is because adults grow to around two feet in length and require plenty of space to maneuver comfortably. This is important to keep in mind when decorating their home. Designing your set up is a fun process, and it is pretty easy to get carried away with. Before you know it, you have a vivarium that even a cricket would feel cramped in. Give your dragon some breathing room, take it down a notch with the accessories, the more space the better.

Safety first! In any situation safety should be of the highest priority, especially when a living creature's life is in your hands. The last thing anyone wants is a tragedy simply due to unsafe living conditions. All items in your tank should be arranged in a stable manner to prevent them from falling and causing injury to your beardie. Be sure to mind the placement of your decorations in respect to your lighting too. Cold blooded animals aren't able to feel the amount of heat given off by bulbs instantly, and therefore can be badly burned.

Regardless of how you decide to arrange your enclosure, maintaining it won't bother you the first few months. But after the honeymoon period is over and months of daily feeding and cleaning continue, you will have changed your mind. The same collection of twenty or more bells & whistles that makes your set up unique and awe-inspiring, will be a giant pain in the neck. Crickets will constantly find new places to hide, defecate, and die. Meanwhile your dragon decides to poop on different item each day, which needs thoroughly cleaned rather than just scooped up and thrown away. Removing lights to gain access will also become quite a nuisance day in and day out.

Although setting up your bearded dragons cage seems like a simple feat, you want to put just a little bit of thought into it. You don't want to create any hazardous situations, make things too cramped the animal, or difficult for yourself. Remember that you will need access multiple times a day for feeding, cleaning and getting your lizard out for some recreational time. Having to move a million things every time you need to complete one of these tasks gets old very fast. Make things easier for you and more comfortable and safe for your beardie. Make things simple.