Welcome to our care sheet. The following is the basic care that has been passed down through breeders, hobbyists, and herpetologists. We hope that you follow these suggestions to maintain a happy and healthy lifestyle for your dragon. 

BASKING, TEMPERATURE AND CAGE FURNITURE

An adequate, elevated basking area is needed for the enclosure. You can use natural rock such as flagstone or shale, rocks used from outside must be cleaned thoroughly with an anti-bacterial cleaning agent. You can also use ceramic or other types of man-made basking rocks, which can be purchased from pet stores or on-line at  www.reptiledirect.com. We strongly suggest staying away from heat rocks that plug into the wall. They are well known to burn the stomachs of dragons and other reptiles. Depending on what wattage lamp you use, the basking area should be approximately 12 inches from the bulb. The use of wood branches within the enclosure is fine as long as they are clean. We suggest the use of grape vine or cholla, which can also be purchased on line or in pet stores.

An adequate, elevated basking area is needed for the enclosure. You can use natural rock such as flagstone or shale, rocks used from outside must be cleaned thoroughly with an anti-bacterial cleaning agent. You can also use ceramic or other types of man-made basking rocks, which can be purchased from pet stores or on-line at  www.reptiledirect.com.

We strongly suggest staying away from heat rocks that plug into the wall. They are well known to burn the stomachs of dragons and other reptiles. Depending on what wattage lamp you use, the basking area should be approximately 12 inches from the bulb. The use of wood branches within the enclosure is fine as long as they are clean. We suggest the use of grape vine or cholla, which can also be purchased on line or in pet stores.

For the babies the basking area in the enclosure should be 105º-110º and the cool side should be 80º-85º. For sub-adults to adults the basking area should be approximately 105º with the cool side 80º-85º. Night time temperatures can fall into the low 70º’s. The use of infrared lighting is not necessary unless your household temperature falls below 70º, then we suggest a ceramic heater. Only during brumation can and should the temperature fall below 70º. This ensures their metabolism is at a slower rate but do not let the temperature fall below 60º.

Proper lighting is crucial to your dragon’s health, especially if it is not exposed to natural unfiltered sun light. The dragon greatly depends on UV rays to produce vitamin D3 and to metabolize calcium absorption. Without these UV rays your dragon will suffer from MBD (metabolic bone disease) and gout. There are many types of lighting available these days; we suggest you use a heat lamp in the basking area and a florescent UV bulb. The best UV florescent bulb available at this time is a Zoo Med 10.0. You can find the Zoo Med at a fair price through www.drsfostersmith.com . There are many types of heat lamps on the market, some are quite costly and in our experience we have found that the GE Reveal spot light is the best buy for your money. They come in a 50 and 65 watt spot light. The other option is a mercury vapor bulb (MVB) also known as the Mega Ray, which combines the UV and the heat source.  The MVB should be used in conjunction with a non-UV florescent bulb. This set up creates the highest output of UVA an UVB rays with a natural light setting but also is the most costly. WARNING: The mercury vapor bulbs, in some cases, put out quite a bit of heat and the distance between the bulb and the basking area has to follow the manufacture’s specifications to avoid over heating. A temperature gun is very important to make sure the heating is correct. These items can be purchased at www.reptileuv.com.

In our experience, when using Mega Ray or MVB bulbs it has such a high UVA and UVB output that supplements with D3 is no longer required in their diet. Too high of a level of D3 can be dangerous to your dragon.

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