To ensure
proper bearded dragons care, it's important to make sure you
clean their habitats. It's vital that you clean the habitat
everyday.
Bearded dragons typically produce waste once a
day and that includes
urine. The urine instantly soaks down to the bottom of the cage into the
substrate. One thing that does help with the smell of the fecal matter
is choosing a good substrate, something like the ground up walnut shell
substrate is great and fairly cheap. Whatever you are feeding your
dragon
,insect wise, especially the crickets, will carry the excrement
around and eat it. It's just gross. The easiest way to clean the
substrate daily is to get a wired scoop or aquarium fish net.
The
dragons water should be changed
everyday, you might have to change it a
couple times a day. It's recommended getting a stone type of water dish
for them. With this type of water dish, they won't be able to knock it
over and cause a big spill in their cage. If they spill and the water
collects under the water or food dish, it can mold because of the
habitats warm temperatures. If the water sits for too long, it begins to
create a nasty film on the sides and bottom of the dish that can begin
to grow bacteria and make your dragon sick. Soak the water dish once a
week in a water and very tiny amount of bleach type mixture. You want to
let it soak for at least 30 minutes and rinse thoroughly. If you have
other reptiles, do not let any of the dishes come in contact with each
other. This is called cross contamination and it could compromise your
bearded dragons care and other
reptiles health.
Equally important is cleaning
the food dish daily. If your dragon is eating greens, or bearded dragon
diet, or you're putting worms in the dish, bacteria can grow just as
easy as it can in the water. Another reason this is important is because
the temperatures of the habitat stay warm during the day and it cause
the lettuce to wilt and if left too long, will go bad and it could lead
to mold. Like the water dish, you want to soak this in a water and
bleach for at least 30 minutes and rinse thoroughly.
Once
a month, you should clean the entire habitat, including furnishings.
Cleaning the furnishings can be done by taking them out and soaking them
in the water/bleach solution as mentioned above. Soak for at least 30
minutes and rinse thoroughly. Make sure it's completely dry before
putting it back into the habitat. The substrate needs to be changed once
a month, as long as you're spot cleaning it daily. The easiest way to
remove the substrate is with a shop
vac. You can also scoop it out, but
it takes a while. After the substrate is removed, use a warm soapy water mixture. With a
clean cloth, sponge,
etc, wipe down the bottom and all the sides of the
habitat real good. You can use the same sponge or cloth to rinse. Make
sure all of the soap is out of it and start wiping the soap out of the
habitat. Use paper towel, a clean towel,
etc to dry the habitat
completely. Now you're ready to pour the new substrate in. Make sure to
make a note on a calendar the date you cleaned the habitat
.bearded dragons care
