Considering a Bearded

[aaron_cg]

So, I was looking at some pics and I am considering getting one. What do I need to know? Any tips? Feeding, enclosure size, handling, etc?

[TheFrogman]

I know a little bit, my neighbor has two, they are friendly , or should I say very tolerable of people, they appear to love being held and snuggled with, my neighbors will sit on her shoulder or lap for hours, they can get large, they only live to about 6-8 years so buy young. They are desert animals so they like high heat, buy play sand from Home depot, its cheaper and they love it. Easy to feed because most will eat Kale or Greens from the grocery store.

I hope this helps some

[Skits]

They're awesome lizards. A lot of personality in them! They need about a 40 gallon as adults, the more the better. A heat lamp with a basking spot on 100ish. They NEED UVB! They are lizards that get MBD pretty quickly. Equip the tank with a reptisun 10.0 (or 100). They eat A LOT of crickets from baby to age 1. Basically most their diet should be crickets, and a lot of them too. They eat a lot. Greens that can be introduced to them are kale, dandelion greens, parsnip, parsley, acorn squash, green lettuce (not iceberg as it contains mostly water and gives them the runs!), etc.

Do not give them sand, as they are prone to impaction. In the wild, they live in deserts but with compressed/impacted sand that can't be digested. Proper husbandry may or may not help avoid impaction, but why risk it. Mine has tiles and does great, you can also use carpet that doesn't have the small loops like reptile carpet so their finger doesn't get stuck, but tile is easier to clean and looks nice. Not sure if I missed something, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask!