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Cage Questions

J

justdbear

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I do not own a Bearded Dragon. Not yet anyhow. I have wanted one for some time and have done lots of research on how to keep one. I have kept an Anole that is perfectly healthy for over a year so I know some about keeping a lizard.

I am concerned about having the proper cage for my Dragon when I get it and I wanted to try to build my own. I have read up what I can here online and my brother is an excellent carpenter, but I am mostly concerned with a couple of things.

1) How big do I need to make the cage? I want to adopt a Dragon that is at least 4-6 months old and no younger from a breeder and I want to make sure the tank I make that is going to be for it's permanent house will be nice enough to last for a lifetime with proper care.

2) I have noticed some people recommend tile for the bottom of the cage. I think that this would be my choice too, but is there a certain type that is better? Would rock tile be a good choice?

3) This question has nothing to do with caging, but it's a general question that I find hard to answer. I am not a breeder and I do not plan to ever become one. I want a Dragon that is healthy and good quality, but as a pet only. Color is not that important to me, but I am mainly concerned about Sex. I have heard a few things about keeping a sinlge male is better than a female? Is this true? I would like to choose my lizard based on what is best for it.

Thank you for your time!
 
Hi,
1) I would make the cage atleast 3'l x 18''w x 18''h , you can make it bigger if you like but this will probably do. Alot of mine are 4x2x2. All of mine are made out of Melamine, you can find this in 8x4 sheet at Home Depot, etc and 1 sheet can usually make a whole cage. Look at recent threads and you will see a pic of 1 by Rebel Dragons that looks real nice
2) I would not use a rough natural rock looking tile. For cleaning reasons only I would use a flat glazed tile.
3)They generally say that a male would be better and for 2 reasons that I could see.
1 is that males are usually cheaper especially if you are looking for something in the 6 month range. The 2nd reason is because you have to deal with females laying infertile eggs which they will do wether they mate or not. Hope that helps. Charlie
 
I would also go with a melamine cage somewhere around 4x2x2 for a fully grown bearded dragon. I would also not use the rock tile because of clean up reasons, try like linoleoum (or however you spell it) it's cheap and it works. Just seal all the corners with silicone. Just thought I'd give you a second opinion on some of those questions. -Art-
 
Right now I have a cage that is HUGE, it is 72X 24 X36

it is great for me , much bigger then U would ever need, it is wood and plexi-glass, it is actually an old cage from cages by design that was re-furbed.

Now my brother-in-law is a wood worker and is going to be building me some cages, I will not use plexi (it scratches). However we are going to stick w/ wood, and w/ a good coating and sealant on it there should be no problems.

OUr measurements are again Big 72 X 24 X 18 then stacked on shelves to make a wall unit.

We use sand and so far it SUCKS! it gets in your track ect.. (we are working on fixing that design) I like the sand I find it much easier to clean up, especially w/ a kitty litter scoop and a coffee can...

With you making it yourself, it is your hearts content. I know many people on this site have web pages, w/ photos of their facility, go there and check out what they have for ideas.

I know we have made many changes and we keep tweeking it every chance we get.

ANOTHER thing w/ the tile! I switched from paper towel to tile for my babies and I found it much harder to keep clean and I also discovered and odor,so I switched back to paper towel. Again other then the sand getting in the track. I LOVE the sand.

Hopes this helps at all!
Heidi
www.unclejonsdragons.com
 
I used to use paper towel but now that my beardies are a little older I use tile. Not the glazed ones and not the ones that are really rough stuff. Just a little in between and I love it. The crickets can no longer hide under the paper towel and clean up is a breeze. I do still use paper towel for my male dragon but is still little yet and I will change soon. I wanted to use sand but I was too afraid of impaction so I decided not to use. I built my cage for my girls out of melamine but I would love to have one from showcages.com. Oh well maybe later. Good Luck
 
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