Care Guide - Dwarf Bearded Dragon 

Can they be Cohabilitated?

I would not reccomend co-habbing these animals together, they are similar to the standard bearded dragons and as such can show agression to each other so its best to only co-hab during breeding seasons and monitor carfully.

What size do they get?

They are a small species of beareded dragon and as such are much smaller in proportions from head to tail they usually only get to around 38cm max. They are also quiet light overall and i have read full grown specimins can get on average around 45 grams in weight.

When will i see them?

They are a diurnal species of lizard, they are out most of the day but do take sporadic breaks to hide away in burrows away from the light, in general if they are out they are either basking or climbing to explore.

Costs to keep

How much will it roughly cost you to keep an individual Dwarf bearded dragon well including the setup and ongoing costs, this does not include unexpected vet bills or the rising cost of products over time.

Used for energy calculation : https://www.sust-it.net/energy-calculator.php

Distribution-

These reptiles inhabit mainily the west coast of australia but can be found in more central locations aswell, they are one of the more common bearded dragons on the west cost but very rare in the hobby due to export restrictions of wildlife in australia. The types of habitat they live in are forests, savannas shrublands and costal areas

Image captured from iNaturalist

The image below shows some of the habitat that these animals live in, this place is called Woodridge near pearth australia, as you can see the ground is sandy and dry and there is various fairly dense bushes and shrubs that the semi arborial western beareded dragon will utalise. A little further south still on the west coast in a place called South greenough there scenery is fairly similar.

Rating - (Ease of care) - Intermediate - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Why this score?

★★ Niche /rare subspecies

★★ Additional care requirements

★ Small size and speed

★ Arboreal needs

These are an semi arboreal species of lizard unlike there cousins pogona vinniceps central beared dragon which are terrestrial in nature. It is advisable to allow them to climb so pleanty of sticks and other decor to keep there wellbeing high, also there needs are a little higher than the more beginner friendly animals such as the misconception of not giving water to desert species and having to deal with brumation periods in adults that can throw new keepers of without the correct research. As they are a small species of bearded dragon they have the inate ability to dart off and can be unpredicatable if handling is not done regularly. Also as they are a nitche/rare subspecies even for more intermediate keepers poses a good challenge in finding more about them. I do not reccomend getting one of your a beginner or are not confident you can give it everything it needs.

Setup Requirements -

Due to there smaller size to a regular bearded dragon they can be confortably housed in a 3x2x2ft enclosure at a mimimum, however as adults i would suggest upgrading to a 4x2x2 just for that additional space for additional wellbeing. Although i mention they are an semi arboreal species 2 ft height is plenty for them due to the smaller build and size and the use of deadshrubs and sticks makes brilliant climing space for them to utalise with 2ft of height.

Terrarium Links

Substrate options and decor -

For substrate you can use a selection of  slate rocks mixed in with Leolife, this is a sandy based substrate with bigger rocks in and is great for the lower humidity enviroements. Also for more terrain Cork bark tubes make a brilliant way for them to get a better basking spot for there UV light and additional slabs of rock make a brilliant place for them to bask under there heat lamp. Also make sure there are plenty of spaces for them to hide away.

Substrate and Decor links

Suitable Live Plants -

Liveplants are not essential for Bearded dragons in general and they can even quite difficult to source overall due to the drier arid enviroments they live in. Below are some plants you can give them that fall into the non toxic catagory as these animals like to have a chomp on plants. The aloe vera is a not toxic plant for Bearded dragons in general and are hardy and dont require alot of water. The second plant is a common ficus species sometimes referred to as weeping fig is acctually native to australia, these are more bush like and can be used to fill out enclosures, they also dont require alot of water overall. Finally is the Selaginella lepidophylla sometimes known as the ressurection plant as it can survive long periods of time without water, due to this makes it ideal for these animals as it grows like a mat so can either be spread out or in its dormant no water state for looks.

Below are some native plants from the Dwarf bearded dragons range these will be speculative weather to use these in actual enclosures but serves as a start to exploring providing real native plants for these animals. First is the leafless rock wattle which is 

Heating and lighting - From what i have researched in the past with normal central beareded dragons and what alot of other sources say is to have a basking spot that reaches a temprature of between 38-42c. THe hot side of the enclosure wants to be between 32-36c and the cooler side of the enclosure should be 22-28c to give a decent thermal gradient so the animal can self regulate its temprature. Obviously this is a different animal but from the same genus, so thinking about this the above would be alright to sustain them but If we go a bit further with this we can see below the averages weather patterns in perth which is one of the places these animals inhabit. We can see there is a defined summer and winter period with a drop of daytime tempratures of around 13c from peak to low. There is also a peak of 19c to 9c in the night which is a little less at 10c average. So looking at this During the summer i would offer a basking spot of around 40c -42c as the rocks tend to absorb the heat alot higher than the surrounding air. During the winter this can be reduced to 30c- 32c to take into consideration the drops in tempratures over this period. Night time tempratures can reach as low as 9c, there have been studies done of brumation for central bearded dragons and its been found that they tend to brumate at around 10c so going from this i would assume that they would brumate similarly in this species of dragon. I would say most homes in the uk are kept between 14-18c ambient during the winter months so this drop would suffice in aiding this natural behavior. The cooler side of the enclosure can be the median point in these figures so daytime summer 22-25c and winter 14-17c again room temprature will suffice. Final note if your dragon has any health issues or is to small to brumate its best to keep the tempratures a little higher to avoid this period during the winter months for the best chance of survival over the dormant period.

Heating and lighting links

Humidity Requirements - The central bearded dragon is kept at low humidities so going from data from this people keep them at 20-40% humidity throughout the year, however as we are speaking about another subspecies of dragon then we have to take into consideration the envirometal factors and different distrubution then inhabit. We can see below the precipitation and humidity patterns throughout the year for the western bearded dragon.

During the winter months the chance of there being precipitation is almost evey other day, whereas during the summer its only 3 in every 100 days. I would say the shift of humidity during the winter months should not exceed 50% and can be controlled by a very light misting during this period in the mornings. Offer a water bowl on the cooler side aswell as should be done all year round.

Diet and nutrition -

There diets are relativly uncomplicated to attain,feed them a mix of insects dusted with calcium carbonate suppliment with D3 and vitimin A and other multivitimins.

The insects i would suggest are as follows :

• Small Locusts
• Small crickets
• Meal worms
• Wax worms
• Calci Worms

Feed them once every 2-3 days per each indevidual feed between 3-6 locusts or crickets and suppliment other diets every so often such as wax worms as a treat If you want to extend the times between feeding incase you are away for more than a couple of days put in a dish of meal worms dusted along with there usual diet before leaving, they will generally eat meal worms readily aswell so suits them short term well.

A variety of food items is key for most reptile species so this is no exception, the more of a varienty you give the healthier the animal will be.

Misting is required with this species during the winter months but only a small ammount just to keep a dew across the cold side in the mornings, offer a full shallow water bowl on the cooler side aswell to help hydrate the dragon and keep the humidity gradient slightly higher on the cooler side. 

Behaviours - 

These are funny little guys, they have some behaviors that i have only seen this lizard exibit. They dont seem to be activly frightened by people in there enviroments, they will activly what i like to call bar lean on the side of there glass and watch the world go by, they also exibit burrowing behavior that i would like to explore more as i find my little guy hiddne between bark and rocks frequently just chilling. During this behavior there back goes alot darker aswell.

Handling -

Suprisingly they can be a little darty at first escpecially with new people, i suggest interacting with them once a week minimum, even making them aware you exist and spending time near them and cleaning areas near them in there enclosure and they seem to settle down remarkably well, if you want to hold them scooping them from behind is the best bet and they seem to settle very quick, keep still and dont move your body or walk around they focus on targets usually so moving will likely give them a fright to begin with but this can be supplimented in at a later date.

Day and night Cycle -

You can setup a 12 hour day and night cycle standard without causing any issues , however if you want to further the animals ability to have a natural enviroment then below is the day and night cycle of pearth that is within there range. During the summer months september to march there is a range od 12-14.5 hours of daylight whereas in the winter months its between 10-12 hours, using this data you can set the difference as shown below.

Data from weatherspark.com

Common health issues-

Gout- Generally caused by overfeeding and is a side effect of obesity, can be controlled by reducing food intake. Also a vet will be able to diagnose this and give you the correct treatment path for your animal.

Respiritory infections- Caused by a bacterial infection can be avoided or significantly reduced as a risk by cleaning up the enclosure and areas of the enclosure to stop baceria build up and also reducing the humidity as this type of infaction can be caused by high humidity allowing pathogens and others to build up in the respiritory system of the dragon.

Obesity- Overfeeding is very common with lizard species in general as novice keepers usually make the mistake of thinking that they need to feed them alot more than they need, to avoid this weighing your animal is essential and maintaining there weight can be done by reducing there food intake in most cases. 

Infections- Caused by a bacterial infection can be avoided or significantly reduced as a risk by cleaning up the enclosure and areas of the enclosure to stop baceria build up.

Shedding issues - Usually this can be avoided with humidity ajustment and offering a water bowl for them on the colder side, generally sheds can get stuck around there toes.

Mouth Rot - Caused by a bacterial infection can be avoided or significantly reduced as a risk by cleaning up the enclosure and areas of the enclosure to stop baceria build up.

Cleaning - 

Spot pick any loose waste and urates as spotted and clean enclosure sides every other week along with a rotation of there decor. When the substrate has been in use for a prolonged period of time usually 3 months depending on depths and other factors such as decor use.

Brumation -

In general bearded dragons are commonly known to have months of low ctivity known as brumation generally between june to september weather dependant, generally when they experience tempratures of 10c or lower in winter then they will go into a brumation status and not eat for a month or two.

Avalability -

They are very rare, ive only ever seen one in the last few years and i snapped it up quick. If i see anymore i would love to attempt to breed them to make them more widly avalable as they are an awesome smaller alternitive to a standard beareded dragon, however i think the reason for this is because there is another small dragon that has taken the limelight called a rankins dragon, just as cool looking not sure on there care requirements personally but i would think it would be similar. This is going to be the other alternitive as otherwise you would need to talk to people on forums about them or ask local petshops with links to breeders for information or about getting one in there shop for you to purchase, due to the strict animal import/export laws in australia they are all captive bred at this point which is a positive.

References-

Gallery -

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