ARE BEARDED DRAGONS GOOD FOR KIDS?

Someone messaged me recently on instagram about this and I thought I would share my responses in a blog post!

Some quick things I love about bearded dragons

1. I have allergies to cats, dogs, really anything with fur, and these guys don’t, which originally is how I got my first dragon.

2. The first time holding an adult bearded dragon I was hooked, there was something so satisfying about having this amazing creature just chill with me on my shoulder. They might put off a drug because I was instantly hooked.

3. In general bearded dragons as adults are very chill. Most my females will just chill with me on my shoulder or lap, my males will do that a little but then will want to explore the area more.

4. In general they are not aggressive lizards at all, they give lots of warning before trying to bite. I have only been bit 2 times and have owned a ton of dragons. To this day I have only met 1 dragon I would call aggressive.

5. They poop and pee at the same time and usually just 1x a day. If you clean it up right away they realitivly have a very low smell. But when they poop man it’s bad! The good part about them pooping and peeing at the same time is that once they do their business, they can chill with you and you don’t have to worry about them doing it again on you. :)

6. They are poky and have nails, but if you wear a sweater they are really fun to let climb on you and they can hang on great because of that, be carful of knitted things or anything that they could easily get a nail stuck in, that can tear out a nail and that’s terrible.

7. Really are really fun to watch.

Q1. They asked: “How well do bearded dragons remember people and are comfortable being handled?  (I notice you frequently wear gloves when handling as well.”

Bearded dragons are truly amazing reptiles, most (from my experience) are very chill about being handled. They need to be fed daily, and just the daily routine of going to their enclosure and maybe trying to hand feed them a piece of greens they really get to know me and will run up to the tank. The dragons that I own that are very well handled by me do great when a complete stranger (or my kids) wants to hold them. Typically bearded dragons start off very skittish as babies and as you handle them they almost all mellow out a lot once they are 12+ months. However a 12+ month dragon that has never been handled might not be as chill and will be on the defensive. I have had many dragons at 1+ month of age be so easy to handle and are very content just chilling with me on the couch. I only wear gloves because of sanitary reasons, we handle a lot of dragons a day and I will wash my hands between dragons and my hands would be destroyed if I did not. When I just had one dragon gloves were not necessary unless you wanted them when wiping up poop.

Q2. “What safety concerns (biting, transmittable diseases, etc) how fast can they move.  I have trouble with fast animals. They don't seem fast in videos and that's one thing I loved about my chameleons. I could track them and catch them if they got out.”

I have had a lot of dragons and only been successfully bitten 2 times. They often give lots of warning before trying to bite, and it’s usually because they are terrified. Both times was from a 2 month old baby dragon that was just shipped to us and they were terrified. They usually get dark beards and open their mouths and hiss before trying. We do own one adult dragon that to this day will try and bite us and not very nice to be handled, but she was a rescue and not treated well and we have been trying to handle her slowly. We have seen amazing progress in 6 months of having her.

For transmittable deceases (I am not as well educated on this as I would like) but the biggest one I am aware of is salmonella. With most animals, you always want to wash your hands before and after handling them and putting them away when your eating. The cleaner you can keep the tank, the safer it is for you and your dragon. Parasites for dragons is very common and usually due to not sanitary conditions.

They can move fast as babies and we have had many close calls where they jump out of our hands onto the ground. It’s best when you are starting out and getting used to handling them to do it over carpet or someplace soft, and in an area that they could not easily hide. Especially refrain from bringing them outside until you feel very comfortable handling them or have them in a separate enclosure. As they age they tend to chill out a lot, they can still go fast if they want to, but they really mellow out. A lot of mine will just chill with me or one of our kids on our lap reading or watching a show, or chill on our shoulder as we do work and walk around the house (these are older 6+ month old dragons that we have handled enough that we know they won’t just jump off).

Q3. “Finally is free roaming good or bad. I see a lot of what appear knowledgeable people doing it but is it a good idea.”

I am sure lots of people have different options on this, and now I will interject mine. They need good UVB and heat exposure through out the day and getting it next to a window where the glass filters out helpful UV light is not the same. I think moderation is key here, if they get from 7am till 1ish pm and then you bring them out for a few hours will not be a problem, I have also seen people have a light setup outside their enclosure that does UVB and heat so the dragon can go there when they get cold and that’s also good. If you have other pets I think in general that is not a great idea, bearded dragons don’t really like other pets.

In general it’s totally fine to let them out especially when you're watching a show or hanging out in your room, it’s mostly your comfort level of if they were to try and hide somewhere would you be able to find them? Also would they be able to get into harmful things (food, hard to get out of spaces etc.)

With most living things there is always exceptions to the rules, some dragons are so well mannered and well trained you know where they like to go and hangout and you know you will be able to find them. Others are downright crazy. You will find once you get one bearded dragon, you will most likely want another because they are so fun to watch. Just always keep them separate, and only bring them out 1 at a time.

Thanks for reading!

Peter