Shopping List for a Bearded Dragon
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Enclosure
For a baby bearded Dragon you can start off with as small as a 20 gallon, but you will need a minimum of a 40 gallon by the time your beardie is fully grown :
Suggestions (Clickable links)
PetSmart Zoomed Glass front opening enclosure Or https://zenhabitats.ca/
UVB Bulb
Pick the appropriate length of fixture to span 2/3rds the length of your enclosure (E.g if you have a 3ft enclosure, get a 2ft long UVB). If buying a Zoomed brand UVB bulb get a 10.0. If buying Arcadia Brand buy a 12%.
Suggestions (Clickable links)
Arcadia bulb (a 39 watt will fit a 3ft long fixture) : Or Zoomed Reptisun 10.0:
UVB Fixture
You can save some money by buying a Sunblaster grow light fixture for the bulb rather than a fixture branded for pet use. Just make sure you are putting a proper UVB bulb branded for reptile use inside the fixture. DO NOT use a grow light or regular fluorescent bulb inside your fixture, it will not provide your bearded dragon with UVB.
Suggestions (Clickable links)
Sunblaster fixture
Heat / Basking Bulb
A ceramic heat emitter bulb, deep heat projector bulb, or a basking bulb works. Do NOT get the red heat bulbs most pet stores try to sell to dragon owners. Choose what wattage of bulb you think you will need to get your basking spot up to 95 - 110F during the day. Since there are many factors that play into the temperature of the enclosure (E.g. the temp of your house, size of enclosure, whether you have a wooden, glass, or PVC enclosure etc..) This may take some trial an error. Most people end up using 100 - 150 Watt bulbs.
If the temperature of the room you are planning on keeping your dragon in drops below 70F at night (approx. 21 Celsius) I would recommend getting a second heat bulb. I suggest a low wattage (such as a 50 - 75 watt) ceramic heat emitter bulb (or something that won't emit light) and a small dome fixture to have on during the night to keep the temperature of the enclosure above 70F (ideally 75-80 F is best).
Suggestions (Clickable links)
Fixture for Heat Bulb
Make sure the fixture you get is rated to handle the wattage of the bulb you are planning to use. When in doubt you can't go wrong with one that is rate for higher wattage than you think you need. That way if ever find you need a higher wattage heat bulb you can keep the same fixture.
If you are planning on having a second heat bulb and fixture to have on at night I would recommend a smaller (at least smaller diameter) fixture for your nightime fixture. This way you won't run out of space on the top of your enclosure to fit all your lights. Or you could get a combo dual dome and put your daytime and nighttime heat bulbs in it.
Suggestions (Clickable links)
Thermometer
The digital thermometers are much better than the circular analog thermometers. Or you can use a temp gun to check the temperatures (very handy to have since you can check the temperatures of all different areas of your enclosure)
Suggestions (Clickable links)
Food Dish
(If you don't want to have to buy one then yogurt container lids or any low dish can work for this)
Suggestions (Clickable links)
Décor & Hides
(Rocks and logs from outside can be used as long as they are not Cedar or Pine as they are toxic to reptiles and as long as you sterilize anything brought in from outside. Rocks and logs can be sterilized by scrubbing them down with hot soapy water, then baking them in the oven at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Or decor can be purchased at pet stores)
Suggestions (Clickable links)
Outdoor Playpen (Optional)
Outdoor mesh playpens are great for when the weather is good! Make sure the weather is warm enough (but not too hot, bearded dragons can overheat too!). Put some climbing décor and a large water dish/small swimming pool in it for your dragon to splash around in for extra fun! Make sure any playpen you get has a closable top to it, sometimes large birds can see bearded dragons as prey.
Suggestions (Clickable links)
Calcium Powder
If you are using a high quality UVB light, such as a T5 or T8 tube style bulb that spans 2/3rds of the enclosure then give your Bearded Dragon Calcium without D3 added. If you are using a lower quality UVB bulb, such as a compact coil bulb, use Calcium powder that has D3 added into it.
Suggestions (Clickable links)
Cricket Keeper
(Optional, but very handy) :
-Cricket gut load
(Or you can simply toss bits of carrots or other veggies in the cricket keeper for the crickets to eat) :
https://www.petsmart.ca/reptile/food/flukers-orange-cube-complete-cricket-diet-297.html?cgid=500100
-For the bottom the tank pet carpet, a towel, paper towel, linoleum flooring, or tile can be used. Note: Sand or loose substrate should not be used until your bearded dragon is around 1 years old.
-Food for the beardie ( Small crickets, Phoenix worms, Wax worms for a treat, Veggies such as Kale, Carrot shavings, squashed etc)
-Misting bottle to mist your beardie with ( Even a dollar store one will do)
Other optional items:
Thermostat
Temperature Gun: https://amzn.to/34NLWSw
Bee Pollen:
Additional information :
Common question: How much should we have in mind for budget to set up his/her habitat?
If you are buying all brand new, and buying a 40 gallon enclosure then here is generally what you will be looking at:
You can buy a whole kit with just about everything you need from Petsmart for $299 : https://www.petsmart.ca/reptile/starter-kits/national-geographicandtrade-reptile-desert-kit-27781.html?cgid=500117\
The only thing I don't like about this kit is the latch on the enclosure is a little fussy, and I wish it came with a tube UVB light that spanned the length of the enclosure.
If you buy a kit that comes with a small compact UVB light that fits inside a dome fixture I would highly recommend upgrading to a long tube UVB fairly soon. You could use the UVB fixture and bulb that came with the kit for the lifespan of the bulb (6 months) to get some use out of it and then swap it out for the upgraded long UVB fixture.
The only other thing if you bought the kit is you would need is crickets and calcium dust ( Approx $10 for a container that should last you 3-4 months or more). A misting bottle (Even just a dollar store one is good)
Or you can find good prices on second hand enclosures and dome fixtures on local classifieds and probably save yourself $100-$150. I just don't recommend using a second hand UVB bulb as you don't know how old it is and therefore if it is still outputting enough UVB.
