What is the right size for a bearded dragon vivarium?

Choosing the right size vivarium for your bearded dragon is one of the most important stages of setting up your reptile’s new home.

After all, creating the right conditions inside your bearded dragon’s tank is essential for its health and well-being and if you don’t choose the right size, your bearded dragon could become agitated or depressed.

So before buying any new housing for your pet, take a look at our tips for choosing the right size for a bearded dragon tank and browse our recommendations for the most suitable vivariums to make sure you make the right decision.

What is the right size for a bearded dragon vivarium?

Tips for choosing the right bearded dragon vivarium size

 

The more space you can give it, the better

Bearded dragons are large and active reptiles, so they need a large vivarium. We’d recommend a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft vivarium for an adult bearded dragon.

This is not only essential for giving them plenty of space to move around; keeping your bearded dragon in a large vivarium will also make it easier to create different temperature zones, which your bearded dragon needs to be able to regulate its own temperature.

And remember, there’s no such thing as overwhelming your bearded dragon with too much space; even a baby bearded dragon would have endless space to move and play in the wild so remember that when choosing your new vivarium.

 

Research how big your bearded dragon will grow

This rule goes for choosing the right vivarium size for any reptile – make sure you know how big your lizard is going to grow before you buy any reptile housing. After all, you don’t want to buy a new vivarium, only to find out your bearded dragon will grow out of it in a few months.

As a general rule, adult bearded dragons are around 12-24 inches in length so 4ft (48 inches) is the minimum size for a bearded dragon vivarium.

 

A tall vivarium is good, but not essential

Bearded dragons are semi-arboreal reptiles, which means they like to climb some of the time, but a tall vivarium isn’t essential. It’s more important to give them lots of floor space to move around.

Most bearded dragon owners house their pets in a vivarium that is 4ft in length, and 2ft in height. This is more than enough height and space for them to move around and climb.

 

Choosing the right size vivarium for a baby bearded dragon

Last but not least, the guidelines for choosing the right size vivarium for a baby bearded dragon are not much different to choosing one for an adult beardie.

Baby bearded dragons love having loads of space to move around so it’s absolutely fine to house them in a large vivarium that they’ll grow into as they get bigger. Don’t bother housing them in a 3ft vivarium and then upgrading them to a 4ft one; they won’t be overwhelmed by the extra space.

The only thing you need to worry about is live food ‘escaping’ from them in a large tank. A good solution to this problem is to put any live food in the fridge for five minute before you feed it to your baby bearded dragon as this will slow it down.

 

The next step…

Now you know what size your bearded dragon vivarium should be, it’s time to start looking for the right one. Amazon is a great place to start your search and we’ve picked out our top recommendations for baby adult bearded dragons to give you a head start.

 

We hope we’ve helped you get one step closer to choosing the right vivarium for your bearded dragon! For even more vivarium setup advice, take a look at our comprehensive bearded dragon setup guide or start shopping for your new vivarium on Amazon.

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