Choosing the right size of your vivarium for your two adult dragons is essential for setting a home for them. Setting up the right conditions inside your bearded dragon tank is also helpful for their well-being and health.
For two adult dragons, a 240cmx120cmx120cm or 4ftx 2ft x 2ft vivarium would be the best size; the larger, the better. Bearded dragons are active and large reptiles, so a large vivarium is always better to exercise and proper temperature gradient.
If you don’t choose the right size, your two adult dragons could get depressed and agitated. Before buying or building a vivarium for your dragon, this blog will guide you on what size vivarium you’ll need for two adult dragons.
Bearded Dragon Vivarium Essentials
Most bearded dragons are bred and not brought up from the wild. To make your dragons happy and healthy, you need to house them in environments similar to their natural homes that means that there are some essentials that we need to provide for them;
- Place to hide
- Room to move around
- Places to dig
- Items to climb
- Temperature ranges.
Types of Vivariums
Glass Tank Vivariums
The ideal size of a glass tank vivarium for two adult bearded dragons is 240cmx120cmx120cm and an enclosure of 240 gallons for both the dragons. Larger tanks allow your bearded dragons to turn comfortably without stressing each other. Stressed beardies can stop eating, which can affect their health.
For glass tanks, they have high visibility compared to wooden ones, and they are also easy to disinfect. Your two dragons won’t scratch them like the plastic tanks.
A disadvantage of using glass tanks is that the larger the tank, the higher its cost because it will be made of thick glass compared to a smaller tank.
To save your money in purchasing a glass tank, you can buy a big second-hand from aquarists since they are cheaper compared to new ones.
Plastic Vivarium
Plastic tanks have evolved from simple to advanced professional ones over the years. PVC and ABS are the plastics that make up a transparent plastic tank. The front side is made of glass material, while the other sides are opaque to prevent sunlight.
This feature may disadvantage some people, especially when viewing your dragons; however, your pet may feel safer in such an enclosure. Plastic tanks don’t break easily like glass tanks, and you can drill holes for cables, making your vivarium neater.
Plastic tanks are also expensive, especially the vision cages with built-in light structures. For an affordable plastic tank, the DIY style is the best. You can purchase white melamine that is hardened from plastic, reflects light, and is easy to clean.
Wooden Vivariums
Purchasing a huge glass tank or buying a large plastic enclosure is expensive. If you want to save your money or you dislike plastics, wooden enclosures are the best for you. The best thing about having a wooden vivarium is that you can build a wooden tank from scratch, and you will be able to know how big you want it for your two dragons.
The construction of a wooden tank is similar to a plastic tank. You will have plywood on the surfaces made of wood except for the front. The glass door system slides open to let in the fresh air and closes securely when not needed.
The downside can be the porous nature- if water seeps into the surface of your plywood panels, it might lead to mold and rotting. Having two adult bearded dragons can make them splash water from the bowl, and the wood will soak the water making your vivarium smelly and hard to disinfect.
Vivarium Considerations For Two Adult Bearded Dragons
A Vivarium Floor
Choosing the best floor for your adult dragons is essential to ensure your dragon is comfortable. When it comes to the best floor, there are some questions you may ask.
Let’s look at some of the floors you can consider putting in your vivarium.
Sand
It happens to be the most common substrate people use for their floors. We should remember that sand is very dangerous to beardies since it leads to impaction. Even though bearded dragons’ natural habitats are in the desert, the sand we buy differs.
It can be risky to use sand for your two beardies since they may play with it, which can get into their eyes, irritating. The sand can also get into their water or food bowls, and the beardies ingest them leading to respiratory issues.
Rocks and Pebbles
Rocks are another substrate you can place on your vivarium floor; however, they have disadvantages. The rocks are at times short, and your two dragons may ingest them and cause impaction or, even worse, break your dragon’s teeth.
Reptile Carpets
Reptile carpets are a good option for your two adult dragons. It’s easy to clean, doesn’t cost much, and some designs can prevent odors. It would be best if you had two carpets for two adult dragons.
Tiles
Tiles have become a popular trend among bearded dragon keepers. Going for slate tiles and dark-colored is the best way to go. With dark colors, your dragons won’t feel cold, and both materials give your dragon a grip to move around the vivarium.
Linoleum and vinyl are too slippery for your two mature dragons. One disadvantage of tiles is that they trap heat, which may not always escape in your vivarium, causing your dragons to get burned.
When laying tiles in your vivarium, take caution not to break the vivarium floor. Using newspapers between the tank’s floor and the tile can help protect the tank’s floor.
Newspaper
It’s the cheapest substrate for your two dragons. It’s the best choice for your two dragons since they are easy to replace.
Other Substrates
You can use other substrates for your floor, including coconut fiber, wood chips, or even calcium powder. However, substrates with wooden chips are easy to clean, but the risk of impaction is high. It would be best if you consulted first with your vet.
Loose substrates become softer with two adult dragons when they pour water around the floor. The dense substrate will absorb moisture raising the humidity levels, ruining the ideal humidity of the vivarium.
Using loose substrates can make your insect feed hide in them during feeding times. Later on, they may bite your dragons, especially crickets. The insects can later die and cause your vivarium to smell, which will make your dragons uncomfortable.
Vivarium Lights, Heating, and Humidity
Bearded dragons are cold-blooded animals, so they need proper lighting and heating to resemble their natural habitat. Improper heat and lighting can cause metabolic bone disease that hinders digestion and absorption of nutrients. It can paralyze or kill your dragons if you don’t treat them in worse conditions.
Below are things you will require to maintain proper humidity, heat, and lighting for your bearded dragons.
UVB Light
A UVB lamp is ideal since it emits heat in addition to UVB radiation. You need to ensure your dragons get 12 hours of UVB rays exposure in a day.
It is crucial to replace the bulbs every six months to ensure that heat is distributed evenly in your vivarium.
UVB Bulb With Heat Light
If you don’t have a UVB lamp, you can use a heat lamp with a UVB bulb.
Thermometer and Hygrometer
A thermometer will ensure you check your dragon’s temperature at any time of the day or night. During the day, the correct temperatures are between 95 to 110 degrees, while the temperatures should be between 65 to 75 degrees at night.
A hygrometer makes sure you check your dragon’s humidity in your vivarium. The proper humidity for your dragons is 35 to 45% since it’s similar to humidity in their natural homes.
Vivarium Decor
The most fun of setting up your bearded dragon’s vivarium would be choosing the right decor. If you are creative, you can have a pretty vivarium for your dragons; some dragon keepers opt for a simple environment or choose to lay back.
Below are some items you can use to decorate your tank
A basking rocks or logs
Your vivarium should have some substantial surface rocks for them to bask on below the heating lamps. The rocks at times retain heat to bask later when they feel cold.
A place to hide
Your two dragons need a place to hide, especially during brumation or bedtime, since they follow their instincts of digging.
Things they could climb on
Like every other reptile, Bearded dragons enjoy climbing on things, and they can scale logs, branches, and even rocks. Because you have two bearded dragons, it is preferable to have a lot of climbing gear to keep your dragons from competing for climbing gear.
Plants and Foliage
Most bearded dragon keepers love to decorate their vivarium with plants, live ones or fake ones. Live plants affect your dragon’s tank’s humidity levels; if you decide to use live plants, ensure you use your hydrometer often.
It would be best if you didn’t forget bearded dragons eat vegetables so that they can eat your plants. Therefore, keep safe live plants in your vivarium in case they ingest them; they won’t cause any harm to them.
Plants that are safe to place in your vivarium
- Aloe vera( too much of the aloe vera can make your dragon diarrhea)
- Herbs like basil, oregano, rosemary, and parsley( they can wilt wither in the humidity, so you need to replace them when they begin to wither)
- Prickly pear cacti, but you should remove the spines.
- Succulents like echeveria
It’s safer for you to use plastic plants; however, make sure they are high-quality plastic plants to avoid your two dragons biting a piece and choking. Impaction is also a risk you should avoid since it can kill your two dragons.
FAQ’s about Bearded Dragons
Conclusion
Keeping two adult bearded dragons in one vivarium is risky. If you have two adult dragons, ensure you have a large vivarium for them to play and move freely without them irritating each other.
If they irritate each other, they may end up not eating due to stress, and that’s not what we want for our dragons. Ensure your two dragons are comfortable in the vivarium you choose for them.
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