Lifespan Of A Bearded Dragon
The average life expectancy for bearded dragons is about 10 to 15 years. This may vary depending on the bearded dragon.
They will probably live a shorter amount of time in the wild, as they are subject to predators and other concerns. However, in captivity, they may succumb to different diseases.
In The Wild
Bearded dragons will have to face many different obstacles in the wild, which will generally cause their life span to decrease in years. They may die at a young age or come in contact with a predator at any point.
They may also face climate problems and accidents in the wild. Because of this, bearded dragons in the wild may only live a few years, with some reaching over 10.
The average age will be about 7-8 years old.
In Captivity
Bearded dragons in captivity have a much better chance of surviving for a longer period of time, as they are being taken care of. They face no predators in their cage and have access to food and water every day.
This really makes all the difference for them. As such, they may live up to fifteen years!
That means that if you just got a brand-new bearded dragon, you should have them for a long time. If you take care of them well, they should thrive in their environment and live a long and happy life.
This also depends on their diet- if you feed them greens and healthy foods, this should help them live a longer life.
I’ll also like to recommend this video featuring a very old bearded dragon named Casey. The owner also shared a few tips on how he managed to keep Casey healthy for 14 years. So do check out the video when you have time!
Which Is The Oldest Bearded Dragon?
The oldest known bearded dragon to live was almost 19 years old. His name was Sebastian, and he lived overseas in the United Kingdom.
It’s not unusual for beardies to reach ages of around 16-17, but 19 is a record.
Ten Tips To Increase A Bearded Dragon’s Life Expectancy
You should apply this general rule when looking for the right products to buy for your beardie. For example, buy quality substrate.
Don’t buy substrate with sand in it, as the bearded dragon could eat it. You want to look for either shredded newspaper, or you can even find something called a reptile carpet.
You also need to make sure that you buy a quality light and tank. Since this is the place where they will be living, it must be of high quality.
The light needs to be strong enough to reach the correct temperature.
For baby bearded dragons, there needs to be a tank size of 20 gallons. For bearded dragons that are 10-16 inches, a tank over 40 gallons will be optimal.
If they are bigger than 20 inches, you may need a tank that’s around 75-120 gallons. You want to ensure that your pet has enough room to grow.
It can sometimes stress them out to be in a small environment, and they will grow pretty quickly. Thus, we recommend buying about a 30-40-gallon tank, to begin with, so you won’t have to change tanks often.
Did you know: You can even modify a fish tank to house your bearded dragon!
This is a really important piece of having a bearded dragon enclosure, as the light source is essential to the bearded dragon’s health. For the basking side of the tank, the temperature should be pretty hot- about 90-93 degrees.
The other side should be about 80-90 degrees. At night, you’ll turn the light off, and the temperature should reach about 70-75 degrees.
Ensure that your bearded dragon has water at all times. Sometimes, the water source can easily dry up because of the hot temperatures in the tank. This just means you need to continually check the water dish and refill it.
If you notice that your bearded dragon doesn’t normally drink from their water dish, you can try spraying them with water. Just spray them lightly until they stop drinking it.
You can give them a mix of insects and worms such as crickets, super worms, butter worms, and hornworms. You can also give your bearded dragons all kinds of greens and vegetables.
These will help keep your beardie nice and healthy. You can use collard greens, mustard greens, squash, okra, sweet potato, mango, papaya, lettuce, spinach, avocado, and citrus fruits.
As you can see, you have lots of options! Just go rummage in your fridge and see what you can find.
Odds are, you’ll find something healthy you can feed to your bearded dragon. Their diet should consist of about 25-30% insects and 70 to 75% greens.
You should also check out our popular post on what to feed a malnourished bearded dragon!
You’ll find that most of the poisonous foods are ones that you wouldn’t normally have on hand to give your bearded dragon. They include plants like amaryllis, azalea, buttercup, elderberry, tulips, poppy, peony, periwinkle, primrose, and sweet pea.
If you have plants in your house, just make sure your bearded dragon doesn’t accidentally get a piece of the poisonous plant to eat.
Multivitamins will ensure that your bearded dragon is getting all of the necessary vitamins and nutrients that they need. You can give them Vitamin D supplements and calcium, which come in the form of a powder.
You can simply dust them on crickets or another type of insect, and they should have no problem eating it. You can also gut-load all the insects before you feed them to your bearded dragon.
You can do this by feeding the crickets some raw vegetables.
Make sure you always use the utmost care when you handle your bearded dragon. Wash your hands first, as you don’t want your pet to pick up germs from you.
Make sure not to reach for them from above, as it can scare them. Pet them gently, and make sure you notice if they get stressed at all.
If he closes his eyes, that means he’s comfortable- you can pick him up. Look out for a black beard though- that’s a sign that your beardie is stressed.
Also make sure that you don’t have them outside of their habitat for too long, as they can begin to cool down. Make sure you have fun with them, though!
You should form a bond if you continually take the beardie out of his cage. They will become comfortable around you and will hopefully look forward to being taken out of their enclosure.
This is another great way to get some bonding time in with your beardie, and get them nice and clean. You can use an actual bathtub, or a piece of Tupperware.
You want to fill it slowly with water; be careful not to fill it too much. Make sure that the temperature is warm- it should be around 85-100 degrees.
You can have them in the bathtub for about ten minutes; you don’t want it to be too much longer than that. You can even condition the water to make it safe.
Gently scrub them to get rid of dead skin, and then dry them off. You can do this as often as you want, but it really only needs done every couple of months.
This is very important! Make sure that your tank is regularly kept clean so that your beardie can be comfortable.
You need to take out the uneaten food so that it’s not sitting in the tank for long periods. Also clean the surfaces of the tank as well.
Every once in a while, you’ll want to do a deep clean of the whole tank. Take everything out of the habitat and clean it, remove the substrate, and wipe everything down.
Then put new substrate in, and fill up the food and water bowl. You may need to put your beardie in a temporary carrier while you do this, that way you can fully clean the area.
Bonus tip: Watch For Signs of A Healthy Bearded Dragon
If you have a healthy bearded dragon, they should be very active and alert. They should not have a swollen mouth, or have watery eyes or a blackened beard. Keep an eye on your pet to ensure that they remain healthy and make sure you recognize when they are stressed.
If you follow these tips, you should be on the right track to having a happy, healthy bearded dragon! As stated in the beginning, when you have them in captivity, they can live up to fifteen years. You can have them for a long period of time, which ensures the two of you can develop a wonderful bond for many years to come. We hope this was helpful, and that now you feel prepared to take on bearded dragon care. Best of luck!