RANKINS DRAGON

Pogona Henrylawsoni

Rankins Dragons are a dwarf species of Pogona originating from inland Northeast Australia. They normally only grow to about 10 inches long from head to tail. They are softer looking than the Bearded Dragon with less acute angles and relatively small beards. They are friendly and sociable and can be kept in groups.

Housing
A 36" x 18" x 24" is big enough to house a pair of rankins. The more you keep then obviously the bigger the tank needs to be. They like to climb so make sure to put some logs or branches in the tank and some rocks for them to bask on. They also love to dig so a substrate like Calci sand is ideal. Several basking sites should be provided under the hot spot and the UV lighting. Rankins Dragons need to bask and they need high temperatures to help with the digestive process. Basking area should be about 100 degrees Fahrenheit with an ambient temperature of 75F and then dropping to about 65F at nighttime. Rankins Dragons need to have UV running along the top of the tank. In the wild they bask in the sun to absorb the vitamins from their food. Obviously in a tank they won't receive much sun so a UV will act as the sun. Rankins Dragons need to tell the difference between night and day, to do this you need to have your UV bulb on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours. The UV must be within 12" of the dragon to enable it to get the full benefit of the UV bulb. Your UV bulb will need to be changed once a year as it loses its efficiency. You will need a ceramic heating bulb and a pulse thermostat to control the temperature of the tank. You will also need a thermometer inside the tank so that you can check they are being kept at the right temperature. Some people use 2 thermometers, one at the cooler end and one at the hotter end to monitor the temperature range. If you use only one thermometer then place it in the middle of the tank towards the bottom. Never use hot rocks, as they are widely known to cause belly burns.

Feeding
Rankins Dragons like fruit and vegetables as well as meat. They like a large variety of live insects, which include black and brown crickets, locusts, mealworms and wax worms. A good measure of the size of live insects to feed is that they must not be bigger than the size of the dragon's head. Do not feed mealworms to baby dragons as they contain chitilin which is hard to digest. Do not feed them insects from your garden, as you do not know if they have been sprayed with anything that can be harmful to your dragon. Fresh fruit and vegetables must be offered daily and remember that they like variety. Try to avoid spinach and kale as they are calcium binders and affect the dragon's bones. Another thing to avoid is iceberg lettuce, as this has no nutritional value to the dragon. Make sure to chop the food into small bite size pieces to avoid choking. Rankins Dragons require extra calcium for their bones to remain strong and to develop at the normal rates. They also need extra Vitamin D3; this vitamin is needed just as much as calcium. This vitamin is needed for your dragon's body to absorb the calcium. All you need to do to maintain your Rankins Dragon is to dust your live food every other day with a vitamin and mineral supplement like Nutrobal. Some Rankins love water so offer fresh water daily in a shallow bowl. If they do not drink from the bowl then offer them a spray of water on the end of their nose until they finish drinking. Also give the cage a mist spray once a day.

Recommended Reading Bearded Dragons:

Facts and Advice on Care and Breeding by Richard D Bartlett. ISBN 0764111256

Your Bearded Dragon's Life by Liz Palika. ISBN 0761527710

Bearded and Frilled Dragons by David Zaffer. ISBN 079380261X

Bearded Dragon by Tam Mazarlig. ISBN 0793830206

Do not use just these care sheets as your only source of information. If you are at all interested in buying a reptile then please do as much research into the subject as possible. There is a wealth of information available.