The following questions and answers are aimed at the "First Time Owner (Slave)" of a dragon and are built up from queries received on this forum. A number of beardie owners have then put together answers, which are based on our own experience with our dragons. These should be read as an addition to Care Sheets and please remember that if in any doubt about his behaviour a trip to the vet should be arranged.

He isn't eating - he's been home a couple of days.
It can take up to a week or more for your beardie to settle down in a new home. See that he has fresh veg available all the time, water and offer one or two crix at a time. If he won't take them don't leave them in the viv for later as they can cause problems and even nibble on your beardie when he's asleep.

(What's wrong he's, gaping, gulping, bulging his eyes out, blowing his beard up running round scratching himself on everything……..???)
Strange Behaviour …. He's scaring me!
Gaping is a beardie's way of cooling down a bit, similar to a dog panting and will usually be seen when he's flat out on his favourite basking spot really soaking up the heat. Nothing to worry about unless he's looking distressed in which case move him to a cooler spot and maybe a light misting of water.
Gulping, eye bulging (really spectacular) beard inflating (in babies) and scratching are all signs of a moult coming on - this can happen fortnightly with babies due to the rate they grow. Do not pull the skin off, it's the same as someone forcibly peeling off sunburn, a light misting helps and some beardies like a shallow bowl of water to soak in.
Arm waving and head bobbing are also great to watch, you will see one bobbing his head and then another does a slow arm wave like a windmill. The first one is saying "I can see you", second one is answering "yes, but I'm harmless". This will go on whilst they are sorting out a pecking order. In adults it's normally the male bobbing, if it's to a female it's part of the mating display and has some posturing going with it, she will respond with arm waving. If it's to another male or what he considers to be an intruder into his territory the bobbing becomes very violent, his beard will get puffed up and jet black, he'll also raise himself on his front legs to look even more impressive, shortly after he'll race over to attack.
Glass dancing - no idea why, it just happens and looks great.
Sleeping standing up, in a corner, hanging off a branch, in the most awkward of positions. Again, no idea but they all do it. The only time I move them is if they're pressed up against a particularly cold area of glass and could get a chill over night.

Why has he changed colour?
Colour changes are mood indicators, particularly the belly - if it's nice and creamy with very light marks, he's happy, if heavily marked with dark patterning then generally he's stressed. This can be because he's cold; check the heating's working/move him to a warm spot. Being bullied, this does not mean you will see any physical bullying, more likely that another beardie in with him is doing a psychological job on him. Besides the darker markings he'll usually be sitting in the colder end of the viv and not coming out to eat (see two beardies together). Bullying, he'll also be puffing up his beard and posturing.

Does he need baths?
Beardies live in pretty arid country and it is quite probable that in the wild, other than the occasional puddle they will never see open water, so no, baths are not required.
Having said that many adults seem to love a soak and swim, this will not harm them as long as they don't get a humid viv (this may cause respiratory infections). In both the young and adults viv there should be a bowl of water in case they feel the need to soak or drink, with babies this should be filled with pebbles as they can fall asleep anywhere, in the water this would end up with a drowning. Personally we have only ever misted our babies when moulting (and then lightly) the rest of the time weekly until around three months. In the first few weeks a very light mist helps with hydration as you will see them licking moisture off their noses.

What's Brumation?
If you have a young beardie this shouldn't concern you for the first year, in fact it can be harmful if tried due to the young beardie's lack of fat reserves. It is a term for a state of semi-hibernation, which occurs in the wild in which the beardie slows down, becomes almost comatose and hides away for two to three months. You will almost certainly notice that mid-winter he goes off his food and sits around all day doing very little. Reduce the food offered, maintain your temps and don't worry but don't hesitate to ask questions if you feel worried about it.

Will he ever be happy for me to handle him?
This takes time and patience, as babies their main instinct is survival and anything approaching from above or quickly is treated as a predator so never grab, always introduce your hand slowly and not from directly above. Offering little items of food works well and when picking them up slide your hand under them to support them. This can take weeks; up to a few months in some cases but patience is the key

Can I keep 2 Dragons together?
Not recommended unless you intend to breed them. Up to around 6 months they will be OK; at that age the males will start to get a bit feisty and you will almost certainly have fighting which will end with either a badly damaged or dead beardie. If you're lucky it will only be a bit of mental monstering (see "Why has he changed colour?"). Either way the only safe way to stop this is to separate them permanently. If you intend to breed them then you can maintain one of each sex in the viv but even here you can get a degree of monstering by the male plus excessively aggressive mating causing damage to the female. Two females will usually be OK as long as there isn't a noticeable size difference.
*If you intend breeding, please ensure you buy the pair at separate times and if possible from separate breeders to ensure you aren't mating brother and sister.

What supplements does he need?

As a baby they should have calcium daily (dusted on the live food is the ideal way) plus a multivitamin supplement provided the same way. This may be reduced to once or twice weekly by adult-hood. We place a small amount of each powder in a jar, add the live food and shake lightly. This coats the food and ensures that it gets eaten - I've noticed that our beardies are not partial to veg powdered with anything!
In addition there are a number of "Dry Formula" feeds available, which may be used as they provide a balanced basic diet.

What veg would he like?
As a base we use cabbage, broccoli and butternut pumpkin. You may supplement this with snow peas, bok choy, choy sum, grapes, raspberry, melon, or mango. One item they all love is the dandelion flower, so much so that we limit ours to 4 or 5 a week !!

Check this link http://www.anapsid.org/resources/vegetablenames.html for a very good list of vegetables that may or may not be fed to your Beardie. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html also provides some good information on dietary requirements.

How do I get him to eat veg?
Provide finely chopped veg from the moment he comes home. Placed in a dish at the cooler end of the viv first thing in the morning and misted if looking dried out by midday. With the first feed of live food around 9~10 am and the second 1~2 pm they will snack in between and soon realize that veggies are quite nice. As an alternative place a few mealworms in with the veg or scatter crix on top, they will get the occasional mouthful of veg that way.

How much Live food should I feed?
Consensus of opinion is that 8~10 crix at a sitting works well, remembering that as babies they really need to be fed 3 times a day. As they grow and hopefully increase the veg intake you will find that they slow down on the number of meals, so around 4~6 months they will be on 2 feeds daily and by adult stage you will be feeding veg daily and live once or twice a week only

Size of insects to feed
A simple guide is that no food should be offered that is larger than the space between your beardies eyes - so particularly when they're young chop veg. finely and be careful with crickets.

What does beardie poo look like
Beardie faeces are composed of two parts - even though it looks like three, sometimes. First is the faecal pellet, or mass. This should be dark brown to black, evenly formed, soft but not to the point where it loses its shape or form after it has been deposited. The other part of the waste is the liquid urates. It is generally clear and somewhat viscous. Some days it may be more watery than others. Depending upon what has been eaten the day or so before, the urates may be tinged with red where they have been eating a quantity of orange/red coloured veg or fruit. The other part of the urates is a white stringy mass that sometimes can be seen in the urates, while other times in may be inside the faecal mass or threaded through or around it. If the urates are ever greatly reduced in quantity and very thick and yellow, it indicates that your beardie is dehydrated or that there may be other problems going on that may require a veterinarian's attention.

Housing, tank furniture and plants

If you've just got your first beardie and been sold a "starter kit" 2ft viv etc. please don't expect it to last for more than a few months. Beardies grow at a great rate of knots. Ideally a 4ft viv is a bare minimum for two and any increase in size possible will be gratefully received by your pet. We have successfully raised beardies from 2 day old in a 4ft viv and never had any problems as long as they have a bright light shining on their basking spot they know where to go to remain warm. Plants look great but will get chewed, so if you feel the need for them, get good quality fakes - no chance of poisoning and much easier to clean if you need to disinfect your viv. Not a lot of furniture is needed, a rock or similar as a basking spot, ideally this should be within 8~10 inches of the UV lighting to ensure adequate exposure to UV, a good sized branch for climbing also near the UV, a cave near the cooler end (although some beardies never seem to use them) and as adults a feeding area clear of loose sub-strata. A good size water container (for the occasional soak) plus at least two veg dishes so you can swap them daily and you'll be set up.

Which Substrate should I use?

This topic probably causes more arguments than any other! If this is your first beardie then it is probably best to play safe in the first few months and stay with something like butchers paper, paper towels, lino or similar flooring. It's easy to clean and there is no chance of accidentally swallowing anything other than food. Beardies are not the most elegant of feeders and can get impacted through swallowing loose sub-strata (especially sand like substances). As a personal choice I use sand for my adults but at least half my viv is sandstone or other rock and they are only fed on the sandstone areas so no chance of ingesting things they shouldn't. Various other floor coverings are used including marine carpet (make sure there are no loose strands), wood chips (controversial), crushed walnut shell (never use - can cut your beardie to ribbons), calci-sand (never seen a good thing said about it - your beardie will love it and proceed to eat it by the bucket load) and one out of left field - Bran - digestible, safe, non-toxic and cheap. I've used it but gave it away as cockroaches will burrow into it before my beardies get a chance to eat them.