Spirit Bear
New Member
Yes, I said "BAE." So shoot me. 
^ This little guy is a Bearded-Rankins Dragon mix, over 1 year old now, and a very nice orange color over yellow. It took me a while to figure out why he was so different, but as it turns out there are occasionally seen the Rankins Dragons, and rarely they mix with Beardies to produce hybrids.
Little study is done on them as they and Beardies are pretty similar, but size and head-shape (along with lack of beard) make them different. Beardies are less liable to like water, and Rankins love to climb.
Mine's name is Valentino.
Here is Augustus, Gus for short. He is your standard Bearded Dragon, but his first year of life didn't go too well. Early on he lost a foot, and toes (possibly due to shedding skin being too tight and cutting off circulation,) and because no one helped him shed he lost part of his tail (I helped clear the last of the constricting, dead skin around the bulbous black tip of its rotting remains.)
I rescued him from an Animal Sanctuary where I had given them tips on what to do to help the malnourished Dragon grow strong again-- I was especially concerned about his bones when I learned he was abandoned in a dark, cold basement with no UV light.
Calcium is difficult for these guys to absorb without UV, and UVB changes vitamin D-3 into a usable form of calcium. Without it, their bones become frail and are liable to irreparable fractures, and thus death.
Beardies are desert-creatures, and as such they have some of the highest UVB requirements in the Reptilian world (and they like it hot!) But one must be careful: compact UVB bulbs give out too much UVC, which causes mutations and thus death-- so avoid them. A Jungle UV bulb will not put out enough UVB. UVA, typical of heat-bulbs, is less important than UVB-- but many people do not know this, and so the Dragon perishes.
Although they are desert creatures, after 1 year of age the diet of a Beardy should be 75% plant-matter (careful on what kind you give) and 25% meat (preferably live insects like crickets and mealy worms.) Everything should be small so compaction, which is basically severe constipation, does not occur.
To learn more on Beardies, see my "Community:"
https://plus.******.com/u/0/communities/100225533871478139608
^ This little guy is a Bearded-Rankins Dragon mix, over 1 year old now, and a very nice orange color over yellow. It took me a while to figure out why he was so different, but as it turns out there are occasionally seen the Rankins Dragons, and rarely they mix with Beardies to produce hybrids.
Little study is done on them as they and Beardies are pretty similar, but size and head-shape (along with lack of beard) make them different. Beardies are less liable to like water, and Rankins love to climb.
Mine's name is Valentino.
Here is Augustus, Gus for short. He is your standard Bearded Dragon, but his first year of life didn't go too well. Early on he lost a foot, and toes (possibly due to shedding skin being too tight and cutting off circulation,) and because no one helped him shed he lost part of his tail (I helped clear the last of the constricting, dead skin around the bulbous black tip of its rotting remains.)
I rescued him from an Animal Sanctuary where I had given them tips on what to do to help the malnourished Dragon grow strong again-- I was especially concerned about his bones when I learned he was abandoned in a dark, cold basement with no UV light.
Calcium is difficult for these guys to absorb without UV, and UVB changes vitamin D-3 into a usable form of calcium. Without it, their bones become frail and are liable to irreparable fractures, and thus death.
Beardies are desert-creatures, and as such they have some of the highest UVB requirements in the Reptilian world (and they like it hot!) But one must be careful: compact UVB bulbs give out too much UVC, which causes mutations and thus death-- so avoid them. A Jungle UV bulb will not put out enough UVB. UVA, typical of heat-bulbs, is less important than UVB-- but many people do not know this, and so the Dragon perishes.
Although they are desert creatures, after 1 year of age the diet of a Beardy should be 75% plant-matter (careful on what kind you give) and 25% meat (preferably live insects like crickets and mealy worms.) Everything should be small so compaction, which is basically severe constipation, does not occur.
To learn more on Beardies, see my "Community:"
https://plus.******.com/u/0/communities/100225533871478139608