1.1What a dragon needs from you
Before anything else, the recurring commitments. These are the facts of keeping one; whether that suits your circumstances is your call to make.
What has to happen, and how often
| Frequency | Task | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Fresh salad; waste removed; water bowl emptied, rinsed and refilled; cool-side temperature checked | 4.3, 13.5 |
| Daily to weekly | Live insects, at a frequency set by the animal’s weight rather than its age | 4.1 |
| Weekly | Deeper clean of bowls and surfaces | 13.5 |
| Monthly | Weigh the dragon and record it; deep clean of decor and surfaces; re-check lighting distances if anything has been moved | 13.5, 13.6 |
| Annually | Vet exam and fecal; replace the UVB tube on its published interval, or keep it if a UV meter confirms output is still adequate | 11.9, 13.4 |
| Ongoing | Someone competent to cover all of the above whenever you are away | 13.14 |
The equipment is a larger commitment at the start than it is afterwards. Lighting takes the most effort to get right, and it is also where most avoidable problems begin, so it is worth taking time over.
1.2Where to get one
There are three routes, and all of them can work out well.
Rescues are worth checking first, particularly if temperament matters to you. The animals are usually adults, so you know what size and personality you’re getting, and the people rehoming them will tell you honestly what you’re taking on.
A good breeder is the other reliable route, and the better ones will happily talk you through the animal’s history, parents and feeding.
Pet stores vary a great deal. Some are excellent and staffed by keepers. Many buy in from large-scale suppliers and genuinely can’t tell you where an animal came from or what it has been through. It means you are starting with less information about the animal, so the health check in 12.3 and an early vet visit matter more.
A good breeder
- , Offers a health guarantee
- , Publishes proper care guides
- , Supports conservation
- , Is well known, with reviews you can find
A breeder to walk away from
- , Always has a lot of dragons available
- , Produces visible deformities, silkies, unnaturally short noses or necks
- , Keeps animals badly, or won’t show you the facility
- , Prices that seem too good to be true
1.3What a setup consists of
A complete enclosure has four systems in it, and every one of them exists for a reason covered later in this guide. All of it should be running and measured before the animal comes home, because the numbers take a few days of adjustment to land.
| System | What it does | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Space | An enclosure of 4×2×2 ft minimum at any age, at least one hide, a proper basking surface, and safe substrate. The size is what makes a warm end and a cool end possible. | 2.1–2.5 |
| Ultraviolet | A linear T5 UVB tube and fixture. Without it the animal cannot process calcium, whatever it is fed. | 3.3 |
| Heat | A basking lamp in a dome, providing infrared the animal needs to reach working body temperature and digest. A ceramic heat emitter only if the room falls below 55°F / 13°C overnight. | 3.4, 3.7 |
| Visible light | LED lighting. Not survival-critical, but it drives activity, appetite and color, and it is the largest single gap between a typical enclosure and daylight. | 3.2, 3.5 |
| Food and water | Food and water bowls, plus the three supplements, calcium with D3, calcium without D3, and a multivitamin. | 4, 5 |
Instruments
Three of the four systems above are invisible or misleading to the human eye. UV can’t be seen at all, infrared is felt but not measured by feel with any accuracy, and light that looks bright to us is dim to a dragon. Each has an instrument that reads it.
| Instrument | Reads | Target |
|---|---|---|
| UV index meter | Ultraviolet reaching the basking spot | 3–5 UVI |
| Power density meter | Infrared reaching the animal’s back | 300–350 W/m² |
| Lux meter | Visible brightness | 30,000–60,000 lux |
| Digital thermometer | Cool-side air temperature and humidity | 75–82°F, 30–60% RH |
| Temperature gun | Basking surface temperature | see 3.4, read the caveats |
A dragon can be kept well without the first three by following published distances carefully and reading the animal’s behavior, which is what most keepers do. What they buy you is the ability to confirm rather than assume; and to notice a bulb losing output months before anything visible happens.