Chapter 9 of 9 · Bearded Dragon Care Guide

Sources

Disclaimer: I'm not a veterinarian and I don't hold a degree in animal science or animal care. This guide is compiled from the published sources listed in every chapter. For a sick animal, a reptile vet is the authority.

Each source has one number, used the same way in every chapter. A source is listed in full under the first chapter that cites it; later chapters list the numbers they reuse. Sources marked "hobby report" are keeper or breeder accounts, not formal research.

Chapter 1: Start Here

  • [1] ReptiFiles, Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps) Care Sheet (PDF; footer dated 2020, file posted January 2026). reptifiles.com
  • [2] VCA Animal Hospitals, Bearded Dragons: Housing. vcahospitals.com
  • [3] Zen Habitats, What Size Enclosure Does a Bearded Dragon Need? zenhabitats.com
  • [4] ReptiFiles, Bearded Dragon Lighting, Heating and Humidity Requirements. reptifiles.com
  • [5] ReptiFiles, What Do Bearded Dragons Eat? Diet and Feeding Guide. reptifiles.com
  • [6] VCA Animal Hospitals, Bearded Dragons: Feeding. vcahospitals.com
  • [7] VCA Animal Hospitals, Bearded Dragons: Diseases. vcahospitals.com
  • [8] ReptiFiles, Does Loose Substrate Cause Impaction? (cites Howard, J. 2019, BeardieVet, and a Southern Cross University soil analysis). reptifiles.com
  • [9] Houston, D. (2025), Adenovirus Infections in Reptiles: Diagnosis, Management, Prevention. Ask A Vet. askavet.com
  • [10] ReptiFiles, Bearded Dragon Substrate Options. reptifiles.com
  • [11] Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Yellow Fungus Disease in Bearded Dragons (2026). hospital.vetmed.wsu.edu
  • [12] ReptiFiles, Ethics of Breeding Silkback (Silkie) Bearded Dragons. reptifiles.com
  • [13] MorphMarket Community, Morph Issues: Bearded Dragons (hobby report; breeder accounts, last updated 2022). community.morphmarket.com
  • [14] CDC warning on Salmonella linked to pet bearded dragons, October 2022, as reported by KOAA. koaa.com
  • [46] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Reptiles and Amphibians (Healthy Pets, Healthy People; updated January 13, 2026). cdc.gov

Chapter 2: Housing and Environment

Also cites [1], [2], [3], [4], [6], [7], [8], [10].

Chapter 3: Feeding

Also cites [1], [5], [6].

Chapter 4: Handling and Behavior

Also cites [2], [14].

Chapter 5: Health

  • [15] Ethos Veterinary Health, How to Safely Integrate New Reptiles Into Your Home (quarantine recommendations for new reptiles and amphibians). ethosvet.com
  • [17] ReptiFiles, Bearded Dragon Tail Rot. reptifiles.com
  • [26] Merck Veterinary Manual, Reproductive Diseases of Reptiles. merckvetmanual.com

Also cites [4], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [46].

Chapter 6: Breeding

  • [18] Wissman, M.A., DVM, DABVP. Breeding Bearded Dragons. Reptiles Magazine. reptilesmagazine.com
  • [19] Hepper, How to Tell if a Bearded Dragon is Male or Female, vet-reviewed by Dr. Karyn Kanowski, BVSc. articles.hepper.com
  • [20] Whiteley, S.L., Weisbecker, V., Georges, A., et al. 2018. Developmental asynchrony and antagonism of sex determination pathways in a lizard with temperature-induced sex reversal. Scientific Reports 8:14892. nature.com
  • [21] Rare Genetics Inc. test catalog on MorphMarket (no bearded dragon tests; no sex test for temperature sex-reversing species). morphmarket.com
  • [22] Ultimate Exotics (South African breeder reference), Breeding Bearded Dragons. ultimateexotics.co.za
  • [23] Reptile Direct, How Many Eggs Does a Bearded Dragon Lay? (breeder and hobby reference). reptiledirect.com
  • [25] Elswick, L.M. How to Spay Your Dragon. Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine clinical presentation, 2021. vetmed.msstate.edu
  • [27] The Vet Desk, How to Incubate Bearded Dragon Eggs, reviewed by Dr. Luqman Javed, DVM. thevetdesk.com
  • [28] Whiteley, S.L., et al. 2017. Sex determination mode does not affect body or genital development of the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps). EvoDevo 8:25. evodevojournal.biomedcentral.com
  • [29] Goymer, P. 2015. Warm and wild lizard sex changes (research highlight). Nature Reviews Genetics 16:440. nature.com
  • [30] Holleley, C.E., O'Meally, D., Sarre, S.D., et al. 2015. Sex reversal triggers the rapid transition from genetic to temperature-dependent sex. Nature 523:79–82. doi:10.1038/nature14574. nature.com
  • [31] Castelli, M.A., Georges, A., Cherryh, C., Rosauer, D.F., Sarre, S.D., Contador-Kelsall, I., Holleley, C.E. 2020. Evolving thermal thresholds explain the distribution of temperature sex reversal in an Australian dragon lizard. Diversity and Distributions, doi:10.1111/ddi.13203. Cites Quinn, A.E., et al. 2007, Science 316:411. core.ac.uk
  • [32] Li, H., Holleley, C.E., Elphick, M., Georges, A., Shine, R. 2016. The behavioural consequences of sex reversal in dragons. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 283(1832). researchers.mq.edu.au

Also cites [24], [26].

Chapter 7: Genetics and Morphs

Also cites [12], [13], [21].

Chapter 8: New Owner Checklist

Also cites [1], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [11], [14], [46].

Last revised November 6, 2026.