How To Clean A Bearded Dragon

Your bearded dragon has to have its enclosure cleaned on a consistent basis if you want it to remain healthy and happy. However, cleaning is beneficial to more than just your bearded dragon. If you take the time to keep your pet clean, you won’t have to worry about catching any infections from petting or handling it. However, maintaining a clean environment for your bearded dragon is not a simple chore. When it comes to cleaning your bearded dragon, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

The one and only way to clean your bearded dragon is to give it a warm bath. This is the only method that will work. Additionally, it is essential to routinely clean and sterilize the environment in which the bearded dragon resides. For example, on a regular basis you should clean the enclosure by taking out the waste and discarding any uneaten food, disinfecting the surface and the walls of the terrarium, and sterilizing any feeding bowls. It’s recommended that you use a combination of daily and weekly cleaning routines for the greatest possible outcomes.

The majority of bearded dragons look forward to their periodic bathing sessions. However, you need to ensure their protection when you are washing them by utilizing the appropriate equipment and methods. This article will cover the specifics of how to give your bearded dragon a bath, such as what tools to use, what to take into consideration when planning a bathing regimen, and a step-by-step guide to the process of cleaning your bearded dragon.

CLEANING YOUR BEARDED DRAGON’S TANK: GATHER YOUR SUPPLIES 

To begin, the most important. Before you go in, get your supplies:

• Rubber gloves. You should never use your bare hands to clean the tank!
  
• Cloth. Both durable paper towels and a cloth made of microfibre are solid options to consider.
  
• Scraper. Check that the scraper isn’t too hard, as you don’t want it to damage the terrarium’s glass.
  
• Cleaning solution. Vinegar and water, F10SC veterinary disinfection, or a reptile-safe disinfectant purchased from a pet store are all possible options here.
  
• Steam cleaner. If you don’t want to use a disinfectant solution, you can clean and sanitize the tank as well as some of the decorations in the room with a steam cleaner. This step is optional.
  
• Boiling water to sterilize decor. If you are seeking for a simple method to sterilize certain items, such as the basking rock in your dragon’s terrarium, this is one of the options available to you.
  
• New reptile carpet or substrate. This is not required at all. If you use one of these in your terrarium, then you absolutely need to have one of these, as it will eventually need to be replaced.
  
• Hand-held vacuum cleaner. This is another one of those things that is optional, but it can be helpful for spot cleaning.
  

How often should you bathe your bearded dragon?

There is no hard and fast rule regarding how frequently you should bathe your bearded dragon, but in general, once a week should be plenty. Giving your pet a bath on a regular basis will help them stay properly hydrated. Having a bath is not, however, the only way that your bearded dragon may stay hydrated. Bearded dragons typically acquire adequate hydration from the morning dew while they are free-living in the wild. The appropriate number of times per week that a bearded dragon kept in captivity should be given a bath is contingent on a number of variables, including the temperature, the humidity of the surrounding air, and the average amount of water that it consumes on a daily basis. For instance, during the warmer months, you should probably bathe your pet two or three times every week in order to keep them clean and healthy.

When should you increase the frequency of bathing?

It is possible that you will need to bathe your bearded dragon more frequently under certain circumstances. In the event that your beardie develops a skin problem, such as an infection caused by parasites, the veterinarian may advise that you give your pet a bath each and every day.

How long should a beadie bathe?

The recommended amount of time for a bearded dragon’s bath is approximately twenty minutes. If, on the other hand, your pet is shedding excessively or is experiencing constipation, the veterinarian may suggest giving your beardie a longer bathing session. This might be a quarter of an hour, or it might be an entire hour.

Steps to bathing your beardie

When it comes to providing your bearded dragon with a pleasant experience while bathing, a little bit of planning on your part can go a long way toward accomplishing this goal. Make sure you have all the necessary items on hand before you begin. To give just one illustration, you will require a bathroom with a bathtub, hot water, a mug or cup, a thermometer, and a plush towel. Once you are ready, proceed with the instructions that are listed below.

Step One: Choose the right bathtub

To begin, you should not wash your bearded dragon in the bathtub that you use for yourself. It is not unusual for a bearded dragon to defecate when it is in the water. Salmonella germs are sometimes found in the feces of these animals. Therefore, if you use the same bathtub as someone else, you put yourself at danger of catching an infection. In an ideal situation, you would have a separate tub or sink for your reptile or amphibian pet. Consider purchasing a small bathtub that has high edges, as this will prevent them from escaping the water while they are getting cleaned. When it comes to newborn beardies, you can even use the sink in the kitchen.

Step Two: Clean the bath container

It might seem like stating the obvious, but you should always make sure to clean the bathtub with a mixture of water and vinegar before and after using it. Because bearded dragons are extremely sensitive to chemicals, it is strongly recommended that you steer clear of using any kind of chemical cleansers, including soaps and detergents.

Step Three: Fill the bath with just enough warm water

In a perfect world, the height of the water in the bathtub shouldn’t exceed one inch. The goal here is to provide the bearded dragon with exactly the right amount of water to enable it to swim. However, you don’t want the water level to be higher than your pet’s shoulder since you want them to be able to relax and enjoy the bath without worrying that they would drown. Additionally, it is essential to maintain the water at a temperature of between 90 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. At this point, you will need to make use of your thermometer in order to determine the temperature of the water.

Step Four: Place a rock in the water

While some bearded dragons enjoy swimming in the water for extended periods of time, others prefer to take frequent rests while they are in the water. It is your responsibility to provide them with a stable surface, which will allow them to exit the water and ascend onto a dry surface whenever they choose to do so. To that purpose, you might want to consider putting a rock in one of the bathtub’s corners.

Step Five: Put your beardie in the water

After everything has been prepared, you can give your animal friend a bath by placing them in the water. At this stage, you need to keep a close check on your bearded dragon to determine whether or not it is taking pleasure in the procedure. If, on the other hand, your pet appears bewildered or is still not prepared for the bath, you should allow it some additional time to settle in. To give you an example, you can shake the water in the bathtub so that it is easier for it to understand the scenario. This should make it easier for your pet to understand what’s going on and get mentally ready for the wash.

Step Six: Let the beardie bathe for some time

Your duty now consists of nothing more than keeping an eye on your bearded dragon from a safe distance once you’ve placed it in the bathtub. There are beardies that get right to the business of splashing around in the water, while others might need a little more time to get acclimated. In either situation, you should just keep your distance and observe them from afar. It is not a good idea to leave them unattended because they could require your assistance at any point.

Step Seven: Clean your beardie

When your bearded dragon climbs onto the rock, use a cup or mug to ladle water over its back and tail. This will help keep it hydrated. You can, however, use a toothbrush with soft bristles to remove any loose skin from your bearded dragon’s body if it is in the process of losing its skin. Even if you didn’t do anything else, giving your bearded dragon a light massage with the toothbrush will help clean the other sections of its body, such as the places over its head, beneath its belly, and under its chin. However, you shouldn’t massage the animal’s eyes or the openings to its feces or pee bladders because these are sensitive places.

Step eight: Dry your dragon and put it back in the enclosure

After removing your bearded dragon from the water, the following step is to pat it down with a gentle cloth to remove excess moisture. You are free to use any towel you like provided that it is spotless and fluffy. The bearded dragon should then be placed back inside the terrarium, and the basking light should be turned on. When a bearded dragon emerges from the warm water, it is possible for it to experience a period of cold. Because of this, it is essential to provide it with the opportunity to sun itself inside the enclosure.

Step Nine: Clean up the bathtub

It is always a good idea to clean the bathtub right after you use it, especially if it has been used recently. In this approach, you can immediately eliminate any germs or bacteria that may have been present in the container, rather than letting them remain there and progressively infect the surrounding environment.

How Often to Clean Bearded Dragons House

Bearded dragons require a spotless habitat in order to maintain their good health as pets. In addition to the daily spot cleaning, the entire habitat of your bearded dragon should be cleaned at least once a week (AVMA, 2009).

The expectation of daily cleaning is identical to what we have in our own homes. The removal of waste and uneaten food, as well as spot cleaning and general tidying up. This will help manage odors that threaten to build up in your bearded dragon’s cage, make it appear nicer, and keep the concentration of viruses at a lower level.

The deep cleaning that you do once a week is comparable to the day that you spend cleaning your home on the weekend. As part of the standard weekly maintenance, the enclosure of your bearded dragon should be meticulously cleaned. In addition to disinfecting the furniture and bowls, cleaning the glass within the tank, washing the reptile carpet, and replacing the sand in the dig box, you should normally start to work on freshening up the environment.

5 Products to Clean Bearded Dragons Tank With

The importance of maintaining a clean habitat for bearded dragons in terms of disease and infection prevention cannot be overstated. However, cleaning solutions can be harmful, so you and your pet need to exercise caution when using them.

Use disinfectants such as F10 Veterinary Disinfectant and a hand held steam cleaner to clean the bearded dragon’s enclosure thoroughly.Utilize a disinfectant with a wide range of activity, one that acts quickly, and for which the risks are deemed tolerable (Divers and Mader, 2005).

According to Kohler, who was referenced in Pasmans et al. (2008), you should not use disinfectants that are based on phenol or quaternary ammonium.

Maintain a separation between the equipment used for the actual cleaning and the equipment used for cleaning the house. Because the spread of pathogens is a concern, cleaning supplies, such as cloths, should be disinfected separately from other items in the home.

(Divers and Mader, 2005) If chemicals are used on plastics or other materials that can retain chemicals, ensure that they are properly rinsed after use to prevent any seeping back into the housing for your bearded dragon.

The following are five cleaning items, some of which are appropriate for use around bearded dragons and others of which are not so safe:

1. F10 and Neopredisan disinfectant
2. Bleach
3. Ammonia
4. Vinegar
5. Heat and steam