Enrichment for Your Bearded Dragon

You've heard that providing enrichment for your bearded dragon is important, but why is it so critical to caring for your bearded dragon? Providing your beardie with enrichment activities helps keep your beardie's brain sharp and physically active and prevents boredom. Keep reading to discover a few ways to help give your bearded dragon an enriching and fulfilling life.

Provide Interactive Decor

Not all the decor items included in the habitat should just be for aesthetics. Beardies need plenty of opportunities to get exercise through climbing and hiding.

Utilizing branches or other climbable items in the habitat is a must. But don't use branches found on your hike. You need to ensure there are no parasites or bacteria camping out that can harm your beardie, plus you want to ensure the branch will sufficiently hold your bearded dragon's weight.

Bearded dragons also enjoy a place to hide away, take a nap, or escape the heat. Consider providing a hiding spot or two in your beardie's habitat as a secure place to tuck away. The Zilla Herp Hotel and the Zilla Shale Rock Den are great hiding places that double as climbing and basking spots. Both are made with non-porous materials that are easy to clean with soap and water.

Encourage your beardie's digging and burrowing instincts by providing a natural substrate, like the Zilla Desert Blend. This blend, made of 100% ground English walnut shells, is lightweight and won't scratch glass like sand will. Just be sure you give your dragon at least 4-6" of substrate to dig through.

Pro Tip: For even more enrichment without spending a dime, change up your dragon's habitat every few months after a deep clean. This will keep things new and interesting for your pet, which will help keep boredom at bay and keep them interested in their environment. (Be sure to take a picture for future reference!)

Use Mealtime as an Activity

Because bearded dragons are omnivores, you want to ensure mealtime provides them with nutrients needed for a healthy lifestyle. The Zilla Omnivore Medley Diet is a great choice, as it provides a well-balanced diet of mealworms, fruits, veggies, and nutrient-packed pellets.

Instead of thinking about mealtime as solely a sit-down activity, use meals and snacks as enrichment activities. Consider supplementing your beardie's prepared food with live food. Live food, like crickets or dubia roaches, can help nurture your dragon's need to forage and hunt for food rather than having it served up in a convenient bowl. (Be sure to gut-load your insects before mealtime.)

Make feeding time easier and more fun for your beardie with Zilla Cricket Glow Powder, which turns crickets (and most other feeder insects) fluorescent under a black light. (The black light should be used only to observe feeding time, as leaving the light on too long could disrupt your beardie's circadian rhythm.) Dust the live food a few seconds before serving for some glow-in-the-dark fun.

Add fresh fruits and veggies to your beardie's diet to offer even more variety. Some of the best fruits and vegetables for bearded dragons include watermelon, grapes, apples, mangoes, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and kale. Be sure to remove any remaining produce after a few hours to keep the habitat clean.

Another way to make mealtime fun is with treat balls. These special balls have holes that you can put insects or leafy greens inside. Your beardie gets a fun puzzle to solve (how to get the snack out) and gets rewarded after solving the puzzle!

Play with Your Bearded Dragon Outside the Habitat

Just like us, beardies get bored! So be sure to take your beardie out of his tank several times a week for playtime. Playtime indoors could include chasing a ball or playing with fun cat toys, like a feather wand. Some bearded dragons enjoy chasing a laser-pointer dot.

You can also take your bearded dragon outdoors if the weather is nice and the humidity is less than 65%. You can put your reptile in a harness with a leash or set up an outdoor enclosure to keep him safe.

Try different activities to see what your beardie likes best. Not only will this stave off boredom, it will also keep him active and healthy.

Note: Always be sure to supervise your beardie when outside the habitat. If indoors, be sure to watch him around other family pets, like dogs and cats. When outside, being in the sun can lead to a burst of energy, and he can get away from you in a snap if not monitored.

Enrichment Is Fun for Both You and Your Beardie

Providing your bearded dragon with enrichment doesn't have to be complicated or expensive, and it's a great way to deepen your bond with your pet. By giving him an interesting habitat, toys to play with, and fun snacks, your beardie will be happy and healthy for years to come.