Why do bearded dragons need a cage outside? Nothing is better and healthier for sun-loving bearded dragons than the right sun. Today, high-quality lamps already recreate natural solar radiation in the best possible way.
However, what is permanently impossible is limited in time and within a protected framework. Most bearded dragons enjoy enjoying direct sunlight at times. It is only possible outside our living rooms because our window panes filter the UV light.
Bearded dragons should never roam freely in the garden unsecured. Even if you give yourself slowly, you can run away at lightning speed and from one moment to the next. We can’t move fast enough, and bearded dragons that get lost are hard to find again.
Buy outdoor enclosures
If you want to buy an outdoor enclosure for your animals, you will find a more extensive selection of small animal supplies. They are rabbit enclosures that are particularly suitable as bearded dragon enclosures. They are easy to handle because they are offered as transfer enclosures. Some are even foldable, so they can be stored outside in the summer when folded in the dry.
Build your outdoor enclosure.
Building an outdoor enclosure for bearded dragons is not tricky. Nevertheless, it should be well-planned. The bigger, the better. Living spaces are limited, and the habitat terrarium is usually relatively small. If you have the area in the garden, you can build generously for the sake of the animals.
Low, non-accessible enclosures should have more oversized doors that make it possible to capture the animals stress-free. Building a walk-in section is more complex, but bringing and removing the animals and maintaining the enclosure is easier.
Stable roof battens and angles or square timbers can construct the basic framework. You will need four identical kinds of wood vertically for length, width, and height. Additional slats, as well as hinges and latches, will be required for the doors. There are a lot of rabbit enclosures and building instructions on the Internet that can help you get ideas and make plans.
The wood is varnished or glazed before screwing to protect it from the weather. Metal parts – including the screws used – should always be galvanized so they do not rust.
The finished base frame can then be covered with the aviary or rabbit wire. The wire should be hot-dip galvanized and spot-welded to last a long time. The stronger the wire and the smaller the mesh size, the safer the bearded dragon enclosure will be.
Soil protection
Ground protection isn’t necessary if the pen is safe and the animals only go outside during the day. However, the lower edge of the spout should be flush with the floor.
To prevent digging and to deter digging intruders from the outside, slabs (e.g., sidewalk slabs) have proven themselves, which are inserted vertically at least 30 cm deep into the ground. Another safer option is to excavate the soil using slabs, concrete or galvanized and bite-resistant wire, on which the earth is poured back.
Hedging up
A bearded dragon enclosure should never be open at the top. Birds of prey and predators would thus have the opportunity to enter the chamber without problems and could become dangerous to the bearded dragon.
In addition, bearded dragons may climb up on the outer wall of their enclosure and escape this way. Once a bearded dragon is gone, it is usually difficult or impossible to find it again. The latter would be their death sentence because, in our latitudes, these reptiles can not survive in nature for a long time.
Nets, as they are often stretched over small animal outlets, do not offer safe protection. They are only suitable for very high enclosures and, if fixed so well, that there are no gaps for escape in the transition between the net and the section. Nevertheless, there is always a risk that predators will tear the net from the outside.
Opting for a more massive outdoor enclosure with secure wire all around is better. If a net is used, it should be fixed so there are no gaps between it and the enclosure wall. In addition, the outdoor enclosure of the bearded dragon must be in a safe place and should not be wholly unattended and inhabited only during the day.
The right location
The perfect location for an outdoor enclosure for bearded dragons is sunny and is never entirely in the shade during the entire day. Small shady places can be taken care of as a holder using large furnishings such as large roots, cork tunnels, tall plants, etc.
The place should be safe from outside influences. A quiet garden behind the house is better suited than the unsecured front garden, where pedestrians and road traffic cause unnecessary stress and moments of terror. It is not wrong if the enclosure is visible from the house.
In some garden areas, the wind whistles unnaturally sharply around building corners. These places are not suitable as a location. Draughts-like wind currents can also occur on some balconies. However, natural air movements prevail outside, which is no problem for bearded dragons.
Setting up a bearded dragon enclosure
The enclosure for a bearded dragon must offer shady places and hiding places. These can be, for example, cork tubes or hollowed tree trunks.
As in a terrarium, high places are also visited outside. Stable climbing branches are the easiest way to offer these to animals. Not necessary but quite feasible are also landscapes made of styrofoam and tile adhesive, as they are used for terrarium back walls.
While there is only room for a small bathing bowl in terrariums, a more spacious bathing area can be offered in an outdoor enclosure for bearded dragons, if this also has deeper areas, owners can often observe that their agamas have absolute pleasure while splashing.
When are bearded dragons allowed into their outdoor enclosure?
A minimum daily shade temperature of 25 degrees Celsius is suggested. This temperature is typically attained by midday during the hot summer months. You must bring the animals inside before sunset.
Bearded dragons may take advantage of every warm day because they don’t need to acclimate to the elements like other animals.
If the temperatures do not fall below 20 ° C at night, bearded dragons can also spend the night outside. The enclosure must be well secured against intruders and, in the best case, partially covered or equipped with a shelter.
In principle, all bearded dragons benefit from being outdoors, even if they do not like to be touched by humans. However, suppose an animal gets so upset after handling that it takes hours to calm down again, even after a few days of acclimatization in the enclosure. Whether or not you are doing it, it is a favor that you should consider.