You may have heard about the leatherback bearded dragon and wondered what one is. You may also be trying to find one to buy or finding out how to best care for yours.
Well in this guide I will be answering all of the questions about the leatherback bearded dragon. So if you own one or are looking to own one this is the read for you.
What is a leatherback bearded dragon?
I am sure many of us are aware of what a normal bearded dragon is and what it looks like. So what is so different about a leatherback bearded dragon?
A leatherback bearded dragon is what is known as a morph of a standard bearded dragon. In particular this morph is caused by a mutated gene that controls the scales on the bearded dragons back. So instead of rough and large scales, the leatherback has many and much smaller scales. This causes it to look and feel a lot smoother.
Now apart from that there is not much difference between the two. However you may be wondering what sort of care you should be proving for a leatherback.
How to care for a leatherback bearded dragon.
Believe it or not caring for a leatherback bearded dragon is exactly the same as caring for a standard bearded dragon.
They will need a decent and large terrarium setup fitted with a heat lamp and also UBV lamp. They will also need plenty of furniture to hide in such as branches and caves.
The terrarium size you require will be totally depends upon the age of your leatherback. I will list the sizes and give you some perfect examples below.
Baby leatherback bearded dragon terrarium.
For a baby you need a terrarium that is a minimum of 20 gallons and a maximum of 40 gallons. Do not go any smaller or larger than these sizes, too small will cause stress and too large will cause feeding problems.
This beautiful terrarium by Exo Terra is perfect for your baby leatherback and will keeping going right through to its juvenile age.
Juvenile leatherback bearded dragon terrarium.
Once your leather back reaches the juvenile ago you should really be looking for a terrarium that is in the 40 to 75 gallon range.
There are plenty of different brands and varieties about but I highly recommend this one by Carolina customs is pretty damn amazing. It will provide your little buddy with loads of room to be happy.
Adult leatherback bearded dragon terrarium.
Once you leatherback beardie has reached adulthood you are going to need the terrarium that it will live out its life in.
Because of this you need to get it right so that your pet is as happy as can be. It is recommended that the terrarium is between 70-120 gallons in size which may seem large, but your leatherback does need the space.
This one, again by Carolina customs is perfect for the job and will last for years to come. It is ready to be kitted our to yours and your beardies own specification.
Here at Super Crazy Pets we are all about giving you the best guides to help you look after your pets. That is why we have many helpful guides, two of which are linked to below and will help you look after your leatherback bearded dragon.
The Ultimate guide to feeding and diet of bearded dragons.
The guide to why your bearded dragon is not eating.
How much does a leatherback bearded dragon cost?
So if you had a look at the recommended terrariums above you will know roughly the cost of the setup needed for your leatherback bearded dragon.
However now we know how much the beardie itself costs.
The price of a leatherback bearded dragon can vary a lot dependant on where you buy it from and any other features it may have such as coloration. Generally you should find that they start around $150 right through to $1000 for the rarest varieties.
That might seem like a lot of money but if you know much about them you will know that they are an amazing pet to own that will be with you for a lot of years.
Where to buy a leatherback bearded dragon.
Now this can be the tricky part as finding a true leatherback bearded dragon can be hard. Try to stay away from shady dealers to make sure that you get a happy and healthy pet.
There are Internet forums where devoted pet owners who are also breeders sell their leatherbacks so it is worth looking out for these.
For me personally though I like to get my reptiles from a breeder that I trust.
I have never had a problem with any that I have received from CB Reptile and I know that they have genuine leatherback bearded dragons in stock usually.
Have a look and see what they have in, usually you can get them at a variety of ages and sizes and I think they are pretty reasonably priced as well.
Conclusion.
I think that it is fair to say that owning a leatherback bearded dragon is a great experience.
They have a gentle and pretty docile demeanour which makes them perfect for someone who is looking for a reptile that they can handle.
Caring for one is pretty straightforward and much of what applies to a normal beardie applies to the leatherback. The only difference being that they feel a lot smoother and softer to handle.
I will leave to with a video of a beautiful leatherback bearded dragon from YouTube. It shows the difference between the two types.
