Are you worried your bearded dragon isn’t getting enough water?
Have you noticed signs of dehydration that need to be fixed?
A good owner knows just what to do if they’re beardy isn’t getting enough water — as with any animal, giving your pet enough water is a must if they’re going to be healthy.
But, because of the bearded dragon’s desert nature, hydrating isn’t as simple as giving them water.
You need to know how to hydrate a bearded dragon.
Bearded dragons are hydrated similarly to how they get water in their natural desert habitat. Beardies can drink small amounts of water and ingest moisture with their food.
Read on for more details on how to help keep your bearded dragon hydrated.
Table of Contents
2 Ways To Hydrate A Bearded Dragon
In this section, we’ll look at the three main ways to hydrate your bearded dragon.
It’s best to use all three methods regularly to keep your bearded dragon as healthy as possible.
#1 Water Dish
The first thing you should always have in your bearded dragon’s enclosure is a shallow water dish.
This water dish should always be filled with water.
Bearded dragons prefer to get their water through food and their skin, but they can drink small amounts when they need to.
A shallow water dish, such as this one, helps with this.
If your beardy wants, it will go and sit in the water or lightly lick at it to rehydrate itself.
Warning! While you don’t need to buy a specific reptile dish for water, you need to make sure the bowl is shallow.
Bearded dragons aren’t the best swimmers, and their bodies aren’t designed to get water poured in their mouths or splashed in their eyes.
If you’re getting your own bowl or dish, make sure the water doesn’t go above their shoulder height, and they can easily get out when they climb in.
#2 Feed High-Water Foods
This is the best way to get your bearded dragon hydrated.
Getting water from food is where beardies in the wild get most of their moisture.
Both adult and baby bearded dragons should get protein/insect meals and green meals.
For babies, their diets are made of more protein to help them grow.
Adults need more greens for vitamins and calcium.
Greens are by far the best way for bearded dragons to get hydrated.
This is especially true when they eat fruits and vegetables.
If your beardy is in serious dehydration trouble, a vet may suggest you give them fruit and veggies with every meal for a while.
Check out our list of the best fruits, vegetables, and salads for bearded dragons for more information on what they can eat.
Protein meals, which consist of insects or worms, are less filled with water, but some are quite juicy.
Hornworms are the best of all these choices.
They are tasty, full of good calcium, and they’re packed with water!
Some vets recommend these as food when a bearded dragon is sick and showing signs of dehydration.
Have a look at these best insects for beardies for an in-depth breakdown of what benefits are in each insect.
Because baby bearded dragons need more protein, you may want to stick with high-water worms.
Take a look at the best worms for baby bearded dragons for more info.
Signs Of Dehydration
Like all animals, water is essential to a healthy life.
When your beardy is sick, growing, pregnant, or brumating, it can get dehydrated.
A severely dehydrated bearded dragon may not eat, making it hard to rehydrate the reptile.
In the worst cases, your bearded dragon may be in danger of dying.
If you notice these symptoms of dehydration, take steps to hydrate your reptile or go to the vet:
- Sunken eyes
- Wrinkled skin
- Lack of appetite
- Lethargy
- Skin which stays tented when lightly pinched instead of stretching back
Note: If you feel too worried, take your pet to the vet.
There’s no shame in going for something turning out to be minor.
We have a good resource on dehydration in bearded dragons for you to learn more.
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Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed learning how to hydrate a bearded dragon.
This knowledge is a must for any bearded dragon owner.
Make sure you keep a shallow water dish in the tank at all times and regularly choose high-water foods when feeding for meals.
If you do this, your bearded dragon should be happy and healthy!
