Yes, bearded dragons need water just like other animals. They have to drink water to prevent dehydration which can cause health issues. When the beardie is constipated, it’s likely dehydrated. Make sure that your pet drinks water to stay healthy.
Hydrating routines such as bathing, misting, feeding, water bowl, and syringe will help to maintain hydration. Bearded dragons can hydrate themselves by eating plant materials. Veggies are a huge part of an adult bearded dragon diet.
How Much Water Do Bearded Dragons Need Everyday?
Bearded dragons need to drink water regularly on daily basis. It’s the best way to keep them healthy.
Knowing how much water bearded dragons need is crucial for their health and well-being. It’s best to know the recommended amount of water your pet needs every day. It can depend on their age and size as well. The bigger they get, the more water they need to drink.
1. Dry Climates
If you live in a dry climate where it doesn’t have much humidity, you need to provide a constant supply of clean water for your beardie. Your pet needs to drink a few times daily to stay hydrated. Make sure it’s shallow and avoid using large-sized bowls. It can raise the humidity levels in the beardie’s enclosure.
Get a small water bowl instead since it will be enough for your bearded dragon. If your bearded dragon is thirsty, it will drink anytime from it. You can use the top of the jars as a water bowl for your dragon. Provide fresh water every day to ensure that your pet will drink from it. Their drinking water should be clean all the time.
2. Moist Climates
Moist climates can become humid or even overly wet. You should still provide fresh water for your bearded dragon. But avoid keeping the water bowl inside the enclosure. This will increase the humidity levels in the terrarium. It can be risky for the beardie’s health.
Give your pet drinking water in a shallow bowl every couple of hours daily to avoid this concern. After 2 to 3 hours, remove the water bowl from the enclosure. That way, your pet can drink fresh water without increasing the humidity levels within the enclosure.
3. Water Misting
Drinking from the water bowl can be a challenge for some bearded dragons. They don’t have that in the wild, so it’s new to them. If your pet is not drinking from the water bowl, use a spray bottle to mist the dragon. It will help your pet to get enough water it needs.
Bearded dragons can lick the water from their bodies or the enclosure. It’s one of the ways to ensure that your pet is drinking water. Avoid spraying too much water as it can cause excessive moisture inside the enclosure. Bathing them is also a good way to make bearded dragons drink water.
How Often Do Bearded Dragons Need Water?
Bearded dragons needs water regularly to stay hydrated. They can get water from drinking fresh water as well as from the food they eat such as insects and fresh vegetables. Provide them with high water content food as well as fresh waster in a bowl to ensure that they are getting enough fluids every day.
In the wild, bearded dragons go through a long time without water. They don’t have much access to fresh and clean water all the time in nature. That’s why they have a shorter lifespan in the wild than in captivity.
As a pet owner, you should provide them with a diet that contain insects, vegetables, fruits, calcium, and freshwater every day. It will ensure that your beardie will live a healthy and happy life.
What is the Recommended 24 Hour Water Intake for Bearded Dragons?
Water is an essential part of the life of every animal. Bearded dragons are not an exemption to this rule. They need water to keep their bodies hydrated. It’s important if you want your pet to stay healthy and live a longer lifespan.
Below is the recommended amount of water bearded dragons need to drink daily. Please note that this should be used as a guide only. Always ask for your vet’s advice to ensure that you’re giving the right amount of water for your pet daily.
| Weight | Water (ml) |
| 10 | 0.1 |
| 20 | 0.2 |
| 30 | 0.3 |
| 40 | 0.4 |
| 50 | 0.5 |
| 75 | 0.75 |
| 100 | 1.0 |
| 125 | 1.25 |
| 150 | 1.5 |
| 175 | 1.75 |
| 200 | 2.0 |
| 250 | 2.5 |
| 300 | 3.0 |
| 350 | 3.5 |
| 400 | 4.0 |
| 500 | 5.0 |
| 600 | 6.0 |
| 700 | 7.0 |
How to Provide Water for Bearded Dragons?
1. Water Bowl
Bearded dragons need to be provided with a bowl of clean fresh water no matter what age they are. Use a shallow water bowl to avoid them from drowning. It will also prevent the humidity levels in the enclosure to increase. Make sure that the water bowl is washed and clean before placing the water.
The best time to replace the water is every morning. This will ensure that your beardie will have a clean and fresh water. If you’re using a tap water, it’s best to use a water conditioner. It will remove chlorine and other minerals from the tap water. That will make it safe for your pet to drink.
a. Train Bearded Dragons to Drink from Water Bowls
Not all bearded dragons know how to drink from the water bowl. Many captive dragons will not drink from it immediately. They are not the same as cats or dogs who will drink from the water bowl right away. Therefore, you will need to train your bearded dragon to drink from the water bowl.
Be creative when it comes to training the bearded dragon to drink from the bowl. Add some fresh strawberries or other fruits to the water. When the beardie smells the sweetness of the fruits, it will encourage you to drink them. This method has been successful for a lot of bearded dragon owners so give it a try.
b. Clean the Water Bowl
When cleaning the water bowl, use a mild detergent or a terrarium cleaner.
Make sure that the water dish detergents are rinsed thoroughly. If not, it can have a bad effect on your lizard’s health. Avoid keeping a dirty water bowl since it can cause illnesses. Built-up bacteria and fungus such as Salmonella may be present in a filthy water bowl. Clean it every day to avoid contamination.
2. Misting
In the wild, bearded dragons can get water from rainfall. They lap up the raindrops that drip off their noses. It can be simulated by misting water lightly to your beardie a few times a day. Your pet will like it, especially if it’s not drinking from the water bowl.
After you mist your pet, it will drink the water dripping from its nose. It’s a good way to keep your pet hydrated.
Misting is a good idea to keep your bearded dragon hydrated. Of course, you still need to provide them with water in the bowl.
a. Food Misting
Food misting is a good way to keep your beardie hydrated. It will increase your pet’s water intake without much effort. There are a lot of fruits and vegetables with a high water content that you can feed your beardie. It will increase their water intake.
Fresh fruits and veggies can provide a good amount of water for your bearded dragon. But it depends on how fresh it is and how long it’s been left in the enclosure. They can dry up if it’s been left for some time. Misting the food can keep it moist and your bearded dragon can have a good water intake.
b. Misting the bearded dragons Tank
Another good idea to keep your bearded dragon hydrated is by misting the tank. It’s a healthy and effortless way to give them drinkable water. Beardies lick their surroundings so that they can understand their environment.
By licking, baby bearded dragons will be able to understand texture, temperature, and more. It’s their natural behavior and it’s useful for them. This behavior can also help you to provide the hydration your bearded dragon need. When you mist the glass of the terrarium, your beardie will lick the water from it.
It’s a great technique to use if your bearded dragon don’t like drinking from the water bowl. You can try it if your beardie still feels uncomfortable drinking from the bowl. It will help them to stay hydrated and get enough water intake they need. But avoid over misting since excessive water intake causes diarrhea.
3. Bathing
Bathing is a good treat for your bearded dragon. It also helps with increasing their water intake. They don’t drink through their skin but beardies can drink from their vent. It’s the opening from the bade of their tail. It’s also where they defecate but it can also take in water if needed.
If you suspect that your bearded dragon is not drinking enough water, bathing is a good solution. Give your pet around 20 minutes of bathing so that it can increase its hydration levels. It’s best to do this a few times a week to ensure that your bearded dragon will stay hydrated. Make sure to still offer your bearded dragon water bowl until it drinks from it.
What If Your Bearded Dragon Did Not Get Enough Water?
Like any other animal, bearded dragon needs to always drink water. It will help hydrate bearded dragons and keep them healthy. But what will happen if your beardie is not getting enough water? The first thing that will happen is it will be dehydrated.
When the bearded dragon is dehydrated, it can become disoriented, irritable, and even weak. Dehydration can also cause serious health problems. If not addressed properly, your beardie may become severely dehydrated and even die. Water is essential to keep your bearded dragon body functions normally
What are The Signs of Dehydration in Bearded Dragons?
1. Wrinkled Skin and Sleepy Eyes
When a bearded dragon is dehydrated, you can see a slime thread running down its mouth. If you notice this symptom, make sure to increase your pet’s hydration levels fast. You can plump their food by soaking worms or other foods in the water before feeding it to your beardie.
Worms can absorb a good amount of water. You can use Phoenix worms since they are best for plumping. It will provide enough water to hydrate your bearded dragon.
2. Kidney Failure
Bearded dragons can develop kidney failure if they have been dehydrated for a long time. It can end up being serious and can even be fatal for them. As their owner, you have to ensure that your pet is hydrated all the time.
How Can You Get Bearded Dragon to Drink More Water?
Not all Bearded Dragons will drink from water bowls, this is largely because, in the wild, they often don’t have access to a regular source of water to drink from. They will get a lot of their fluids from the moisture that insects and fresh vegetation hold.
In captivity, it can help if your bearded dragon drink from a bowl because you know they are getting the levels of water they need without you having to take any additional steps such as misting.
If your bearded dragon won’t drink from the water bowl then you might want to try adding a little juice to the water.
The smell will often entice your bearded dragon and temp them to drink then once they taste the sweet juice they will come back repeatedly for more.
Can Bearded Dragons Drink Too Much Water?
It’s a rare occasion to see bearded dragons drinking too much water. Normally, they don’t drink enough water which lead to dehydration.
However, if your bearded dragon seems to be consuming too much water, you have to worry. It’s not their normal behavior to drink a lot of water in a short period of time. When you notice your pet doing this, visit a vet immediately. It may be a sign that they are ill.
FAQs
1. Can Bearded Dragons Drink Tap Water?
Yes, bearded dragons can drink tap water. Hard water is safe for reptiles so they can drink it. Soft water contains sodium but it’s still fine for your beardie. Bearded dragons don’t need to have demineralized or distilled water.
They can drink and take a bath in tap water. It will not affect their health negatively. Although is recommended to use the guidelines from the WHO (World Health Organization). They can provide information that applies to reptiles such as bearded dragons.
2. How Do Bearded Dragons Hydrate in the wild?
In the wild, bearded dragons can hydrate themselves in different ways. They usually hydrate themselves by the food they eat. in addition, they hydrate stay hydrated by drinking water from the rain when it happens.
3. What If a Bearded Dragon Likes Splashing Around the Water Bowl?
It’s common for bearded dragons to play with their water from the bowl. They enjoy getting wet from it. During their bath time, bearded dragons can also splash around water. The best thing to do is to regularly clean their water bowl to avoid health issues.
4. How Much Water Should You Leave Out For Your Beardie?
Bearded dragons can have a water bowl the size of a coffee cup. Add half to three-quarters of an inch of water on it. That amount of water should be enough for your pet to stay hydrated. Make sure to clean and refill the water bowl every day.
5. Do Beardies Absorb Water Through Their Skin?
No, beardie don’t absorb water through the skin. They can take water through their mouths. Make sure to have a water bowl inside the terrarium. Change the water regularly to make sure it’s clean for drinking.
6. How long Can Bearded Dragons Go Without Eating?
Adult and healthy bearded dragon can survive for as long as two months without food. Of course, It depends on the age, size, and any underlying reasons why your bearded dragon is not eating.
