Ephiny, beardeds are awesome lizards. The two most often seen in captivity are the inland bearded dragon (pogona vitticeps) and the Rankin's dragon (pogona henrylawsonii). The inland is by far the most common and the largest of the bearded dragons. Adult Rankin's get to almost half the size as an inland. As far as color morphs, there are a huge variety of them, just pick whichever you like the best, whether it is red, yellow, normal (tan), german giant (grows a few inches larger than normals), crosses of different colors, and a bunch of other color morphs are out there.
I'm assuming you have done some research and you already know how big an inland beardie gets. A 55 gal. tank is a good size for a single adult, I prefer to give them a 4' wide x 2' deep x 2' tall cage, but that's just me. Beardies are semi-arboreal, so you will want to give them a tall cage that is also long to give them room to climb or run around. A branch at least as wide as the dragon is is necessary to give them something to climb and bask on. Temps on the ground should be around 80 on the cool side, and 85 on the warm side, the temperature on the branch directly under the basking light should be about 90-105 degrees. Due to beardies being diurnal you will need to provide a full-spectrum bulb (usually flourescent), such as Re;tisun 5.0 (or Iguana Light 5.0). These bulbs give off UV rays for only 6 months at a time, replace them every 6 months, even if the light still works. The beardie should be able to get within 12" to get benefits from it. Plastic and glass block UV rays, so avoid having those between the light and the dragon. During warm weather, you can take your beardie outside maybe 3 times a week for at least 30 mins each time and let him bask in the sun (but not in a glass or plastic cage!). The sun is far more beneficial than UV bulbs. Reptariums work really well for this if you don't trust your beardie not to take off.
As far as feeding, veggies make up 70% of a bearded dragon's diet. This
site lists good veggies to feed your beardie. Don't feed iceberg lettuce, it's not harmful, but it provides ZERO nutrients. Crickets, superworms, and mealworms make up the other 30% of their diet. The prey item should be no wider than the space between your beardie's eyes. Young beardies especially like to chase their food and ignore veggies, so give them the veggies first as soon as the lights come on, then give them the bugs later in the day. Just so you know, when fed adequately, young beardies grow FAST...around 1/2" to 1" every week or so. Hope this helps, and welcome to the site!
My late bearded dragon, Ziggy a.k.a. Godziggy.
Bry
[addsig]
