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For most people, having two dogs would be enough, but junior Ava Smith wanted to try a more exotic route. That’s when she pondered what life would be like with either a gecko or a bearded dragon. Her final decision was big. And let’s just say that the bigger reptile won her heart.
Meet Mushu!
“Mushu is my bearded dragon,” Smith said. “He was named after the dragon from Mulan.”
Bearded dragons typically live for around 10 years, and Smith and Mushu can look forward to many more years together.
“Mushu is currently four years old, and he’ll be five in October,” Smith said.
Since Mushu is four, he’s old enough to eat things like mealworms and greens, while bearded dragons under the age of one only eat crickets. And those crickets need a whole separate tank to live in before they’re fed to the dragons. So, Smith had a pet dragon, and lots of temporary pet crickets. Like his caretaker, Mushu does value dietary variety.
“He also sometimes eats baby food,” Smith said. “He really likes that.”
Like a baby, Smith looks to keep Mushu occupied. Yet, when looking for activities for a bearded dragon, the options are pretty limited.
“He basically basks in his heat lamp all day,” Smith said. “Bearded dragons don’t really do anything.”
While they might not do much on the day-to-day, something happens if we take a seasonal view. Dragons partake in a special event in the winter months. During the colder months of the year, they essentially hide in their cave and sleep, a phenomenon similar to hibernation known as brumation. Brumation for reptiles is a less deep sleep state than in comparison to hibernation in mammals.
“He might come out for a day for a little food and water but other than that he sleeps for months,” Smith said.
It’s not all about physiological slowdowns, though. Bearded dragons also have a cool look to them. They also have a third eye. This eye, while being cool, is also essential to their survival. Bearded dragons have eyes on the side of their head, meaning they can’t see in front or above them.
“The third eye is a barely visible eye on the top of their head that detects shadows,” Smith said “You wouldn’t even notice the eye if you didn’t know what it was.”
Smith didn’t mention whether the third eye allows Mushu to tell the future. Even if this lovable reptile is stuck in the slow-moving present, bearded dragons are pretty easy to take care of and there aren’t many challenges.
“The main difficulty with bearded dragons is that you aren’t supposed to put water in their tanks,” Smith said. “I know it seems cruel, but it would make their environment too humid to live in. We feed him water from a syringe every day.”
With no water hazards in the cage, you’d think Mushu would never need to leave. But Mushu isn’t exactly cage-bound.
“Every week on either Saturday or Sunday we give him a [reptile safe] bath,” Smith said. “And when it’s above 70 degrees, he goes outside and basks in the sun. He spreads out really wide and just kind of lays there.”
How do other, more active pets react to all of this lying around?
“The dogs don’t really like Mushu,” Smith said. “So, when the dogs are outside, we let him run around the house. He doesn’t like to run, but he likes to explore.”
While Mushu may not be a dog’s best friend, he’s more of a people person. Mushu often treats humans as if they are Mt. Kilimanjaro.
“He tries to climb to the highest point, usually on your shoulders or your head,” Smith said.
We’ll never know what Mushu’s view from the top is like, but for Smith, Mushu is easygoing and easier than Smiths’ other pets.
“Mushu is a lot easier to take care of,” she said.
When asked for a comment, Mushu did not reply. But, he makes a great pet anyway.
Barbara • Jun 11, 2024 at 8:25 pm
Bearded dragon is 5 years old. I enjoy spending time with Bobo, his color is orange Bobo love when I put him on my shoulder we go out I don’t worry about him jumping off or me. Bobo sleep with me and my cat, they get along with each other.
Chip Nathanson • Jun 7, 2024 at 6:09 pm
Hi, I’m a 73 year old and my wife and I inherited our female Bearded dragon, named Sunni, from our daughter who is a registered nurse on call a lot and the bearded dragon was left in her tank and our daughter said since you and Mom are retired and Sunni would be the perfect pet. Of course I wasn’t sure at first but bearded dragon get attached to their owners and Sunni took to me right away. Now we go everywhere together. I take her to the grocery store, department stores. She will either ride in the basket or she will sit on my shoulder. Bearded dragons are curious creatures, they love to see everything and they love bright colors. She is active from the time she wakes up until about 4pm in the afternoon at which time she will start winding down. We have a small bed in her tank. She uses a soft fuzzy animal for a pillow, we put a blanket over her and she sleeps until I come to wake her up. I turn on her lights in her tank. I put her on her basking stone under the UV lights to warm her up. She is 4 years old. We feed her black fly larvae which has all the nutrients she requires. For dessert she eats blackberries. We’ve tried feeding her greens but she isn’t interested at this time, they say as they get older the move away from bugs and pretty much turn vegetarian.
We don’t give her water as whe doesn’t drink it but she absorbs in through her skin. When she is outside on a warm sunny day we have a small squirt bottle filled with water and squirter her body with water. When it’s cold we have a Barbie bath tub that we fill with warm water she goes in the tub and I have a tooth brush that I use as a bath brush as she likes to be brushed and she absorbs the bath water and sometimes she will take a drink.
Before she goes to bed she lays on my shoulder while I sit in my recliner.
When she goes in the car with me she sits on the dashboard and looks all around through the windshield.
Going back to the beginning she would sit in my lap and she would poop on me, I figured she must really love me to do that. Also a bearded dragon’s urine comes out crystallized along with the poop. Very easy clean-up.
When she is in our back yard she thinks it’s all hers and when she runs all 4 legs are moving in unison it’s so cute.
JD • Jun 6, 2024 at 4:16 am
BABY FOOD….??? 😳🤔 REALLY??? DOUBTFUL… This article has multiple parts with completely FALSE information. DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE DECIDING TO OWN AND CARE FOR A BEARDED DRAGON…PLEASE, PEOPLE! SMH..🙄🙂
Emg • Jun 5, 2024 at 4:40 pm
Somr of the facts given here are not accurate regarding bearded dragon care. Baby bearded dragons do not only eat crickets….fact check please
Rhonda knight • Jun 4, 2024 at 10:29 am
What kind of baby food does he eat
Dragon Rescuer • Jun 2, 2024 at 5:26 pm
My angel boy Jesse turned 8 years old in June 2024. He goes everywhere with me, doctor, dentist, store, bank, dog park, etc. He never wants to go back in his viv. He is such a great snuggler! He was in a group of ten rescues that I brought home.
Sarah • Jun 1, 2024 at 3:35 pm
My beard dragon was named Mushu, he was a baby. Died in my arms at 8 weeks to a month
Bonnie • Jun 1, 2024 at 1:20 pm
My beardy is Henry. He’s about 7 months old. I’m 76 yrs old. We’re a perfect match. He is so interesting to watch. Henry is also very interested in what I’m doing. When I talk to him across the room, on my honor he looks at me and tilts his head. I love this little guy. He’s eating Dubee roaches and greens. Excellent pet. He also will fall asleep on my chest in the evening. Oh, we gotv him aroach box, it’s quite funny to watch him take after the roaches. They can’t get out but Henry sure can get in.
Cathy • Jun 1, 2024 at 6:46 am
I currently have Pogo. 4 years old. Raylan was a rescue from a bad petshop. Be lived to 14. While i enjoyed and agreed with most of the article, I disagree with the part about water. But of mine has/had a large water bowl and they loved laying in it. Every now and then I soak them in a tub of warm water. Not only do that enjoy it, it assist with moving along their digestive system
FG Dragins • May 31, 2024 at 6:49 pm
Adult bearded dragons should not be eating mealworms (they need larger prey items twice a week) and young bearded dragons do not only eat crickets! I have 12 adults most of the time and raise about 100 to 120 babies a year. I do NOT feed mine crickets and do not really endorse crickets because crickets carry pinworms and dubia (which I do feed), bsfl and mealworms work much better to grow healthy babies. Please do your research somewhere besides this article before getting a bearded dragon!
Pheobe • May 31, 2024 at 2:59 pm
My bearded dragon looks just like yours but her name is Phoebe
David • May 30, 2024 at 8:19 pm
This is my Lizard! Who made this post and this picture of him is old but that’s my baby please get back to me
Shylo • May 30, 2024 at 5:59 pm
Bearded dragon name the Oreo and he’s super chill like he makes me let I let him let me kiss him so he will like to like I never let him take a bath before cuz my mom says he might drown but I don’t know that much stuff about bearded dragons drowning so he loves he’s never eats greens I’m or vegetables he only eats mealworms and them crickets and also he jumps across the trails chairs and he yawns
JD • Jun 6, 2024 at 3:41 am
Ummm…. WHAT does half of this comment even mean.,??? 🤔🤣🤦🏻 Maybe you shouldn’t own a dragon because obviously you don’t know or understand how to properly care for one!!!!
Julia • May 30, 2024 at 4:51 pm
My bearded dragon Star loves to cuddle with her sister Roxanne who’s a pit bull mix and Nala who is a pitbull also. They don’t bother her she just watches them when she wonders the back yard.
Jakub Cotipotym • May 30, 2024 at 3:36 am
Our dragon “Aga” has freeroam around the room in summer (after making a poo). We let her to the garden almost every day. Its her territory where she has a favourite spots to bask on and and bushes to climb onto.
Before the noon she is active and tries to explore beyond the garden different directions and needs to be taken back to start point several times. In the afternoon she just finds good old spots and rests till the evening.
I find restraining animals into a cage or small terrarium cruel.
Dennis • May 30, 2024 at 6:09 am
How do u catch her when she tires to explore. They can be fast
Shug • Jun 1, 2024 at 8:24 am
Yep , I bought a Beardie this year and she has been amazing to learn about. Lovin the beardie life !!
Jrnnifer • May 30, 2024 at 12:28 am
My Beardies, Fred and Wilma were 18ish. They were characters. The Vet asked if they could do an autopsy so they can learn more about them. Beardies are Fascinating.
Rayne Roberts • May 29, 2024 at 10:04 pm
My bearded dragon is 4yrs old and named mushu… Hes my first ever pet and honestly my child
Dawn Kirby • May 29, 2024 at 2:55 pm
I love bearded dragons
Connor Connor • May 29, 2024 at 10:16 am
Connor drew
Stefani Fisher • May 29, 2024 at 6:42 am
Mushu, cute name! My beardie’s name is Charizard from the dragon in Pokemon lol
His nickname being Charzie.
I like what you wrote but I would have to disagree with them being easy. Definitely more time consuming than my cat or turtle. And you must remember mealworms are SNACKS they still need more healthy protein
. Must remember about BOTH lights, dusting insects with calcium powder, and more protein than just worms. Salads are great!
So for protein we have a DUBIA ROACH container. They are waaayyy cuter than crickets bc they actually look like flat rolly pollies. Also they are way easier to care for than crickets, they’re not stinky, don’t carry as many germs, and rarely eat eachother. The Dubias only need a some baby carrots every once in a while. Charizard loves to run after them outside of the cage.
Mealworms are snacks only and Charizard does not like them. His snack is horn worms.
Bearded dragons do make nice pets but they are not “easy” the poop is so gross too if you feed them the protein they need.
Mine likes a little shallow water in his enclosure sometimes and in Az that’s fine.
If someone reads your post, they need to do their own research too. Ours was actually a rescue bc the previous owners didn’t do enough research and he got metabolic (spelling ?) bone disease and was having seizures. The disease left him with two hands and one arm that are bent out of shape. Thankfully I saved him after a lot of research and he recovered fully. He can run on his gimp hands/arm too, very well. And it’s sooool cute!!!! Good luck beardie mom’s and future beardie mom’s:) they are worth the work to me, my cat Mistletoe loves him. My three kids don’t pay much attention to him anymore though. Oh well I love him.
Bentley Calhoun • May 29, 2024 at 9:57 am
Mine is a bearded dragon and she is a girl. Her name is Taylor.
karen L garbenis • May 28, 2024 at 7:43 pm
I have a beardee named boo who is a year and a half. She’s not big on crickets but she loves earthworms from my garden and she loves those ugly super worms which both of those sheets like spaghetti! She loves to climb in. She loves to run around. My last beard. He used to think he really was a dragon and could fly. He hated being in his house because he would fight with his shadow so much that he dented his nose. But he had run of the house and he had lights set up under chairs and things. So he got all his vitamin d. But he would climb up the stairs and then do a three-point turn and walk backwards off the top of the stairs and land on the floor. He also knew the sound or the vibration. I don’t know if they get sound but vibration of my dad’s voice. So whenever my dad came in he would go running for my dad. And then my dad started talking in his sleep and my dad had a very long thick beard. He was known to wake up with a beardy under his beard nuzzled up next to him. That was Prince Charles. He thought everybody was to wait on him. When he was cold he would climb up on top of the cat when she was laying down and the cat would just lay there and he wouldn’t lay on top of her and get warm and then take off running. Boo is pretty young but I’m hoping that she won’t try to fly. I really enjoy your articles
Rey • May 30, 2024 at 4:43 pm
I would do horn worms or wax worms super worms can be bad for them and if under 1yr old meal worms can be bad for them to digest
Evonne Mulligan • May 28, 2024 at 4:15 pm
I have a beardie as well his name is Scully. I named him after Vin Scully, Dodger announcer for 69 years. He also has a water dish in his home we live in Nebraska. He likes his peas and string green beans and raspberries. Can’t get him to eat his dark greens but I keep trying ingredients. He’s out of his cage most of the time. He is very inquisitive when he is out. Our other animals don’t mind him. When it’s nice out we go outside for awhile. He tries new greens. Or he just looks for bugs. He gets a bath on Tuesdays. He sure doesn’t shed much for being 2 1/2 years old. Other times while inside he likes to find a place to sleep. We cuddle up at bed time and sleep.
Thanks for sharing your story.❤️❤️
Jenny • May 28, 2024 at 5:21 pm
My beardie really likes passion flower leaves. I also have a hard time finding greens she likes and just because she ate it today doesn’t mean she will tomorrow. So far it seems to be one she keep eating. She loves dandelions all the time but have to limit those. She also likes carrot leaves. Not so much the carrot. Scarlett is 4 years old and likes a variety of insects and worms. We get her the big fat green ones sometimes and I swear she smiles at me knowing what’s coming. I can’t get her to eat any kind of fruit. I’ve tried I think everything that is good for her but she just shakes her head and turns away.
Leslie • May 29, 2024 at 8:12 pm
My bearded dragon’s favorite fruits are raspberries and bananas. He also loves those little different colored sweet peppers. He’ll eat any kind of bug, he likes them all. I put everything on top of his kale, so he gets it when he picks other stuff up.
Jennifer McMillan • May 28, 2024 at 2:57 pm
Bearded Dragons required specific care, especially tank size, lighting and temperature. They are not cheap pets but I love mine and think they are worth it. This article has some debatable information as well. Please do your homework before adding one to your family. I rescued one that was very sick because they were not taken care of properly and eventually died from being kept so long in an incorrect habitat. And most veterinarians are not educated to see bearded dragons and they need to see an exotic vets.
Teresa Goodwyn • May 28, 2024 at 10:30 pm
Yeah my beardie and the reptile breeder he came from would disagree with a lot of this info so please please do your own research first these animals are so amazing they deserve the best life we can give them
Andrew • May 29, 2024 at 9:46 am
This CANNOT be overstated. I had the same thing happen and even after extreme care for her, due to the small cage, no heat lamp and UV and same dried dehydrated food she was fed her entire first three years of life she, had bone disease as well as yellow plaque disease and I went through a heartbreaking last days scenario. Made me so mad for sweet Lizzo at the improper care she had received. My girlfriend and I gave her the absolute best life we could in her last 16 months. I love you Lizzo ♥
Patricia A Brandenburg • May 29, 2024 at 6:52 pm
Best pet I ever had, such joy! I was so jazzed when I got him (a rescue) I named him Jazz. ,
Yaky • May 28, 2024 at 1:48 pm
It’s so crazy that the picture with the set up of the cave and background looks EXACTLY like mine!!!
Nick • May 28, 2024 at 11:37 am
great article. I had crested geckos and similarly they also tried to climb to the top of my head. (they are fine i gave them away to good owners i had too many pets)
Kristina • May 28, 2024 at 10:19 am
Great store! I have a beards her name is Tango and in my town of Sandy Valley, NV we had a pet mayor election. Tango is the vice mayor, go figure a donkey would win. Anyways she is 4 and I would like to add in the spring time she lays eggs about 13 to be exact . Don’t worry there’s no male around so they are not fertile . So a tidbit of knowledge that a female will lay eggs . Anyways, off to work thanks for read it was great.
Anna • May 28, 2024 at 9:53 am
I have bearded dragon named Butter. He does a whole lot than just sitting in his tank. In fact he only sleeps there. We live in Florida and he loves to hang out by our pool with cats and dogs. He flirts with all the local lizzard ladies and even got one to come out and hang out with him. Spooks our dogs by bumping into them and chases our cats around. They chase him back and its funny to watch them. Occasionally we see him dive into the pool for a quick swim. Pool water is not healthy for them so we have separate water area set up for him. Bearded dragons are amazing creatures! I was terrified of him when my daughter begged me to get him. He was only few weeks old and was cutie pie so I thought I will warm up to him. 🙂 Oh boy did he grew up! He is almost 2 feet ling with the tail. He looks scary but he is sweet heart. Never did I see him hiss or make his beard black. He loves to snuggle on the chest and stare at you. Bearded dragons have big personalities and not a pet you can put in the tank to stare. In order to thrive they need attention just like cats and dogs. They love to explore, they love to jump and run around. He made me realize how amazing reptiles can be and that they have so much to offer. Enjoy your pet and thanks for sharing your story 🙂
Lashonda Y Bankston • May 28, 2024 at 9:37 am
I have a bearded dragon (DRACARYS) and he is 9 months and he eats kale, mustard greens, collard greens, crickets,meal worms, baby mice,blueberries,strawberries,mangos,and watermelon. Now he does not like the DUBI Roaches. He is my orange eyed son.. 😍😍😍
Stacy • May 28, 2024 at 1:55 pm
Thank you for your story. I also have a beardie. Wh where I live in Colorado, we are supposed to add water to the tank. He doesn’t always drink, he gets a lot of fluid from the foods he eats. He loves kale, greens, and an occasional fruit- especially strawberries. He also loves bugs, his favorite being dubia roaches which have a much higher level of calcium and the right amount of fat. Crickets are good but done have as much protein. Horn worms are a great treat at times. He loves to explore the house and soak in water at times. One interesting fact people should know is you can’t just catch insects to feed them; most wild insects diets can be toxic to the beardie.
Allison • May 29, 2024 at 11:48 am
I have a 9 year old. We got her at 1 and her name was also Mushu but my kids wanted Lizzie. She has free roam of our house but she has a chair that she mostly stays on. She actually likes to play with our dogs. She likes to eat their food and she drinks out of their water bowl. I think she thinks she is a dog. She has been a great pet. I hope she lives longer than 10 years since she is already 9.
Ethan • May 28, 2024 at 8:08 am
Just wanted to let you know that I have two bearded dragons male and female zyenn and mastafa they are 4 years old an they are awesome.
Thank you for letting me share
Kiara • May 28, 2024 at 8:15 pm
I’m sell bearded dragon
Joy Cotty • May 28, 2024 at 7:09 am
I can’t say enough about the bearded dragon I have owned one for a couple years he’s like a dog he goes everywhere with me he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me he is such an awesome animal at night when he’s done running around and playing he gets up in my lap and goes to sleep I love him to death that’s my baby
Sherry Wheeler • May 28, 2024 at 2:49 am
Thank you for your insightful brilliant story. I’m sending a copy to my granddaughter