Bearded Dragon Lifespan – How Long Do Bearded Dragons Live?

If you decide to get a new pet you want to know how long this animals is going to live of course. Imagine you would get a really amazing animal for your kids, your friends or for yourself and everybody loves it and then it dies after 2 years. No matter how amazing the time was, this would be very painful and some people decide to not get a pet that has a too short life expectancy, because of this.

If you are thinking about getting a bearded dragon or if you already got a bearded dragon and you are wondering how much time you have left with this amazing creature I have good news for you. The average bearded dragon lifespan is way longer than two years. That´s what makes a bearded dragon a great pet for everyone who really gets attached to their pets (Let´s be honest, we all get too attached to them, right?)

How Long Do Bearded Dragons Live?

The average life expectancy of bearded dragon is 8 to 10 years. However due to the increasing quality of reptile keeping equipment, like lighting, it is possible for a bearded dragon to live in captivation for around 15 years. 

There are differences though. As you might know, you can get bearded dragons in huge variety of colors. Some are red, some are yellow, some are very dark and you can even get bearded dragons that are completely white now.

Due to the breeding of those beautiful bearded dragon colors morphs, there are types of bearded dragons now that have a very low life expectancy.

For example, albino bearded dragons or dragons with pale/lucid colors have the lowest lifespan of all. This is because in the breeding process of those albino types, beardie breeders have to breed with bearded dragons that have certain light colors, the health of those dragons is mostly irrelevant.

Don´t get me wrong, I am not trying to bash any breeders here. It´s just the truth. I guess that is the price that needs to be paid for such beauty. The indeed look amazing.

The Bearded Dragons With The Highest Life Expectancy

If you don´t care about looks and you just want a friend that lives very long so you can enjoy it´s company for a long time, you should go with bearded dragons that have no fancy colors at all. Those bearded dragons are greish or brownish. You could say they are the original bearded dragons.

Why Most Bearded Dragons Have A Very Short Life

Unfortunately the majority of bearded dragons in captivation does not get old at all. In fact most of them only get around 5 years old and die due to sickness.

Why is that? Well, the problem is that keeping bearded dragons is not as common as keeping dogs or cats. Keeping a reptile is a completely unknown topic for most people and so they decide to do a little bit research on the internet or they talk to a pet shop seller and ask question how to keep them.

The problem with that is that there is a lot of misinformation out there. No matter if you are doing your research on the internet or if you talk to a pet shop seller.

That´s the majority of reptile keepers make deadly mistakes when setting up the tank or when it comes to the diet of their little friends. A lot of bearded dragons die from impaction, metabolic bones disease or fatty liver disease.

That´s pretty sad and that´s why it is important to do your research thoroughly. It´s better for you and for your bearded dragon.

How To Increase Your Beardie´s Lifespan

Fortunately there are a lot of things you can do to increase the lifespan of your bearded dragon. You will not only increase the lifespan of your bearded dragon, you will make your bearded dragon feel better throughout it´s life and your bearded dragon will show some amazing behavior which you would never see if you wouldn´t do those things.

Create An Appropriate Bearded Dragon Habitat

You might think now "My tank is definitely appropriate for bearded dragons!". Are you sure about that? Bearded dragons need a lot of space since they are pretty active if kept right. Do you give your bearded dragon the opportunity to dig it´s own ways and caves through your terrarium? Do you have a lot of hides and climbing opportunities for your beardie? Is your temperature on point? Do you have the best lighting?

There is quite a lot to know about that and it is never to late to upgrade your beardie´s habitat. If you need my help with that have a look at this!

The Diet Has To Be On Point

You would not believe how many beardie owners feed their bearded dragons completely wrong. I don´t blame anyone here. This is clearly because there is so much misinformation on this topic and that´s why lots of beardie´s die from fatty liver disease. 

Overfeeding is a serious issue. It will decrease your bearded dragon´s life, it will decrease your beardie´s activity. Here are some diet tips.

What About Supplementation?

Supplementation is not just dusting some feeder insects from time to time and that´s it. It is definitely a more complex topic, but if you have it straight once, there isn´t to much work involved. Many dragons start to eat sand and get impacted because they lack minerals.

Brumation? Very important!

Once a year bearded dragons go dormant or they want to go dormant. Most of the time this will be around November. The problem is that a lot of people simply don´t know how to support their bearded dragon during this phase. For you that should not be a problem anymore though. Simply have a look at my brumation guide. You will learn everything you need to know to give your beardie the opportunity to sleep well

Brumation is very healthy for your bearded dragon. Give your bearded dragon time to rest and to grow.

If you do the things mentioned above well, you will have a lot of fun with your bearded dragon for a very long time. If you have any questions, leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.