Bearded dragons make excellent pets, and if you know how to play with them, things get even better. And every pet owner wants the best toys that will let them enjoy their time with their beloved pets.
With the best toys, you can have a lovely time with your pet. As bearded dragons are reptiles, they are unlike any other pets one might have.
By using toys that your beardie likes, you can stimulate them in many imaginative ways. Playing with your bearded dragon will help build up love and trust between you and your pet.
The best toys for bearded dragons can be found almost everywhere if you know where to look. Keep reading to learn more about this.
Toys For Bearded Dragons
There are a plethora of bearded dragon toys in the market. If you are new to having a reptile as a pet, there are some factors you should consider before buying fun toys for your beardie.
Safety First
Safety should be the priority on your list before buying your beardie a toy to play with. Before getting your hands on any toys for bearded dragons, please take a minute to yourself and think whether it is safe for your scaly friend or not.
Remember, just like your kids, every bearded dragon is different, but the rules of safety apply to all of them.
If you have an extra adventurous beardie, always make sure you keep an eye on it when playing with toys.
Size And Color Matters
When choosing any toy for your pet, pick the perfect size. Your beardie will not show any interest if the toy is double the size of your pet.
Keep in your mind that bearded dragons are very similar to toddlers. They will put anything and everything in their mouth. So try to refrain from buying extra small toys that your pet can swallow.
What is the point of toys if they are not swarming with colors? When it comes to colors, it is a known fact that brightly colored toys will attract your bearded dragon and stimulate them more.
Material Of The Toy
Bearded dragons can get quite adventurous with toys if you can trigger them to play with suitable toys.
One thing that many beardie owners completely forget is the material used to make the toy. Opt for toys made with high-quality materials that do not break easily.
One tip that you can follow is buying the toys from reputable brands so that you can stay completely stress-free. Now you might think that buying from well-known brands will hamper your budget. We advise you not to go overboard with the price of beardie toys.
5 Best Toys For Bearded Dragons
Once you start exploring the kinds of toys available for your bearded dragon, you will go nuts. Although the dragon in their name sounds like some scary monster, bearded dragons love to play with toys like any other pet.
In fact, by using suitable toys, you will be able to coax out a side of your beardie you have not seen before.
1. Get Your Beardie A Ball
Can you picture your bearded dragon playing with a ball? The prospect that your reptile friend will enjoy playing with a ball feels weird. But it is the complete opposite. Just a simple ball can trigger your beardie to play around and have some fun.
You might be wondering what kind of beardie ball to buy? Any ball will do. However, the balls must be lightweight so that your beardie can push them around.
Tennis balls work great as well. But there are multi-colored balls explicitly designed for reptiles with suctioned and ropes attached to them. You can hang those balls from the tank and watch as your lizard plays with them.
The first time you put the ball inside the tank, carefully gauge your beardie’s reaction. You can understand whether they love it or hate it from the first time you put it inside the tank.
Do not clutch at your heart if your beardie attacks the ball. This is a good sign as it indicates that the beardie ball has done its job. However, if your beardie is unfazed, you might as well give up because your beardie is not interested.
Your beardie will not be the only one who will get entertainment from playing with the ball. You can have some fun as well, as it looks pretty comical as well. Record your beardie playing with the ball and show it back to them to spice things up.
2. Have Fun With Laser Pointers
Everyone, starting from kids to pets, loves laser pointers. And your beardie is not an exception to it.
Bearded dragons are natural predators. They are attracted to anything that moves. And what better way is there to stimulate them than by using laser pointers? Your beardie will chase the laser thinking that they are bugs and, in the process, get some exercise as well.
It would help if you busted out your excellent laser pointers once or twice a week. This activity is not intended for inside the tank. Instead, grab your beardie out from the tank and go into the living room to have some fun.
You might get carried away while playing with laser pointers but keep in mind that you should not play for more than 15 minutes as your beardie will get frustrated.
The best time to play with laser pointers is before mealtimes. Your beardie will break out a sweat after some quality laser light chasing, and so it will have a good appetite. And ending playtime with a meal will surely make your bearded dragon very happy.
Laser pointers should be at the top of your list of bearded dragon toys. They are easy to find, relatively inexpensive, and make an excellent toy for your beardie.
3. Buy Your Beardie A Bridge
Do you want to spice up your beardie’s tank and get some fun from it? Invest in a bridge intended for your beardie and shoot two birds with one stone.
Adding a bridge might not seem like buying a toy for your beardie, but your beardie will get some exercise moving through it. You can also add rocks, stones, and some plants around the bridge.
Bearded dragons are designed to stay out in the wild. So it is pretty easy to understand how they can get bored doing nothing inside their tank. You should add a bridge if you have a big tank.
With the help of the bridge, your beardie can also explore from one corner of the tank to another.
Apart from bridges, tunnels can be another great addition to your bearded dragon’s tank. They can play hide and seek with you, which will engage your beardie’s predatory senses and stimulate them
4. Get Some Floaties
Does your bearded dragon love water? If it does, you are fortunate because not all bearded dragons are a fan of water. Floaties are an excellent option for beardies to play in the water.
You can find a range of cute, Instagram-worthy floaties if you look for them. Floaties come in different shapes and sizes.
But undoubtedly, the best thing about them is that they are very vibrant and make your bearded dragons look like absolute stars.
During bath time, gently lay your beardie onto the float and make sure they are comfortable. Let them float in the water for about five to ten minutes before you give them their bath.
If your house has a pond, you are one lucky bearded dragon owner as you can take your pet outside for some fun. You can have a great weekend teaching your bearded dragon how to float. Choose a sunny day to take your beardie out to float because bearded dragons love to bask in the sun.
5. Cat Toys Are Fun
Do you know you can use cat toys to play with your beardies? Yes, as strange as it sounds, you can use cat toys.
Cat wands are something that almost every bearded dragon loves. What are cat wands? Cat wands are a toy that is generally used to play with cats. Sparkly paper or feather is stuck on the end in a cat wand.
As you move your wand, your beardie will also move to try to catch it. However, make sure that the feather is kept away from your beardie, or it might eat it and get sick.
Teaser cat toys are also quite fun. The adventurous beardies will love them and try to chase them, whereas some might find it amusing.
Homemade Toys For Bearded Dragons
You can easily buy many toys for your beardie but unleash your creativity to create some fantastic toys for your pet if you are a DIY lover. What better way to show love for your bearded dragon than making homemade toys for them?
Homemade beardie toys can be fantastic if you know what to do.
How To Make Feeder Balls
Are you tired of playing with tennis balls? Then switch to feeder balls. Feeder balls are a hundred times more fun than your average tennis ball. And it is bound to get a reaction even from the laziest of bearded dragons.
Feeder balls are little, transparent balls with holes and can put insects inside them. You can easily make feeder balls at home using just a few things:
- Buy some golf balls or white transparent balls.
- Take some sticky tape and tape all the holes, leaving one open.
- Put the worms inside the ball and tape up the last hole. Grab some worms and insects and chuck them in the freezer so that you can handle them easily.
As your Dragon tries to get to the food inside, keep an eye on him. As they go crazy trying to get to the insects, the feeder ball will provide them with a lot of stimulation.
One thing to remember is to feed the ball’s contents to your Dragon once you’ve completed it. They will become anxious if they know that there is food inside the ball that they cannot access.
Roll Up Some Crinkle Balls
Crinkle balls are the most accessible toys to make for your beardie. Just get yourself some colorful and sparkly wrapping paper and get to work. Tear off a scrap of wrapping paper and crumple it into a ball.
Crinkle balls are a great way to stimulate the auditory senses as they produce a lot of noise. So your beardie will chase after it, or it might push the ball around with its nose. Once the crinkle ball is done, then comes the time to play.
It would help if you tried to make crinkle balls out of brightly colored paper as your beardie will notice it more.
Start by placing the crinkle ball in front of your bearded dragon to get the lizard’s attention. Or you can also move the crinkly ball repeatedly in front of them until they notice it.
If they do not react, it could be that they are not interested in playing. If you see that your beardie is not interested, you should consider trying out other toys.
This fantastic toy is easy to make and will provide you and your Bearded Dragon with hours of entertainment.
Importance Of Bearded Dragon Entertainment
When you own a pet, your entire world revolves around keeping your pet happy. Providing your bearded dragon with entertainment will boost both your beardie’s mental and physical health.
Giving some form of entertainment is necessary for both mental and physical stimulation in bearded dragons. It provides your beardie something fun to do and keeps them occupied.
When a bearded dragon is playing with toys, it must actively use its mind and body.
In their native habitat, bearded dragons get plenty of mental stimulation and activity. They must hunt for food while also escaping and avoiding predators.
While life in captivity can be much safer and more comfortable, they would be bored if they did not face these challenges.
They follow a routine, getting their food on time and seeing you just during specific hours of the day. This ends up making your beardie bored. So when you play with them, they come out from that boredom which makes them so much happier.
How To Entertain Bearded Dragon
Although toys can be entertaining to play with, they are not the only options that you have to entertain your bearded dragon.
Let Your Bearded Dragon Hunt
Bearded dragons are born predators. They spend most of their time hunting insects in the wild. But they do not get the chance to hunt in their tanks. Once in a while, it would be simply amazing if you could let your beardie hunt its food.
To do so, you have to let your beardie loose with some insects. Watching your beardie hunt can be fascinating for the first time, so do not forget to record it.
Keep in mind that do not let your bearded dragon loose in your garden. It might eat insects that can make it sick or have parasites.
Go Swimming With Your Beardie
Did you know that bearded dragons are excellent swimmers?
You can fill up your bathtub with some water and let your bearded dragon swim in it. Most owners let their beardie swim after bath time.
Before swimming with your beardie, make sure that the water is not too hot. The water should be shoulder-deep in your beardie. It is advisable not to let your bearded dragon swim in a pool as it is intense, and your beardie might feel uncomfortable.
Cuddle And Handle Your Beardie
Cuddling is the best thing that you can do to develop your bond with your beardie.
Cuddling with your scaly friend may give you a slice of happiness when you are having a bad day. It would help if you also handled your beardie every day.
Start with gentle touch and caresses. Gentleness is vital when you are picking up your bearded dragon. Make sure that you touch them from the front not to scare them.
Handling your bearded dragon can be very stressful for both you and your pet. It will get easier and become an activity that you both will enjoy immensely with time.
Talk A Walk
One of the most calming activities you can do with your beardie is taking a walk with it.
Put a leash on your bearded dragon, pack some snacks, and you are ready to go. Walking will be very beneficial for your bearded dragon as it will get some exercise. During walking, your bearded dragon will connect to nature, making it very happy.
Taking a walk is usually a nice break for your beardie from the captive life. But make sure that your beardie does not eat anything or walk on grass that has pesticide in it.
Best Time To Play With Bearded Dragons
If you want to know when is the best time to play with bearded dragons, then the answer is there is simply no best time to play with your pet. It would help if you played with your pet anytime you wanted. However, it is best to stick to a specific schedule.
Bearded dragons are not very active creatures like dogs or cats. Instead, you only have to play with them for a minimum of 15 minutes a day to keep them happy.
Start your morning by checking up on your dragon, and if you have time, do not forget to play with it for a few minutes. Do not rile up your beardie so much that it becomes stressed. Afternoons are a great time to play with your pet as bearded dragons stay most active during the day. To work out a good appetite, you can opt to play with them before mealtimes with the toys mentioned above.
Most bearded dragon owners love to play with their pets during bath time. But as you do not have to wash your bearded dragon every day, allocate some extra time to bath time to make the entire thing enjoyable.
It is advisable not to play with your bearded dragon before bedtime as it might make them frustrated and hamper their sleeping schedule.
FAQ
Do bearded dragons play?
Do bearded dragons like toys?
Do bearded dragons need toys?
What kind of toys do bearded dragons play with?
Do Beardies like ping pong balls?
Bottom Line
Bearded dragons are one of the most amazing pets you can find. And playing with them with toys to provide them with entertainment is something you must do as a beardie owner. The best toys for bearded dragons will provide the most happiness to your beardie. Hence, pick up some beautiful and fun toys for your bearded dragon and start playing today!