Equipment for keeping Rankin´s Dragons
Vivarium VX36 is big enough to house a trio of Rankins. The more you keep then obviously the bigger the tank needs to be.
Lighting/Heating
For the VX36 2 x Arcadia ADCH Reptile ceramic lamp holders & bracket. With PT-2133 Sun Glo basking spot lamp 100watt and PT-2189 Repto Glo 10.0 compact new 26watt.
The UV bulb should be no more than 10” above your Rankins; you can place a branch under the bulb where it can climb onto, to reach the UVA-B rays. Change the light every year as the light quality breaks down dramatically after nine months, reducing the benefit to your Rankins.
You will need a Dimming thermostat. Use the thermostat for the heating/basking lamp PT-2133. This should be put on a timer or only turned on during daylight hours 10-12, hours a day.
We recommend two thermometers PT-2465 place one at each end to show the cool temperature and hot end temperatures to indicate that there is a heat gradient effect.
Substrate
For baby Rankins we recommend kitchen paper, wallpaper backing paper or newspaper for the first year. As they can get compaction of the gut by ingesting substrates, like Calci sand, Desert sand, peat, beach chips etc. After a year old the best substrates are peat and playpen sand 1:1, Calci sand, beach chippings.
Décor
Use a PT-2803 Exo Terra Water Dish Large. Most Rankins will drink and play in the water bowl and should also be sprayed twice a day (keep the spray away from the bulbs. The water bowl should be kept at the cool end to avoid excessive humidity. Use a PT-2813 Exo Terra Feeding Dish X Large for more than one Rankins and a PT-2811 Exo Terra Feeding Dish Medium for one. Use the bowl to feed their greens and vegetables. Use a large piece of Cork bark tube as a hide out or a PT-2852 hideout cave for a baby Rankins to sleep in. Make sure it is large enough for them. Branches (Bog wood etc.)Branches need to be strong and sturdy. Fruit tree branches are good but not cherry as it is poisonous as are conifer branches. Scrub them clean with hot soapy water, rinse and allow to dry. Bog wood and drift wood are good. Large basking rocks. A large piece of sandstone placed under the basking spot light is a good addition. This holds the heat and helps them to digest the food properly. Place a thermometer on the rock or branch that is to be used for basking and adjust the thermostat until it reads about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Artificial plants. PT-3000-3052 these are just for decoration and make the vivarium looks more natural. Choose a selection of plants and vines to give your Vivarium that finished look!
CARE
Rankins originate from Australia; as juveniles, they are semi-arboreal. As adults, they are more terrestrial, but will climb to bask and search for prey. Rankins can occupy a large range of habitats from the desert to dry forest and scrubland. Rankins Grow to 10” males and 12” inches from nose to tail.
Rankins are amongst the tamest of all lizards, and their outgoing personalities, activity level, appetites and interesting social behaviors make them a very captivating lizard to observe.
Vitamins
T-268 Tetra Fauna Reptocal or Nutrobal Many reptiles require a diet based on live or fresh foods, due to their specific feeding habits. These are readily available, but in themselves do not offer a balanced supply of nutrients. To ensure your pet receives a properly balanced diet, it is important to increase the nutrient content of these foods with a nutrient supplement.
Rankins Dragons are a dwarf species of Pogona originating from inland Northeast Australia. They normally only grow to about 10 inches long from head to tail.
They are softer looking than the Bearded Dragon with less acute angles and relatively small beards.
Rankins are friendly and sociable and can be kept in groups.
Housing
A 36″ x 18″ x 24″ is big enough to house a pair of Rankins. The more you keep then obviously the bigger the tank needs to be. They like to climb so make sure to put some logs or branches in the tank and some rocks for them to bask on. They also love to dig so a substrate like Calci sand is ideal.
Several basking sites should be provided under the hot spot and the UV lighting. Rankins Dragons need to bask and they need high temperatures to help with the digestive process. Basking area should be about 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit with an ambient temperature of 75F and then dropping to about 65F at night time.
Rankins Dragons need to have UV running along the top of the vivarium. In the wild they bask in the sun to absorb the vitamins from their food. Obviously in a tank they won’t receive much sun so a UV will act as the sun. Rankins Dragons need to tell the difference between night and day, to do this you need to have your UV bulb on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours. The UV must be within 12″ of the dragon to enable it to get the full benefit of the UV bulb. Your UV bulb will need to be changed once a year as it loses its efficiency. You will need a ceramic heating bulb and a pulse thermostat to control the temperature of the tank. You will also need a thermometer inside the tank so that you can check they are being kept at the right temperature. Some people use 2 thermometers, one at the cooler end and one at the hotter end to monitor the temperature range. If you use only one thermometer then place it in the middle of the tank towards the bottom.
Never use hot rocks, as they are widely known to cause belly burns.
Feeding
Rankins Dragons like fruit and vegetables as well as meat. They like a large variety of live insects, which include black and brown crickets, locusts, mealworms and wax worms. A good measure of the size of live insects to feed is that they must not be bigger than the size of the dragon’s head. Do not feed mealworms to baby dragons as they contain chitin which is hard to digest. Do not feed them insects from your garden, as you do not know if they have been sprayed with anything that can be harmful to your dragon. Fresh fruit and vegetables must be offered daily and remember that they like variety. Try to avoid spinach and kale as they are calcium binders and affect the dragon’s bones. Another thing to avoid is iceberg lettuce, as this has no nutritional value to the dragon. Make sure to chop the food into small bite size pieces to avoid choking.
Rankins Dragons require extra calcium for their bones to remain strong and to develop at the normal rates. They also need extra Vitamin D3; this vitamin is needed just as much as calcium. This vitamin is needed for your dragon’s body to absorb the calcium.
All you need to do to maintain your Rankins Dragon is to dust your live food every other day with a vitamin and mineral supplement like Nutrobal.
Some Rankins love water so offer fresh water daily in a shallow bowl. If they do not drink from the bowl then offer them a spray of water on the end of their nose until they finish drinking. Also give the cage a mist spray once a day.
Tags: reptile