Rankins Dragon Care Sheet

The Rankins dragon is the smaller cousin of the bearded dragon. For those who want to own a beardie but don’t have the space requirements, the Rankins dragon could be the one for you.

rankins

Generally a Rankins dragon requires a smaller vivarium than a bearded dragon as an adult. I would recommend 30” as around the size for one adult although 36” would be better for more dragons. A very young Rankins dragon can at least look a bit lost in a large viv. though and some do seem (at least at first) to get a bit nervous in a large viv. (they will hide away a lot, sometimes to the point of not getting enough UV light) so starting off in a smaller viv is definitely OK, although by no means essential.

If you wish to keep more than a single Rankins dragon (and they seem to be more sociable than beardies) then ensure you only have one male, with a couple of females. Obviously you  will need a bigger enclosure. If you wish to have more than one male Rankins dragon a much larger space is required and it is not recommended.

Rankins dragon heating

A Rankins dragon requires a good temperature gradient (a “hot end “and a “cold end”) to enable them to regulate their body temperature with the hot spot at the hot end at 35-40 C and the cool end around 25 C (so you are going to need two thermometers). There are a lot of opinions out there on heating a Rankins dragon viv. and I’ll not get into it all here. I use a heat mat combined with a basking lamp (sized to the viv.) to create a hot spot. I have mounted mats on the side and on the bottom of the viv. with equal success. I have seen comments saying never use a heat mat and cannot agree. I have never had a problem, ever and this is over a number of years with a large number of animals. That said, there are alternatives and they are fine too (with the exception of “heat rocks” – they really are a bad idea, if you bought a Rankins dragon starter set up from a certain well known pet supermarket you will have one of these, please throw it away to avoid any risk).

A thermostat will help avoid over temperature. A Rankins dragon can tolerate lower temperatures (i.e. if your spot lamp blows) for quite some time but will suffer quite quickly from over temperature. Even with a thermostat you should always check your thermometers at least daily – thermostats can fail.

Rankins dragon lighting

A Rankins dragon needs relatively high levels of UVB light to manufacture vitamin D3, enabling them to assimilate calcium. You will need a 10-12% UVB lamp on 12 – 14 hours a day. Remember UV light does not travel too far from these lamps so make sure they are not too far from where your dragon likes to bask. I don’t use hides with dragons, sometimes they can spend too much time under it and not get enough UV – not common but best avoided.

A basking lamp will give a bright “hot spot” for a Rankins dragon to bask in when it wants to heat up. Obviously the lamp needs to be a proper basking spot, energy efficient lamps are efficient because they do not give out wasted energy as heat, which is what you want.

Rankins dragon substrates.

Substrate (what your Rankins dragon lives on) is probably the most controversial subject in the hobby. I am not going to tell you what not to use, there is not a substrate currently in use that can’t cause problems. I use beech wood chips (the coarser variety so it cannot fit in the Rankins dragon mouth when small) or desert bedding in the main, although I have used others. I have never had any issues with impaction with a Rankins dragon so I can’t comment on what is worst for this. However I avoid calci sand, as calcium is an essential nutrient for a Rankins dragon, so they will eat as if they feel they need it – why tempt fate? Also, most of my vivs. are front opening,  with sliding glass and the sound of sand in the runners makes me cringe!

rankins dragon

Rankins dragon decor

A Rankins dragon does require a water bowl, although they are rarely seen to drink (I know some individuals seem to love getting in their water bowl see the little Rankins dragon above). Do change the water regularly and keep the bowl clean. It is hot in a Rankins dragon viv. and bacteria will grow very quickly around the rim of the water. A feed dish is a good idea for the veggie component of a Rankins dragon diet, to help avoid the risk of impaction by picking up bits of substrate.

Your Rankins dragon will  love something to climb on, branches, rocks etc. Avoid anything sharp, they may suddenly jump down and you don’t want them to get injured. Anything else in there is up to you. Some people like to put in things to encourage activity and don’t mind what it looks like, so use anything they can find. Others like it to look as natural as possible. It’s really up to you but I would suggest you read a good book for the more advanced aspects of setting up a vivarium both for further advice and for ideas if, like me, you’re not that creative yourself.

Rankins dragon feeding

Your Rankins dragon is an omnivore. They eat a wide range of foods including crickets, locusts, cockroaches and various lavae, vegetables and fruit etc. In captivity they also need vitamin and calcium supplements to ensure continued good health. I feed mine to a regular regime. It is necessary for the health of the Rankins dragon and with the amount of animals I have to feed it is more convenient to stick to a plan and this gives us confidence our animals have received a varied and balanced diet. You will find your own regime that suits you. I will give you mine just to illustrate what a balanced Rankins dragon diet looks like, not to suggest this is superior to any other feeding plan for a Rankins dragon.

Day one – cricket or locusts dusted with Nutrobal vitamin supplement.

Day 2 – salad vegetables.

Day three – crickets or locusts dusted with calcium powder.

Day four – salad vegetables.

Day five – crickets or locusts dusted with calcium powder.

Day six – fruit or veg.

Day seven – crickets or locusts without any supplement.

I vary this further by changing the crickets and locusts for calci worms from time to time and very occasionally wax worms. I don’t use meal worms myself for a Rankins dragon due to the higher level of chitin in the jaws and the consequent increased risk of impaction but occasional meal worms would be OK. I must confess the type of veg I use depends very much on what is on offer at the local supermarket or my garden but favourites of my Rankins dragon are rocket salad or herb salad, grated carrot, romaine lettuce, curly kale and cucumber.  I haven’t had a lot of success with fruit with a Rankins dragon but common ones used are strawberry, mango and banana.

One way of getting veg. into a more obstinate Rankins dragon is to feed the veg. to the insects. Whatever they eat, your Rankins dragon is eating. I do this sometimes but usually I have gut loaded them on a gut load formula any way.  For a very young Rankins dragon I dust every feed to ensure the rapidly growing youngsters are getting enough calcium but I only ever use vitamin powder once a week. The risk of over dosing the Rankins dragon far outweighing the risk of under dosing when using such a balanced diet.

It is important to consider the size of the insect food. It is a bad idea to give anything longer than the distance between the eyes of your Rankins dragon. Too many over large insects will not be properly digested and you will see the half digested remains in the Rankins dragon poop, possibly along with some blood! Alternatively your Rankins dragon may regurgitate the meal, again with the risk of damage to the Rankins dragon digestive tract from the sharp bits of exoskeleton.

rankins-dragon

Things to avoid feeding a Rankins dragon are obviously anything toxic. This sounds really obvious but people have been caught out with plants. The Rankins dragon may not eat the plant but the insects probably will. The Rankins dragon will then eat the now toxic insect.The use of live plants with a Rankins dragon and with bearded dragons is becoming more popular do make sure you know what plant you have and that it is safe. Also I avoid broccoli and cabbage leaves with a Rankins dragon as these contain oxylates that can prevent calcium being available to the metabolism.

Common problems with Rankins dragon feeding include the notorius addiction to wax worms. I have seen a bearded dragon fed these exclusively. Not only is this a bad idea from a nutritional point of view but you often end up with a Rankins dragon that will only eat this one source of food and frequently only when fed by hand! However I have not yet seen the Rankins dragon that cannot be weaned back onto a balanced diet with a little perseverance.

That said, a Rankins dragon can be fussy as they get older. The basic message is that as they are omnivores, it probably doesn’t matter as long as they get a balanced diet.

A reminder about Rankins dragon UVB

UVB lamps are essential to the well being of the Rankins dragon. Unfortunately as soon as you switch one on, the level of UVB output starts to deteriorate. Over time this will drop to zero, so although the lamp is lit, it is providing no benefit at all to the Rankins dragon. The lamps should be replaced between 6 months to 1 year (depending on type and manufacturer). We always replace all our UV lamps every 9 months WITHOUT FAIL. The consequences to a Rankins dragon of not replacing the UV lighting regularly are loss of appetite and metabolic bone disease.

Kept correctly a Rankins dragon should live over 8 years and prove to be a very inquisitive, interactive and easy to handle little lizard.

The Angell Pets Team

42 thoughts on “Rankins Dragon Care Sheet

    • It depends on the space you have availablea as the kit you need for both will be the same. Both get a reasonable size and are easy to handle but bearded dragons get bigger therefore require much more space.

  1. We have just re homed a female ranking dragon. We got her on Sunday and since bringing her home all she does is sleep in a curled up position behind something. We bought her vivarium so she’s in familiar surroundings and the temp is 38 degrees. She is more alert when we pick her up but that’s the only time. She’s not really eating either. Can you advice me please. Caroline

      • Hi

        We have a similar situation we have two dragons a boy and a girl both about 8 months old. We have had them three months with no problem now the girl is showing the exact same symptoms as the above (curled up/always sleeping/haven’t seen her eat in a few days/hides in the coolest part of the tank). The boy is absolutely fine and has a great appetite. What do you suggest.

        • It could be that as they are now over 8 months old that they are reaching sexual maturity. In the wild she can get away from the male, in a vivarium she can’t. Constant attention from the male can produce these symptoms (depression). If you do not think this is the case then it is a trip to the vets to rule out any medical reason as it cannot be your set up if the male is fine. If it is attention from the male the only option is to separate them.

    • Hi

      The simple answer is yes, on a hot day. You cannot get a better UVB source than the sun. However take sensible precautions. Make sure it is in a secure area, i.e. it cannot escape and it cannot be attacked by predators such as birds. Crows, magpies and other birds do eat small lizards and will carry them off and I am sure you don’t need me to tell you that if there is a gap in a fence or wall, it will find it. There is also a small risk of it eating any insects it finds and these could have been in contact with insecticide in a neighbours garden. Some ornamental garden plants are also toxic. The easiest option is to use a suitable small animal run and not leave it unattended.

    • Hi my female 2 year old Rankin’s dragon isn’t eating vegetables but isn’t turning down bugs. I give her a mixed salad of carrot, cucumber, a small amount of spinach (every second week), capsicum and rocket. I’ve also tried fruits like strawberry and blueberry but she won’t eat them. As for bugs, I give her them twice a week once dusted with calcium and the second with only half of the bugs dusted. I rarely give her mealworms and when I do I stick to a limit of about 5 and I try to take her outside at least once a week.
      If you have any ideas or advice please let me know.

      • Sounds to me like everyuthing is fine. Some will eat copious amounts of veg. and some won’t. If you want to increase veg intake just feed it to the bugs about an hour before you feed her. Whatever the bugs are eating she is eating as she eats the whole bug, guts and all. Aside from that always keep a check on heat and lighting levels (change your UVB lamp every year) but I am sure you are doing that anyway.

  2. Hello, I found this very helpful. We got a lovely little Rankins in October, initially he was eating all the time – pretty balanced diet of greens and crickets and worms. However recently his appetite has decreased massively, we sought advice from various places who all told us a different thing – nightmare! We replaced his UVB light nonetheless and he began eating slightly more, however his appetite is still much less than it used to be. Any advice?

    • Hi

      As long as he is still eating something and pooping he is probably fine. As he grows his need for high energy food will decrease (as most of his energy demands are for growth when young). Also they do have periods when they are less active and feed less. Changing the UVB lamp was the rigtht thing to do as UVB output detriorates over time (I am sure you know this anyway) and an increase in UVB can stimulate appetetite. Things to watch for that can be linked to loss of appetite are (there are more but these are the commonest) – lethargy, which can be associated with gut disorders such as worms (not likely in a captive bred individual), really smelly, cowpat like poops which can be a sign of coccidiosis, constipation (very serious if for an extended periods as it could indicate impaction) and paralysis of the back legs, which is a dead give away for serious impaction. If it has no other symptoms other than a decrease in food intake then I wouldn’t be too worried. However if you are worried you should always seek veterinary advice.

  3. Hi Rangell.
    My 3 month old Rankins used to be very close to me when she was 1.5 month old. Now she grow and shed.she become defensive to me! (Sometimes run away from me)..I leave her some space not to touch her as she act defensive,I keep thinking about what I did wrong to her?handle too much or …?I really dont know why? What’s the most common reason babe Rakin would”become”alert and defensive?Thanks so much.

    • I can not think of any reason why a Rankins dragon would become defensive. With regular handling it should calm down again. We don’t sell them under 8 weeks so it may have been a bit young when you got it and possibly the calmness was actually a fear response. Now it has grown it has found its feet a bit and just got more active than you are used to. Being “alert” is not a bad thing, quite the reverse.

  4. Hello,
    Thank you for your post, I have found it very informative. I am about to get a 2 month old baby rankin. I am not not a fan of having to deal with crickets all the time.

    1) is it possible to have a worms predominant diet, (if so which ones), with crickets, mixed in? i cant use roaches
    2) are twice day feeds necessary or once daily insect with veggies available an option

    3) as they age, do you titrate an increase veggie to insect ratio and if so, at what ages should insect to veggie balance change.

    thank you in advance for any input you can provide

    • Hi.

      Not a fan of mealworms (or mini mealworms), especially in large amounts, due to the relatively high amount of chitin in their jaws. I would suggest calci worms as a good alternative to crickets and try small locusts. Variety is the important factor.

      I never feed livefood more than once a day. In practice they eat their immediate fill and then pick the remaining few off over the day as they feel like it. Works for me.

      Yes, as they get older they do not have the same need for such a high protien diet (as their growth rate slows) and more vegetation is the norm. I always let the animal decide and once above a few months just put in more veg and reduce the livefood as I find more are left running about. It’s a bit intuitive but it always works. As adults there is no need to give livefood every day.

      You asked previously about canned cricets etc. Only used them once with an adult and had to hand feed them so never bothered again. We don’t even stock them anymore. I suppose they could be handy if you live a fair distance from a good supply of livefood so you never run out but otherwise I wouldn’t bother.

      Hope this helps

  5. Hi! We are trying to figure out how many crickets/salad feedings an 8 month old Rankin should have a day, and about how many hours apart? We don’t want to under or over feed.
    Does anyone do Superworms with a Rankins? If so, how many of those per day/week if any.

    • THere is no set amount, each animal will be different. Some people feed twice a day, I feed once a day. Most people overfeed. in the wild finding food is much more difficult. With livefood try putting in a set number, if it eats them all quickly then next time put in more, until it leaves one or two. That’s how much to feed at a time. Rough rule of thumb but it works. With veg as much as it will eat without leaving a load to spoil.

  6. Hello,

    I have a Rankin dragon that we got last Sunday. We got him as a dwarf bearded dragon but then confirmed it was a Rankin dragon. We set up a 10 gal tank, it has UVB light 10%, heating/daylight bulb 25W, and his night heating 25W. Apartment temp is on the day around 78F. At night it goes down to 74F- 75F. We used to have a 50w bulb but we notice he was only staying on the cool side so we change it to a 25w and he started doing basking. The first day he was very calm and I could pick him up. Now he just sees us and tries to hide or just “squish” down all he can (for me that is normal because he sees us as predators). My problem is that I don’t see him eating. I have tried different sources of food (worms, crickets, vegies, etc. ) but he doesn’t eat often. When I offer him crickets I put 5-7 (pinheads), on his tank, and he will eat only two. I know he looks at the food and knows it is there he just doesn’t move to get it and I have try giving the food to him with tweezers he will not get it. It is okay for him to just eat 2 crickets? he doesn’t want to try anything else. Am I doing something wrong? I have seen his brothers and sisters and they are always running to compete for food and are bigger compared to him.

    • It sounds like it might be a bit cool. You need to chaeck what the temperature actually is at the hot and cold ends rather that just relying on the size of the lamp. needs to be around 35-40 degrees C at the basking spot/hot end.

  7. Hi, I am ten years old and I got a little male rankins dragon from you a while back.My little rankins dragon is 1 year and a bit and he is quite a lazy boy.My dragon used to have a diet of veggies (rocket, occasionally carrot, cucumber ) and crickets,but I wasn’t very good with them as they were very jumpy and escaped into my room A LOT. So then I switched his diet to worms and veggies+an occasional waxworm(which’s problem I will address later).He lived on this food happily for a while and then my mum found locusts…she put some in while I was away to see if he liked them and to be fair he did.but I got a bit mad cuz of the fact she didn’t tell me she was feeding him them and how they were like crickets.Despite my raging she carried on feeding him them whenever I was away and I hate them.Then she found these wood lice looking things(can’t remember their name!)that she says he likes but I never see him eat them,also he doesn’t tend to move a lot and it worries me.Ok also the wax worms keep on turning into moths and I can’t feed him them.ALSOOO My mum doesn’t put calci dust on his food which I keep on reminding her to do when I’m gone.So what should I do?

    • Hi

      Not sure what to say here. Yoor mother clearly knows what is best for the dragon, with the exception of the ommission of the calci dust and I can only recommend that course of action. If she is only feeding locusts whilst you are away then I am not sure how that impacts you. Variety is improtant and it seems the dragon is getting that. If you are worried that it is not getting enough vewg. then feeding veg to the livefood will help with that.

  8. Hi
    I bought a rankin the weekend for my daughter. We have set up the vivarium and initially all good. The dragon doesn’t like to be touched, hisses and bites.
    He seems very defensive. Reading other sites I’m getting mixed ideas. Is this normal?

    • We usually recommend not handling for a day or two when new. New environments can stress them a little. Letting them explore unhindered for a couple of days seems to reassure them there are no threats present. Then regular gentle handling usually tames the most stressed individuals. Confidence in picking them up is key. Go in nervous and hesitent and it doesn’t know what is happening and will react. Just picking it up without hesitation means it hasn’t had time to worry if it is going to be attacked before it realsies it isn’t. I am assuming everthing is correct with the vivariums etc. I am sure it is.

  9. Quick question – is a 36 inches tank large enough for a rankin dragon to grow in? My wife thinks we need a tank that is a minimum of 48 inches in length , which seems overkill for a Rankin dragon. Please let end this debate. Thanks!

  10. I have a dragon she’s about 2and a half I got her aged 3 months from a reptile shop rather than a general pet shop. She was sold as a bearded dragon I’ve had a few over the years and many other lizards too so I think I know what to do set up etc. My girl is really small so I wonder if she’s actually a rankins dragon but she doesn’t have quite the same head shape as pictures I’ve seen but I’ve never seen one in the flesh so to speak. She eats well and loves a bath too just really small about 10” max and very slender

    • We do normally but at present we are not selling animals. No one should be leaving their house during the conrona virus lockdown for anything that is not essential and with the best will in the world a new Rankins Dragon is not essential at this time. When the restrictions are lifted we will be selling them again.

  11. Hi, I’ve got a 1nd half old rankin dragon from a friend offspring of their rankin dragons. I got it for 3days now, he is so lethargic, sleeping a lot. And always on his back while sleeping and he turns after awhile And didn’t see him eats and poops since . Nd my friend told me the day before I got him his legs are not moving , if he does moved he’s dragging them seems that the legs are paralyzed and I noticed that the tail is kink. Any Advice ? Thanks

    • It sounds as though your Rankins is really not very well at all. He needs to go and see a vet as soon as possible, make sure this vet knows what they are doing with reptiles. Most probably impaction.

      Regards

  12. My daughter and I have never owned a reptile before. My 12 year old daughter and I have been thinking about getting a Rankin’s dragon recently because of the free time we have now. One of the main problems we have about Rankin’s dragons is brumation. Is there any way to stop them from going through brumation? Another thing is salmonella. I am worried that handling the feces could transfer salmonella bacteria. Is there a safe way to handle it?

    • Brumation is a natural part of the dragons behaviour but keeping temperatures up and maintaining day length usually is enough to avoid a proper brumation. However unless keeping the vivarium in an enclosed room without any natural light they will still pick up on the shortening/lengthening days. Brumaation isn’t something to be worried about though. All reptiles can carry salmonela but simple hand washing whenever the animal or its enclosure or fittings have been handled is enough to avoid infection. Same precautions as any other pathogen, including coronavirus, except you don’t need a mask.

  13. Hi,

    I am due to bring home two 8-week old baby Rankins Dragons next week and I have a question about how often to dust their live food with calcium and Nutrobal.

    I’ve bought both powders and I think that Nutrobal has some calcium in it – if I dust with calcium every day, and the Nutrobal once a week, does this risk overdosing them on calcium? Also, do you recommend feeding them live food every day while they’re young (with salad veg too)? I’m a little unsure about what routine to follow and want to make sure they have the best diet possible from the start, so any advice you can give me will be most appreciated.

    Many thanks in advance!

    • Hi

      Everything you are thinking is fine. Calcium every day whilst growing and Nutrobal instead once a week is fine. You can’t really overdose with calcium but you can with vitamins. Livefood every day whilst growing, every other day when adult. Free feed veg. Some will take it readilly when young, some not so much. You’ll get a feel for it. If you put the livefood on the veg. so it moves it can stimulate them to grab the veg. (also the livefood will eat the veg. and so become gut loaded). They respond to movement to the point that if the livefood stays perfectly still they may ignore it. They second it moves, it’s lunch!

      • Hi, thanks so much for your reply to my message, your advice is really helpful! I’ll follow this for my babies and I’m sure they’ll thrive! Thanks again for your help and all best, Hayley.

  14. Hi there,
    We’ve had our Rankins Dragon, Kurvy, for about a year and a half now. He NEVER eats greens. EVER. The only thing he’ll eat that is not dubia roaches or super worms is butternut squash. He seems okay, but is pretty lazy or lethargic. This is our first reptile ever so I’m not sure how active Rankins usually are. Also, our pet store has been out of dubia roaches for some time. They gave us “red runner” roaches instead. They are super fast so I put Kurvy in a smallish container with the roaches so he doesn’t have to exert too much energy to catch them. The problem he is so slow he never catches them! It’s like this lizard was born without any fight in him, no survival instincts!

  15. I note a comment above in the information about not using a basking rock why is that please as I ha e never heard that before

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