Frilled Dragon — Fact Sheet

Chlamydosaurus kingii · Frilled Dragon

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Adult minimum: 180 x 90 x 180 cm for one animal; larger for a big male
• Tall, secure, cross-ventilated enclosure with an elevated heat and UV gradient
• House adults singly; lock every door, vent, and cable opening

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Several broad vertical and diagonal trunks plus a full-body basking perch
• Dense visual cover and a high shaded retreat
• 10-15 cm drained soil/sand/leaf substrate; paper during quarantine

💡 Lighting

• High-output linear T5 UVB and bright visible light
• Ferguson Zone 3; target measured UVI about 3-4 at the basking branch
• 10-14 h seasonal photoperiod; no visible light at night

🌡️ Temperature

• Basking surface: 35-40°C
• Warm zone: 28-32°C
• Cool retreat: 24-27°C
• Night: 18-24°C

💧 Humidity & water

• Target 50-70%; allow a short rise after misting and partial drying
• Large stable shallow water dish; refresh daily
• Mist foliage for drinking droplets; maintain drainage and cross-ventilation

🍽️ Diet

Offer regularly:

• Gut-loaded crickets, roaches, locusts, silkworms, and black soldier fly larvae
• Adults about three meals weekly; juveniles smaller meals more often

Use in moderation:

• Fatty larvae and occasional alternative invertebrates

Avoid:

• Routine rodents or fruit, wild-caught insects, oversized prey, uneaten insects overnight

Supplements:

• Plain calcium on a controlled share of meals; D3 and multivitamin according to measured UVB

🍂 Seasonal rhythm

• Gradually vary light from 12-14 h in the wet season toward 10-12 h in the drier season
• Do not keep the enclosure continuously wet; night heat only below about 18°C

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Weak grip, bowed limbs or tremors → UVB/calcium problem
• Nose rubbing or repeated escape attempts → stress, glare or inadequate space
• Noisy breathing or discharge → respiratory disease
• Yellow urates or retained shed → hydration problem
• Persistent weight loss → husbandry, parasites or illness

Persistent or severe signs require a reptile- or exotic-animal veterinarian.