Common Names: Dwarf Mountain Horned Dragon / Brown Pricklepane
Scientific Name: Acanthosaura Lepidogaster
Origin: Southeast Asia Size: 9" to 11" head to tail (females smaller) Lifespan: 5 to 8 years
HOUSING
In the wild, the natural habitat for Mountain Horned Dragons in the canopy of rainforests near water sources. They are tree dwellers, spending most of their time above ground. They are very well adapted to living in trees and can climb "like monkeys”. They do utilize the soil level a lot and despite the myth that they need mostly hight many individuals need quite a vast horizontal terrirtory.
They are an intermediate care reptile and will need a large and tall enclosure when they are adults. Babies can be kept in an 18” x 18” x 24”, Young dragons can be kept in a 18" x 18" x 36" for about the first year of their life. A single adult might be fine in this size if they tend to move less on the ground if, like mine, they do move a lot – I'd venture into a 24” x 18" x 36" for a single adult or even a couple.
Note: You cannot keep them from growing by housing them in a small cage. That's a myth. It won't make for a happy, well adjusted lizard.
A 36" x 18" x 36" is what I recommend for keeping a group of up to 4. I don't recommend screen enclosures for these dragons as it can be very difficult to keep the humidity right. If you have space, go bigger than the minimum they thrive with more space.
Designing an enclosure for your Mountain Horned Dragon can be fun. Branches or structures for climbing on, leafy vines and bushes are key to their happiness. They are forest canopy dwellers and they need a branch to hug as they sleep.
For substrate, you want something that holds humidity well. Plain potting earth is relatively safe, simple and cheap. Be sure to select soil with no additives such as fertilizers, vermiculite or perlite. Appropriate forest soil mixes including soil, wood-chips, sand and decomposing leaves are also suitable. Substrate consisting of loose chunks of material such as wood-chips, crushed walnut shell and crushed corncob should be avoided, as these are generally unsuitable for lizards for various reasons.
They are known to be communal. One male with multiple females are always better but they seem to get along even with other males if you supply them with a big enough territory.
LIGHTING & TEMPERATURES
Mountain Horned Dragons come from a tropical climate. They need a basking area and a cooler section within the enclosure so they can regulate their body temperature. All the heat elements should be located on one side and the other will be the cooler side. One of the biggest mistakes new owners (and pet stores) make is providing a small enclosure with no place to escape from a hot heat lamp (remember the 18” x 18” x 36” - that's why I also recommend the
24” vertical). These lizards appreciate a warm hot spot at 32 °C (90 °F), but they absolutely need an enclosure large enough to escape the heat. A difference of at least 8-10 °C (14-18 °F) between the hot spot and cooler region is cardinal. Excess heat can debilitate reptiles by suppressing their immune system and appetite, which can lead to disease. A general drop in temperature by a few degrees is expected at night- no night time heat source is suggested. Do not use heat rocks. Dragons are especially adapted to basking, getting heat from above. They can be burned badly on a heat rock because they don't realize it's too hot until too late. In addition to heat, dragons need UVB lighting to help absorb calcium and to synthesize vitamin D3. Since they are removed from natural sunlight in our homes, we must provide UVB light in the form of a special fluorescent bulb designed to produce UVB rays. A forrest dweller 5% UVB light is more than enough. You might not see them basking and taking UV but trust me – they all do when they need it.
HUMIDITY
A water dish is just not cutting it for these lizards. This is possibly because they always live near moving streams in the wild. They must be able to fit their whole body into the water source offered to them! These lizards need some kind of moving water in their enclosure, so they recognize it as a water source. A bubbling water bowl, dripper or waterfall works for this. Remember though, you will need to change the water out regularly. Even if you install a filter. Also scrub the bowl at least once a week to keep bacteria slime from building up – they will use it as their toilet.
Maintain humidity around 70-80%. Unless you are in a very dry area, misting the enclosure a few times a day will usually provide enough moisture. A nice humidity gauge can help you in this area. Hand misters are usually sufficient, but if you don't want to hand mist, an automatic mister is the smart choice.
FEEDING
Dragons are insectivores (not mostly – they do not eat anything but insects no matter what you read on google – they do not have the organs to digest plant matter!). Variety is important to these lizards – if you stick to one feeder they will eventually stop eating. Mix it up. They can eat crickets, dubia roaches, mealworms, hornworms, and other bugs. I offer mealworms in a dish daily for them to eat as they want and tong feed crickets and other insects for bonding.
Make sure to dust your lizard's food with calcium and vitamins.
TEMPERAMENT
Mountain Horned Dragons are intelligent, and can make great pets. These lizards are diurnal and arboreal. They are ambush predators, sitting and waiting for prey to walk by. This makes them rather sedentary lizards, you will often see them just hanging out on branches in their enclosure, motionless for hours at a time. Once they spot prey, however, they enthusiastically lunge at it. These lizards will also visit a moving water source almost daily, where they will splash around and usually defecate. An MHD that feels threatened will often gape, hiss and extend its gular pouch in an attempt to scare you or another lizard away. These animals are not social and do not appreciate each other's company. They are calm, but note, their first instinct when posed a thereat is to freeze – do not confuse that with them being comfortable! Dragons usually do not bite, but excessive handling should be avoided until your lizard gets used to you. Your first impulse will be to hold your new lizard and pet it. I strongly
suggest you do not do this. It takes time to friend your lizard. The best way is to be patient and proceed slowly. Give them at least a few days to acclimate to their new environment before starting short periods of handling. Most dragons tolerate handling well if acclimated to it.