Lights and basking heat a sitter must protect
Ask a bearded dragon sitter first about heat and light. This desert lizard depends on a hot basking spot and strong daytime lighting to digest food, absorb nutrients and stay active, so a sitter who treats the lamps as optional decoration will cause harm within days. Confirm they will check the basking temperature with the thermometer you leave, keep the lights on the timer's full daytime cycle without switching them off for a lie-in, and tell you the same day if a bulb fails. Ask where your spare bulb is stored and whether they are confident changing it safely once it has cooled. Also check they understand the cool end matters too, because a dragon that cannot move away from heat will gape, flatten and stop eating.
Greens, insects and supplements in your dragon's order
Ask what a sitter plans to feed a bearded dragon each day. Adults lean heavily on leafy greens with insects as a smaller part, while young dragons eat far more insects, so the sitter must follow your dragon's age-specific balance rather than a generic lizard menu. Walk through washing and chopping the greens you use, which feeder insects are in the tub, how often supplements are dusted on in your routine, and which household foods must never be offered. Confirm they will remove uneaten salad and live insects at night, because stray insects can bite a sleeping dragon. Ask them to note what was eaten daily, since a bearded dragon that suddenly leaves both greens and insects untouched is telling you something a week of vague reassurance would hide.
Baths, handling and outdoor time
Ask how a sitter will handle a bearded dragon beyond feeding. Many dragons drink and pass waste more easily with a shallow lukewarm bath, so agree on how often you want that offered, how deep the water should be, and the rule of never leaving the dragon unattended in water. Discuss handling honestly: a settled dragon may enjoy brief calm time out, but a sitter should not chase it around the enclosure, grab it from above like a predator, or let it roam a room with dogs, open doors or floor vents. Outdoor sunshine sounds kind, yet an unsecured dragon can bolt surprisingly fast and overheat on hot paving, so forbid garden trips unless you have personally agreed on a harness and a shaded, supervised spot.
Warning signs a sitter should never sit on
Set the bearded dragon escalation list out loud. A persistently black beard with lethargy, sunken eyes, trembling limbs, a swollen jaw or limb, retained shed tightening around toes, or several days of refusing all food are reasons to message you and contact the named veterinary practice promptly, not observations to save for your return. Ask whether the sitter is comfortable transporting the dragon in a secure carrier if the vet needs to see it, and leave that carrier visibly ready with a towel for grip. Do one supervised morning routine together before you go, lamps, salad and bath included, so questions surface while you can still answer them, and leave the full schedule where KinsLe Care Pass lets the sitter follow each timed step on the day it is due.