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Rankins dragons (Pogona henrylawsoni) are the smaller cousin to the ever popular bearded dragon. They sometimes also go by the name Lawson’s dragon or Pygmy bearded dragon but the latter is better reserved for other members of the Pogona family which are even smaller. In the UK pretty much everywhere will refer to them as Rankins dragons.

Their care is almost identical to that of a bearded dragon in terms of environmental needs so most bearded dragon care sheets prove perfectly valid for care advice for Rankins. You can check out our expanded care sheet for Bearded dragons here, the information for the two species is interchangeable.

There are some differences between Rankins dragons and bearded dragons, the first and most notable being their adult size, Rankins dragons rarely ever exceed 30cm total length meaning they are approximately only 2/3rds the size of bearded dragons when adult. A second difference is in dietary preferences, adult Rankins dragons will require a slightly higher percentage of their diet to be insects rather than leafy greens, they are often more picky than bearded dragons when it comes to eating plant matter. A third notable difference is that Rankins dragons are far more likely to brumate over winter (go through a period of semi-hibernation / inactivity for a couple of months in winter). Some online information will state that Rankins dragons are more sociable with one another than Bearded dragons. While they may be a little more chilled out there is some frankly terrible and incorrect advice saying that it is safe to house multiple males together, don’t, its not safe, that advice is wrong. To avoid social issues with dominance and bullying they are always best housed individually when adult, (just like with bearded dragons).

Rankins dragons make good pets and are an alert, inquisitive species that responds well to human interaction. They make a good choice for first pet lizard species and are often chosen as a substitute for bearded dragons when people are a little bit limited by space constraints for the enclosure.