Bearded dragon
- Thread starter cmitch
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They are pretty cool. They also need a lot of UVB, though. And LOTS of crickets. 
We're preparing to get a beardie for my son. He's not even 2 yet, but we want to introduce him to herps/wildlife early. He can't really play with the tortoises or the snake well, but beardies are about as puppy-dog tame as a reptile can get. Obviously, any interaction will be supervised and "dad" (me!) will be doing the care-taking for now, but we have a friend who got a beardie for their 2-yr old girl and that lizard and child are nearly inseparable, not to mention the girl has a great appreciation and respect for all living things, the same mentality we want to instill in our boys.
Of course, although working with herps for 20 yrs, I'm kind of a newb to beardies myself and still setting up the habitat!
Of course, although working with herps for 20 yrs, I'm kind of a newb to beardies myself and still setting up the habitat!
When I got mine, he was a baby. That's what I would get again.
Beardies are GREAT, but they have two drawbacks. They stink to high heaven, and you have to mess with bugs for them to eat. They also definitely are on the high end of the spectrum for needing UV if they are indoors. They will definitely get MBD if you don't meet their needs.
Have you considered a Blue tongue skink? I find them to have great personalities and they are much easier to feed and house.
Just throwing that out there...
Have you considered a Blue tongue skink? I find them to have great personalities and they are much easier to feed and house.
Just throwing that out there...
Tom said:
I would agree that most of the skinks, blue tongue or not, I've met have some pretty comical personalities.
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I live my beardie more than any of my herps but he's also he most expensive!!! They require high basking temps and high UVB as well as eating 50-60 crickets a day personally I'd get one that was a juvenile instead of a baby but even then they are fairly fragile and eat a insane amount
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As far as age is concerned... As has been said... Babies are very fragile and need a lot more care/attention than older dragons--both in the quantity they eat (tons and tons and TONS of bugs, if you're feeding them at all correctly) and other sensitivities like keeping them properly hydrated while they're still so small.
All the dragons I have kept, I have acquired as adults (with one exception, but Patrick was in awful shape and passed away after only a month in my care). I would definitely recommend finding a healthy adult or older juvenile over getting a tiny baby for your first dragon... As fun as it is to watch them grow, it is so much easier and less stressful (and less potential heartbreak) to start with an established dragon who's beyond that delicate baby stage.
All the dragons I have kept, I have acquired as adults (with one exception, but Patrick was in awful shape and passed away after only a month in my care). I would definitely recommend finding a healthy adult or older juvenile over getting a tiny baby for your first dragon... As fun as it is to watch them grow, it is so much easier and less stressful (and less potential heartbreak) to start with an established dragon who's beyond that delicate baby stage.
We'll be raising our own roach colony for this beardie. We haven't decided on what age to start out with yet, but we're leaning toward a slightly older one (6 months +) as opposed to a hatchling. There's no shortage of people selling/rehoming bearded dragons of all ages around my area, so I'm not for want to options when the time comes to choose!
I agree, blue-tongue skinks are AWESOME! We've had them before, but the wife wants a beardie. I told her the only way we could do a beardie is to raise our own insects because we cannot afford to buy them all the time. Surprisingly, she relented, and I still can't believe I'm going along with this either, because we both hate roaches! Ick! But others have re-assured us that Dubia are the best feeders for most insectivorous lizards (at least better than crickets and mealworms anyway), and easier to raise/breed.
I agree, blue-tongue skinks are AWESOME! We've had them before, but the wife wants a beardie. I told her the only way we could do a beardie is to raise our own insects because we cannot afford to buy them all the time. Surprisingly, she relented, and I still can't believe I'm going along with this either, because we both hate roaches! Ick! But others have re-assured us that Dubia are the best feeders for most insectivorous lizards (at least better than crickets and mealworms anyway), and easier to raise/breed.
I had 4 40 gallon dubia colonies going at one time. I would estimate 10000 roaches per colony. The plastic bins would sag under their weight when I lifted them. 6 big carrots and 4 cups of dog food would disappear in minutes. Whenever I dropped food in there it sounded like a rainstorm with all the little shuffling feet on the plastic. Man I miss those days. I loved my dubia colony. So did my daughter. They are a really cool, really easy, non-stinky, easy to handle, nutritious feeder animal. And perfect size for beardies too.
Tom, that sounds glorious. I hope someday for my Dubia colony to be THAT productive! Right now it's just a measly little thing with probably 30-40 adults (plus nymphs). Barely big enough to keep my skink and beardie sated without crashing. Methinks I need to get another starter colony or two on order to get this thing growing like I want...
But, yeah, dubias = awesome. I really don't know how I ever managed without a colony going. I haven't had to subject my lizards or tarantula to crickets in a few months now. It's wonderful! The beardie is currently on what I hope will be his last round of Panacur for awhile, now that I've FINALLY knocked the crickets out of the picture completely.
But, yeah, dubias = awesome. I really don't know how I ever managed without a colony going. I haven't had to subject my lizards or tarantula to crickets in a few months now. It's wonderful! The beardie is currently on what I hope will be his last round of Panacur for awhile, now that I've FINALLY knocked the crickets out of the picture completely.
I can do crickets... I can even do mealworms, but I can NOT do roaches, yucky
futureleopardtortoise said:
LOL. I'm the exact opposite. Mealworms and superworms creep me the heck out! (Plus, nutritionally speaking, I hate them passionately.) I'll deal with them if I absolutely HAVE to (as in, literally being paid to do it), but... uuuugh. Especially after I had a superworm BITE me (not that it hurt much at all--but still). I'll deal with crickets and have no problems touching them, but I still hate them.
On the other hand, roaches (at least, those I've dealt with--dubias and hissers) aren't that bad at all, and so much less creepy! I think it helps that the Dubias don't jump or fly and move slowly, compared to crickets.
Hmm... I don't like superworms... they stink and yeah, they bite. Mealworms are probably my, and my gecko's, favorite because he's kind of special needs and he is actually good at catching those (since they don't really move). When I feed him crickets, he will slam his face into the slate tile on the bottom where a cricket was a few seconds ago, that he thought he was still there.
I recently lost my Puff, the magic dragon. I bought him years ago because he was was missing his one leg. It never held him back one bit and he was an awesome creature to be around. He was a baby and that's what I keep looking at in all the pet stores and reptile shows I go too. So far, I just haven't saw one that felt like he was "it". They all have their adorable expression and poses that shout "take me home!" but I have been strong.
Tom said:
The more I look at the skunks the more I like them too from what I've read videos I've seen. I don't mind feeding bugs not needing as much light is a plus but I want the one with best character that bonds with owner the most, wish I could get both but my bf would kill me !!!!
Was supposed to say skinks
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