charmander16
Juvie Member
We got a reptile because my kid wanted one and I didn't know any better.
Now that we have our dragon, we love him and we've gone all out to provide the best care possible, but since taking this on I've learned a lot and from what I can see, honestly, reptiles should not be sold and marketed as pets to the degree that they are. They are VASTLY over marketed and over sold.
We are enjoying our dragon and we are providing a good home, but I can see that it requires a huge effort and a lot of research and resources. I'm an engineer, with a good job, solid income, stable house, etc. Caring for a reptile is hard for someone like me. I've been someone who couldn't do it in the past. It's just like having kids. Yeah, I'm doing it now, but I know I've been at many points in my life when I couldn't have done it (well). I've had many points in my life when I couldn't possibly have cared for a reptile.
Can some people take good care of them? Yes, absolutely. Can some people truly enjoy them? Of course. Can some people provide them with a truly enjoyable life? Sure...
However, I'd be willing to bet that only about 5% or perhaps less of the reptiles that make it into a pet store end up in a good home home for a lifetime. That's appalling. I could be wrong, but I seriously don't think so.
I think that Pet Smart and PetCo and the internet have played a big role in expanding the reptile market to a point well beyond what it should be. IMO, no reptile has any business in a big box pet store. I'd even go so far as to say that concerned reptile owners should lobby to force removal of all reptiles from chain stores.
I think we need to do a better job as a community of being honest about reptile care and ownership.
I see too many articles and posts on the internet, by well meaning people in most cases, promoting reptile ownership or help guides that send the message, "you can do it!"
What we should be saying is: "Honestly, owning a reptile is hard and expensive and not nearly as interactive or rewarding as owning a dog or cat, but it can be done. If you really want to do it, these are tips to be successful, but in all honestly, you probably shouldn't."
When we got ours I bought my initial setup from someone off craigslist. He said that his sadly died after 7 years. From what I've now learned I can see why. His setup was horrible, and he seemed like a nice guy who really tried.
He had a 40 gallon tank, the wrong kind of UVB light, a red light for night heat, and crushed walnut for substrate.
Pet stores don't even carry the right food for most reptiles, let alone bearded dragons. Honestly, you could never maintain any reptile based on food available from Pet Smart. As a store, if you can't sell the food required to maintain an animal you shouldn't sell the animal. Actually supporting most reptiles will require that you breed your own food.
I used to wonder why pet stores didn't have older bearded dragons for sale, like 4-6 month olds. My thought was that dragons are still pretty hard to care for at 2 months old, so if you could buy them at 4-6 months old then it would be much easier. Now I realize that they don't have dragons past 2 months old because they don't survive that long. They are either sold or they die. Most pet stores can't afford to maintain reptiles for very long. They only provide just enough care to keep them alive for a month or so. I'd go so far as to say that most reptiles in most pet stores are in the process of dying. Maybe some of the turtles are doing a little better, but not much.
And, as a former Floridian, I'm well aware of the impact of released pets into the wild (Florida is the king of invasive species). I haven't even researched invasive bearded dragons, because I'm afraid of what I'd find, but if we don't already have a problem with invasive bearded dragons in the US, I'm certain that we will. I'd like to see a permanent warning on the home page of this site against the release of dragons, or any reptile, into the wild. It needs to be clear that, under no circumstance should they ever be released. If you can't care for them and can't give them away, then you have to euthanize them - period. You cannot release them, ever.
I'm extremely grateful for the resources that this website and community provides, but we need to be honest and, IMO, we should not *promote* reptile ownership.
Now that we have our dragon, we love him and we've gone all out to provide the best care possible, but since taking this on I've learned a lot and from what I can see, honestly, reptiles should not be sold and marketed as pets to the degree that they are. They are VASTLY over marketed and over sold.
We are enjoying our dragon and we are providing a good home, but I can see that it requires a huge effort and a lot of research and resources. I'm an engineer, with a good job, solid income, stable house, etc. Caring for a reptile is hard for someone like me. I've been someone who couldn't do it in the past. It's just like having kids. Yeah, I'm doing it now, but I know I've been at many points in my life when I couldn't have done it (well). I've had many points in my life when I couldn't possibly have cared for a reptile.
Can some people take good care of them? Yes, absolutely. Can some people truly enjoy them? Of course. Can some people provide them with a truly enjoyable life? Sure...
However, I'd be willing to bet that only about 5% or perhaps less of the reptiles that make it into a pet store end up in a good home home for a lifetime. That's appalling. I could be wrong, but I seriously don't think so.
I think that Pet Smart and PetCo and the internet have played a big role in expanding the reptile market to a point well beyond what it should be. IMO, no reptile has any business in a big box pet store. I'd even go so far as to say that concerned reptile owners should lobby to force removal of all reptiles from chain stores.
I think we need to do a better job as a community of being honest about reptile care and ownership.
I see too many articles and posts on the internet, by well meaning people in most cases, promoting reptile ownership or help guides that send the message, "you can do it!"
What we should be saying is: "Honestly, owning a reptile is hard and expensive and not nearly as interactive or rewarding as owning a dog or cat, but it can be done. If you really want to do it, these are tips to be successful, but in all honestly, you probably shouldn't."
When we got ours I bought my initial setup from someone off craigslist. He said that his sadly died after 7 years. From what I've now learned I can see why. His setup was horrible, and he seemed like a nice guy who really tried.
He had a 40 gallon tank, the wrong kind of UVB light, a red light for night heat, and crushed walnut for substrate.
Pet stores don't even carry the right food for most reptiles, let alone bearded dragons. Honestly, you could never maintain any reptile based on food available from Pet Smart. As a store, if you can't sell the food required to maintain an animal you shouldn't sell the animal. Actually supporting most reptiles will require that you breed your own food.
I used to wonder why pet stores didn't have older bearded dragons for sale, like 4-6 month olds. My thought was that dragons are still pretty hard to care for at 2 months old, so if you could buy them at 4-6 months old then it would be much easier. Now I realize that they don't have dragons past 2 months old because they don't survive that long. They are either sold or they die. Most pet stores can't afford to maintain reptiles for very long. They only provide just enough care to keep them alive for a month or so. I'd go so far as to say that most reptiles in most pet stores are in the process of dying. Maybe some of the turtles are doing a little better, but not much.
And, as a former Floridian, I'm well aware of the impact of released pets into the wild (Florida is the king of invasive species). I haven't even researched invasive bearded dragons, because I'm afraid of what I'd find, but if we don't already have a problem with invasive bearded dragons in the US, I'm certain that we will. I'd like to see a permanent warning on the home page of this site against the release of dragons, or any reptile, into the wild. It needs to be clear that, under no circumstance should they ever be released. If you can't care for them and can't give them away, then you have to euthanize them - period. You cannot release them, ever.
I'm extremely grateful for the resources that this website and community provides, but we need to be honest and, IMO, we should not *promote* reptile ownership.
Also, feeding baby BD meal worms is a brilliant idea... 
