Help!

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Hey, Everyone! I am new to this website! I am wanting to get a Bearded Dragon, but I first have to convince my parents! Is there any good things about Bearded Dragons to help convince my parents in letting me get one???
~~Miranda~~
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi Miranda....I'm surprised that you haven't had any replies yet. :) I won't write much now , it's late for me + my eyes are drooping.....anyway, beardies can be a lot of fun ,tame ,very sweet and a moderate amount of work, especially if you get a baby.

A similar thread to yours is just a few threads down, I'll post a link to one comment that offers some insight on questions you + your parents might have. I'm sure that other posters will have some tips + comments for you, too. :)

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=236437#p1817892
 

kyleena29

Sub-Adult Member
You could tell them it will teach you responsibility and compassion for living things. But do be aware that you or your parents need to be able to buy the necessary items for a beardie and the possibility that it may or may not need a vet visit. I hate to see that something comes up and the parents are unwilling to take it to the vet.
 

ClydesGirl

Sub-Adult Member
As far as pets go, beardies make great ones compared to something like a cat or dog. Their set-up is pretty particular, but once you get everything in place, you shouldn't have to change much over time other than changing out the light bulbs.

If you get a baby/juvenile beardie, feeding it can be quite a lot of work and very expensive. But if you get an adult, feeding isn't too bad. The primarily eat veggies with only a few live feeders per week. So you won't have to keep whole colonies of crickets like you would with a growing beardie. I swear, when my beardie was growing, the crickets were like keeping a whole other pet! I had a big bin to keep them in that I had to clean all of the time and I had to give them food and water! It was a lot to deal with. But as an adult, Bert makes due with maybe a dozen hornworms a week? Or maybe 50 waxworms or butterworms. Much less hassle.

The great things I will say about adult bearded dragons are that they are very docile and friendly, usually fine with being handled and held, can be let out of their enclosures and allowed to explore in a secure environment, don't make a lot of mess, and their food needs are no more expensive or intensive than most cats or dogs.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
What I will say to you is this: If you do not have a regular source of income, as I assume you do not because you're a teenager, then if your parents do decide to get you a bearded dragon as a pet, they also must be willing to spend the total amount of money at the beginning to buy everything he needs to stay healthy and grow, probably will have to spend around $300+ at the beginning for the beardie (assuming you get a normal, baby beardie and not an adult or some special morph or color, as they cost hundreds of dollars), an appropriately sized enclosure (a 40 gallon breeder tank is the absolute minimum size enclosure to start with, and a 4'x2'x2' enclosure is recommended at between 1-2 years old), AN APPROPRIATE LONG, 18" OR 24" FLOURESCENT TUBE UVB LIGHT, 24" is best for a 40 gallon breeder tank, that absolutely must be either a Reptisun 10.0 (never a 5.0!) 24" long T8 or better yet a T5 High-Output UVB tube and a matching length, long, flourescent tube fixture, a BRIGHT WHITE (only bright white, no cited bulbs at all, no blue, red, green, yellow, black, or "moonlight" day or night bulbs) 100 watt basking bulb and matching clamp or dome fixture, a digital thermometer with a probe on a wire (never any stick-on or cheap, round, gauge thermometers), a proper SOLID substrate for the bottom of the enclosure like reptile carpeting, ceramic floor tiles, Non-adhesive shelf liner, etc. (NO LOOSE SUBSTRATES LIKE SAND, CRUSHED WALNUT SHELLS, BARK, MULCH, WOOD SHAVINGS, RODENT BEDDING, ETC.), and then any enclosure decor you may want, he will need a basking platform that gets him within the proper distance of his UVB light, and should have a hide to get inside, plus a food dish for his fresh daily salad, etc. So your parents need to know it will cost them at least $300 at the very beginning, as these are all REQUIRED and are not optional. You don't need any night lights, they disrupt their sleep and he wants it cool at night, just like the desert, so as long as his enclosure is at least 65 degrees at night he needs no nighttime heat source. You also need no heat mats, no commercial bearded dragon foods like pellets or anything freeze-dried, and please do not buy ANY of the pre-packaged "Kits" that include a tank, lights, fixtures, etc. because none of them come with appropriate lights, and you'll just end up replacing his lights after you realize he's very sick and not growing properly from an inadequate UVB light. Never buy any coil bulbs of any kind, and most compact (regular lightbulb type) UVB bulbs are not adequate, you must have a long, flourescent tube UVB light and matching length fixture. I know of no bearded dragon kit that comes with a long UVB light and no colored basking bulbs. Also, he'll need a calcium powder and a multivitamin powder at the start.

Then your parents need to realize they're going to spend between $30-$50 a month for live feeder insects and fresh greens every single day. Plus they will have periodic things that will need replaced in addition to the monthly food bill, like Calcium and multivitamin powders when they run out, basking bulbs when they blow out, and you must replace their UVB tube every 6 months to a year, depending on which one you buy. This is not optional, as UVB lights stop emitting UVB light after 6 months to a year even though they're still emitting regular light and turn on. So these little expenditures will come up on top of the monthly food bill. Babies eat between 40-50 live insects per day up until they are a year old or older...Then your parents also need to know that YOUR BEARDIE MAY NEED AND PROBABLY WILL NEED TO SEE AN EXPERIENCED REPTILE VET AT SOME POINT OR POINTS, WHEN THEY GET EITHER SICK OR HURT. An average reptile vet visit for something typical like treating parasites/worms or an infection of some sort costs between $100-$150 for the visit, exam, and meds, and much more if tests are required. Again, this isn't optional. So your parents must be willing to commit to spending around $300+ to start off, then between $30-$50 every single month from that point on for the daily live feeder insects and fresh greens. Then be willing to spend other periodic money to replace Calcium and multivitamin powders, lights that need replacing and updating, and reptile vet visits.

I'm telling you all of this so that both you and your parents know what you're getting into and what is required financially, because every day we see kids with sick beardies whose parents refuse to take them to a vet, refuse to buy enough live insects, refuse to even buy a required UVB light or to replace it after 6 months, and these poor dragons become sick and die.
 

HarmonyLOVE17

Member
Original Poster
Hey Everyone! Thanks so much for all the information and tips! I do have one species of Reptiles. I own two Green Anoles! I pay for all of their supplies and all of their food that they need. That was the deal right off the bat with my parents is that I pay for everything with my Anoles (same with my horse too). I have found a female adult Bearded Dragon. So I would like to get her with her being tame already and being an adult. I am also building my own enclosure for a Bearded Dragon.
EllenD, Thank you so much for all the information on Bearded Dragons! It was very very helpful! :D :D
 

HarmonyLOVE17

Member
Original Poster
EllenD":2p50kbag said:
What I will say to you is this: If you do not have a regular source of income, as I assume you do not because you're a teenager, then if your parents do decide to get you a bearded dragon as a pet, they also must be willing to spend the total amount of money at the beginning to buy everything he needs to stay healthy and grow, probably will have to spend around $300+ at the beginning for the beardie (assuming you get a normal, baby beardie and not an adult or some special morph or color, as they cost hundreds of dollars), an appropriately sized enclosure (a 40 gallon breeder tank is the absolute minimum size enclosure to start with, and a 4'x2'x2' enclosure is recommended at between 1-2 years old), AN APPROPRIATE LONG, 18" OR 24" FLOURESCENT TUBE UVB LIGHT, 24" is best for a 40 gallon breeder tank, that absolutely must be either a Reptisun 10.0 (never a 5.0!) 24" long T8 or better yet a T5 High-Output UVB tube and a matching length, long, flourescent tube fixture, a BRIGHT WHITE (only bright white, no cited bulbs at all, no blue, red, green, yellow, black, or "moonlight" day or night bulbs) 100 watt basking bulb and matching clamp or dome fixture, a digital thermometer with a probe on a wire (never any stick-on or cheap, round, gauge thermometers), a proper SOLID substrate for the bottom of the enclosure like reptile carpeting, ceramic floor tiles, Non-adhesive shelf liner, etc. (NO LOOSE SUBSTRATES LIKE SAND, CRUSHED WALNUT SHELLS, BARK, MULCH, WOOD SHAVINGS, RODENT BEDDING, ETC.), and then any enclosure decor you may want, he will need a basking platform that gets him within the proper distance of his UVB light, and should have a hide to get inside, plus a food dish for his fresh daily salad, etc. So your parents need to know it will cost them at least $300 at the very beginning, as these are all REQUIRED and are not optional. You don't need any night lights, they disrupt their sleep and he wants it cool at night, just like the desert, so as long as his enclosure is at least 65 degrees at night he needs no nighttime heat source. You also need no heat mats, no commercial bearded dragon foods like pellets or anything freeze-dried, and please do not buy ANY of the pre-packaged "Kits" that include a tank, lights, fixtures, etc. because none of them come with appropriate lights, and you'll just end up replacing his lights after you realize he's very sick and not growing properly from an inadequate UVB light. Never buy any coil bulbs of any kind, and most compact (regular lightbulb type) UVB bulbs are not adequate, you must have a long, flourescent tube UVB light and matching length fixture. I know of no bearded dragon kit that comes with a long UVB light and no colored basking bulbs. Also, he'll need a calcium powder and a multivitamin powder at the start.

Then your parents need to realize they're going to spend between $30-$50 a month for live feeder insects and fresh greens every single day. Plus they will have periodic things that will need replaced in addition to the monthly food bill, like Calcium and multivitamin powders when they run out, basking bulbs when they blow out, and you must replace their UVB tube every 6 months to a year, depending on which one you buy. This is not optional, as UVB lights stop emitting UVB light after 6 months to a year even though they're still emitting regular light and turn on. So these little expenditures will come up on top of the monthly food bill. Babies eat between 40-50 live insects per day up until they are a year old or older...Then your parents also need to know that YOUR BEARDIE MAY NEED AND PROBABLY WILL NEED TO SEE AN EXPERIENCED REPTILE VET AT SOME POINT OR POINTS, WHEN THEY GET EITHER SICK OR HURT. An average reptile vet visit for something typical like treating parasites/worms or an infection of some sort costs between $100-$150 for the visit, exam, and meds, and much more if tests are required. Again, this isn't optional. So your parents must be willing to commit to spending around $300+ to start off, then between $30-$50 every single month from that point on for the daily live feeder insects and fresh greens. Then be willing to spend other periodic money to replace Calcium and multivitamin powders, lights that need replacing and updating, and reptile vet visits.

I'm telling you all of this so that both you and your parents know what you're getting into and what is required financially, because every day we see kids with sick beardies whose parents refuse to take them to a vet, refuse to buy enough live insects, refuse to even buy a required UVB light or to replace it after 6 months, and these poor dragons become sick and die.

I have also found this picture of an Adult Bearded Dragon care for the week and general. Is this picture relabel?? :D Also thank you so much for all the information it was very very helpful!! :D :D
94372-4823723016.jpg
 
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