Advice? Bearded dragon in horrible living conditions.

So I don't know what to do at this point so i'm going to turn to you guys for help. My friend has a bearded dragon who is probably three (he doesn't know, not because he never knew it's age, he just didn't care enough to keep track.) He has it on sand, despite the fact I've told him it can cause impaction and lead death. I'm almost one hundred percent sure there is no UVB light right now at all, just a night one (which I've said still disturbs his sleep) and a normal basking one (that I'm certain is too hot) he's not feeding it any insects, besides mealworms and is just feeding it Lettuce, celery, and apples. He doesn't have a thermometer, and frankly he doesn't seem to care about it at all. I tell him the stuff he is doing can kill his beardie, but he continues to ignore every piece of advice. I gave him the specific kind of UVB bulb and hood he'd need and he then proceeds to go out and buy a night bulb that I already said messes with his sleep, I would like to add I told him he can get a Ceramic heater, but he doesn't even need that because his house is at a minimum of 75 degrees. If you name any of the major issues people do he has done them all. I've tried to help him change his issues but he won't, so now I need help. I want to keep him as a friend so I can't be an *******. Should I try buying the bearded dragon from him, or is there any other choice? Do you guys have advice?

If you feel like taking it on as your own go ahead and see if you can buy it from him. Do you have the time, money + the space for it ?

Geez, I hate these situations. Yes, please try and purchase it from him. If you feel you personally do not have the money to care for him though, try to rehome him (there is a free section on this forum or try a local reptile rescue). Thank you for caring about this beardies life!

I agree. The first thing to do is what you've already done and try to offer information and support. If that doesn't work, offering to adopt or buy the dragon yourself is the best option. Unfortunately they don't have much (if any other than being property) legal protection so if your friend isn't making improvements, taking the dragon into your care with their permission or buying the dragon is what's left. If you're unable to care for the dragon yourself you can try and connect with a rescue operation who may be able to help nurse him back to health and find a good home for him.

Even with good information he won't make changes? Sorry, but what an *******. This is a living creature.

I'd definitely try to get it from him and rehome if you can't keep him. And honestly I wouldn't be worried about losing a friend who doesn't seem to be empathetic enough to properly care for an animal when he's been GIVEN good information in how to do it.

True friends should be able to take some criticism... so I'd be honest with him when you say you want to take him off his hands because he's not properly caring for it.

It needs to be said that your level of concern and your willingness to take action to help an animal that is clearly suffering is extremely commendable. The fact that the person neglecting this beardie is a close friend makes me wonder what I would do in this situation. But the truth is that if I saw an animal being abused or neglected by a friend, it would be a glaring red flag that this is a person lacking empathy, kindness, and morality, and therefore not someone I’d want to associate with. The most disturbing part of your friend’s persona was when you went to great pains to attempt to help their ailing pet, going so far as to spend your own money to buy proper lighting that could give this poor lizard a shot at health, and your friend refused to use the most vital component a bearded dragon needs just to function. He clearly never did any bare bones research on what a bearded dragon needs to live a healthy existence, and when you attempted to educate or help him he rebuffed your efforts. If my best friend bought a bearded dragon on impulse, refused to purchase a UV light, which is as essential to bearded dragons as water is to fish, fed the animal a crap diet, kept the animal on a substrate that could lead to impaction, and installed a neon red light so that the beardie would be constantly stressed, then refused to change anything no matter how many articles by vets, breeders, and herpetologists I sent them that show that everything they’re doing is causing their pet pain (and I use the word loosely because “pet” implies a level of love and caring for an animal this person clearly doesn’t possess), then there’s only one conclusion: My friend is an a—-hole. In your scenario there’s an animal that spent its formative years suffering, but there’s hope for this creature because like it or not, your conscience has made you the fairy godmother in this animal’s life story. I would definitely get this beardie out of that house ASAP through any means necessary. Since your friend’s neglect of the beardie implies the animal has little emotional significance to him, offering to adopt or buy the beardie from him could be this lizard’s only hope. You’d clearly make a compassionate and knowledgeable owner for this animal, and with the proper lighting and diet this beardie would still have a shot at a decent life (I know this because I adopted a beardie whose early years were filled with such a horrific level of neglect and abuse that the details would make many beardie lovers on this site burst into tears. But after a long rehabilitation she began to flourish and the animal that before had been too weak and malnourished to move became a puppy in a lizard’s body. She was so full of curiosity and joy that people were shocked to learn she’d once been at death’s door due to the cruel neglect she’d suffered. And she lived to be 17 years old, BTW ). You tried the teach-a-man-to-fish approach but your friend refuses to listen and stop forcing this animal to suffer. So I would highly encourage you to take this animal into your care—doing whatever you have to do to get your friend to relinquish the beardie—and give it the life it deserves. The fact that you care so much about this lizard and that you’re considering spending money just to get this animal out of a miserable situation is a testament to YOUR character. And I can say from personal experience that watching an animal that was destined to die young based on the neglect it would have continued to endure without intervention blossom into an energetic and loving beardie that gave me so many happy years as her owner is a feeling that’s unequivocal. So yes—get that beardie under your loving roof. If for some reason your friend refuses to give you the beardie he’s turning into his own personal snuff film, you can call a local animal shelter or animal control agency that can assist with steps to get the animal out of his care. My hunch is that things wouldn’t need to get to this point and that he’ll take you up on your offer, but whether he sells you the lizard or it needs to be confiscated in order to save its life, at the end of the day your friend is an a——hole. As soon as the animal was safely under my care, I’d consider limiting my social circle to people that don’t abuse or neglect animals. In both relationships and friendships, that trait will always be an automatic dealbreaker for me.

While yes, I don't agree with said 'friend', I think the poster is able to make up their own mind on this