Do I buy another beardie?

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ironmabel

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I originally had 2 beardies but last night sadly one of them passed away and I'm not sure whether or not I should get another one.

This beardie enjoyed being handled and was just a lot more used to humans than my other beardie. He doesn't enjoy being handled at all and it stresses him out. Because Im so used to going and grabbing her to handle when Im upset or just want to Im worried that with her passing away I'll grab my other beardie instead which might cause him a lot more stress than needed.

I was also considering trying to train him and get him used to handling but I feel like this would be unfair on him because he is old and probably doesn't have too long left because of that, I feel like I would just be spending the rest of his life stressing him out for my benefit.

But Im also worried buying another beardie would put my current one at risk of parasites or infections and that it would feel like I was trying to replace my old beardie. Im just conflicted and want help deciding

If anyone knows any trusted sellers of beardies I would appreciate it if you pointed me in their direction.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Do you know why the other beardie died? Did you house the two together? Your stress will trickle down to the dragon as you mentioned -- your dragons should be destressers --- as long as you keep the dragons apart and are aware of passing parasites etc to the other dragon it should be fine getting another dragon --
Karrie
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
First, welcome. Since you're new, and this is your first post, a little more information might help us help you.

Second, just an observation: Your post title asks, "Do I buy another beardie?"
while your closing sentence is, "If anyone knows any trusted sellers of beardies I would appreciate it if you pointed me in their direction." which sounds more like you've already made up your mind. Nothing wrong with that; I just hope you're being honest with yourself.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but were these two dragons housed together? :dontknow:
If so, that can usually cause more stress in one or both dragons than taming a dragon does. Not a good idea regardless of their sexes, ages, or sizes.

I was also considering trying to train him and get him used to handling but I feel like this would be unfair on him because he is old and probably doesn't have too long left because of that, I feel like I would just be spending the rest of his life stressing him out for my benefit.
How old is he? AFAIK, old dragons--like old dogs--can be taught new things, unless there is some (other than age) factor not mentioned. Regardless, taming would be accomplished the same way for a young dragon as an old dragon--slowly and with patience. It shouldn't be too stressful, else it's not being done correctly.

While you didn't ask, dragons don't feel lonely or experience grief; they're solitary critters, and--except for outliers--do better, with less stress, by themselves.

But Im also worried .... that it would feel like I was trying to replace my old beardie.
Speaking as one who has had many pets over the years, IME, the best way of dealing with the loss is getting another ASAP (when you're ready in all respects). You wouldn't be replacing your beardie; you'd be filling the hole/need/void it left. If it still bothers you, have you considered a different species (e.g. uromastix, ackie monitor, one of the true chameleons, etc.)?

Infection would most likely be visible. The chance of parasites is ever-present, and can happen to any pet at any time. Both are examples of why it's best to isolate new pets until these questions can be determined/resolved, and a veterinary wellness check and fecal exam be performed.

There are many good breeders out there, and many ways of building a list. I'm going to leave specific recommendations to others. Once you've established a list, you should be able to check them out (ratings & feedback) on sites like FB, Morphmarket.com, etc. Unfortunately, IMO, this is a bad time for this because there aren't m/any reptile shows to go to where you can check breeders out in-person.

Best wishes
 

ironmabel

Member
Original Poster
MrSpectrum":ndjnq1e9 said:
First, welcome. Since you're new, and this is your first post, a little more information might help us help you.

Second, just an observation: Your post title asks, "Do I buy another beardie?"
while your closing sentence is, "If anyone knows any trusted sellers of beardies I would appreciate it if you pointed me in their direction." which sounds more like you've already made up your mind. Nothing wrong with that; I just hope you're being honest with yourself.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but were these two dragons housed together? :dontknow:
If so, that can usually cause more stress in one or both dragons than taming a dragon does. Not a good idea regardless of their sexes, ages, or sizes.

I was also considering trying to train him and get him used to handling but I feel like this would be unfair on him because he is old and probably doesn't have too long left because of that, I feel like I would just be spending the rest of his life stressing him out for my benefit.
How old is he? AFAIK, old dragons--like old dogs--can be taught new things, unless there is some (other than age) factor not mentioned. Regardless, taming would be accomplished the same way for a young dragon as an old dragon--slowly and with patience. It shouldn't be too stressful, else it's not being done correctly.

While you didn't ask, dragons don't feel lonely or experience grief; they're solitary critters, and--except for outliers--do better, with less stress, by themselves.

But Im also worried .... that it would feel like I was trying to replace my old beardie.
Speaking as one who has had many pets over the years, IME, the best way of dealing with the loss is getting another ASAP (when you're ready in all respects). You wouldn't be replacing your beardie; you'd be filling the hole/need/void it left. If it still bothers you, have you considered a different species (e.g. uromastix, ackie monitor, one of the true chameleons, etc.)?

Infection would most likely be visible. The chance of parasites is ever-present, and can happen to any pet at any time. Both are examples of why it's best to isolate new pets until these questions can be determined/resolved, and a veterinary wellness check and fecal exam be performed.

There are many good breeders out there, and many ways of building a list. I'm going to leave specific recommendations to others. Once you've established a list, you should be able to check them out (ratings & feedback) on sites like FB, Morphmarket.com, etc. Unfortunately, IMO, this is a bad time for this because there aren't m/any reptile shows to go to where you can check breeders out in-person.

Best wishes

They were not housed together since I have owned them, before I owned them they were but I took them and separated them asap.

Im leaning more towards buying another one, but Im still not 100% sure if Im ready or if I can afford it financially, as I would like to buy another set up.

I can't be 100% sure on his age but he's around 7-9 from what I heard from the previous owners. I can take him out for baths and for feeding without him getting agitated but the moment someone else walks in the room or I accidentally make a noise, pick something up etc he gets very stressed. The problem has got better and he is a lot more calm but because of how agitated he would get I decided it would be better for me to just let him stay in his tank and take him out for feeding and baths etc.

Thank you for
 

ironmabel

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":3387n9n5 said:
Do you know why the other beardie died? Did you house the two together? Your stress will trickle down to the dragon as you mentioned -- your dragons should be destressers --- as long as you keep the dragons apart and are aware of passing parasites etc to the other dragon it should be fine getting another dragon --
Karrie

Previous owners housed them together for most of their lives without sufficient UV lighting.
They both came to me with trouble shedding, very easily aggravated and did not like being handled by people. Especially the older one who is still alive.

The beardie who died was younger and actually stopped having issues with shedding, getting aggraveted and quickly I feel grew a bond with me. She had a short stubby tail, potentially from where the older beardie had bit it off and half the spikes on her head were missing. But she pulled through and actually recovered very well and very quickly.

I don't know how she died. All I know is she wasnt being herself for a few days before. I gave her a bath assuming she was shedding or was slightly impacted (but this is unlikely because she did go to the toilet the day before and this day in the bath). It wasn't like, alarmingly different though? She was a lot less agitated than she gets when shes shedding. She wasnt lethargic, she wasnt burrowing or glass sliding or anything like that her beard would just go black, so I didnt think much of it and told myself I'd give her a bath again the next day.

I fed her in the morning and found nothing unusual then went to bed and when I went back upstairs to check on her she was gone.
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
ironmabel":277n9g0m said:
Im leaning more towards buying another one, but Im still not 100% sure if Im ready or if I can afford it financially, as I would like to buy another set up.
Those are the key questions only you can answer for yourself.

Just my opinion, but if the current pandemic is a factor in either of those questions, I would wait until you're both sure and financially able to do things right (including a rainy day/contingency reserve if things--gosh forbid--go sideways). I say this partly/largely because my own plans to add another lizard to our menagerie (despite being both sure and financially able) had to be postponed for a while; the Spring reptile shows where I was going to check out breeders and purchase one were all cancelled, and (being in a higher risk age group) I'm trying to avoid trips to Home Despot/Blowes for a bit. :roll:

I can't be 100% sure on his age but he's around 7-9 from what I heard from the previous owners.
I can empathize. I have an older therapy/service dog that needs some very expensive orthopedic surgery. He could last another 5 years or be gone by year's end. :dontknow:
We've got to do it either way.

I think it would still be worthwhile to work with/tame your older beardie, as it won't cost you anything but spending some time with him, ....and isn't that why we keep critters? :D

Are you thinking about a baby or another rescue?
 
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