Pampering

Are bearded dragons ment to be pampered?

Are any pets? It depends on the culture and the individual.

Shenzhen becomes first Chinese city to ban consumption of cats and dogs

I spoze it also depends on your definition of "pamper". Some people might say we (DW & I) pamper our pets; others might say we're responsible caretakers.

I pamper all my pets as often as budget allows. Treats, toys, enclosure upgrades, and spending as much time handling my guinea pigs, rabbits, and of course my beardie as I can. These aren't just pets to me they are part of my family and when my actual family comes to visit they want to handle them too (my mom how was terrified of lizards now loves my beardie and takes him out of his enclosure whenever she visits).

Shaun78":386uusnw said:

These aren't just pets to me they are part of my family

Click to expand...

You bring up a good point. Animals can occupy one or more various slots in cultures & lives. My great grandfather had some dogs that were working farm dogs & lived strictly outside, and others that were family pets who were allowed inside. Some slots are:

• scientific study/test subjects
• livestock/commodity (some--not all--breeders/dealers view animals this way)
• working animals (including service animals; not really applicable to beardies)
• casual pets
• therapy/support animals (again, not usually applicable to beardies)
• family member pets
• child substitutes

There may be others I've inadvertently overlooked.

Good breakdown MrSpectrum.

I'm also with Shaun78 that my animals are my immediate family.

There is an idea, has a couple names, called 'circle of relationships' or 'circle of intimacy'. The point is to think if we can or should treat people in our lives equally. How much of our resources of time, money, energy, attention, etc to invest in another person. Some people might disagree on including the creatures you live with in this model, but it is individual so there is no wrong way to place people (or animals) in your circles. For me my creatures are more important than most people I know, even relatives.

Because my creatures are very important to me I am willing to invest much of myself into them. Pampering my creatures in a way they benefit is good for me. I am happy to pamper.

That doesn't answer the question if bearded dragons are meant to be pampered. Sometimes I see Devlyn and just, I don't know how she would make it out in the wild. For her own good it's better for her to be a pet dragon. I swear Devlyn loves going outside and her dream life would be to spend all day outside, the weather is always perfect, and I come find her every day to offer food. I swear that is actually what she wants and she doesn't understand why I don't let her do that :roll: :lol:

I agree with the "family member" paradigm. And my beardie comes very close to being an "emotional support animal" since he tolerates cuddling pretty well. :love5:

As for "pampering," we live pretty simply with him, although my husband often splurges and brings him hornworms for holidays, or when the pet store is out of the usual crickets and roaches.
Like: "They were out of hamburger so you'll have to settle for prime rib." No problem. The little guy scarfs up hornworms with much enthusiasm.

DorgEndo":o380ycxj said:

Good breakdown MrSpectrum.

Click to expand...

Thx. Ol' Furface (Lab) occupies several slots; he's a service & therapy dog, & family member--so much so that certain friends refer to themselves as his aunts/uncles (on their own--not by us; he's a crowd-pleaser). :roll:

I'm not sure where the reptile(s) fall yet, other than not the same as Ol' Furface. While they get the same level of care & concern (including a modicum of pampering), I can admit there isn't the same emotional attachment.

Now if ZARDOZ learned to fetch & recycle stuff, and not poop in the house... :roll:

Some people say that a bearded dragon is a dog in a lizard's body, but our beardie is more like a cat in a lizard's body -- he's got a mind of his own...

I agree that an emotional bond with a reptile is a little different than with a dog or a cat or other mammals. It can be done, but the distance that you have to cross is wider.

As for housebreaking, our beardie usually poops in the water when we give him a bath, but accidents do happen. Can't expect perfection.

SHBailey":3c28y3mn said:

Some people say that a bearded dragon is a dog in a lizard's body, but our beardie is more like a cat in a lizard's body -- he's got a mind of his own...

Click to expand...

I've heard that said of B&W Tegus rather than BDs, but I wouldn't disagree; they're all individuals. Mine has a mind of his own and an attitude to boot! :lol:

I've heard it said about iguanas (that they can become "dog tame"), and turtles too. My sister has a turtle that I once took care of while she was out of town, and one day it just hit me all at once that I had fallen in love with that little turtle. I had just put her back in her tank and the next project was to feed her and she was looking up at me like, "Where's my worm?"

Our beardie, Puff the "magic" (bearded) dragon is mellow almost to the point of being listless, but he is very good at giving us "The Look" with the slightly flared beard and the eyes... :|

Yes, I agree that they each have their own special personalities. And they all deserve to be well taken care of, including but not necessarily limited to "pampering."