First time dragon caretaker

Hello! Yesterday I purchased a juvenile Pogona vitticeps. It is approximately six inches, so maybe two months old? It was at a local pet shop kept with a sibling and as a result it only has one toe on its left fore paw. Its stump makes gripping branches slightly difficult, but it doesn't slow the little critter down too much. They nicknamed it "Sir Nub" at the pet shop, so I guess that name will stick.



I have been caring for captive bred Gopherus morafkai tortoises for four years now. I am a college student. I'm studying natural resources with an emphasis on conservation biology. I worked in an evolutionary biology lab over the summer last year conducting bioinformatic research on geographic range shifts and speciation in context with climate change. My passion is definitely herpetology.

This is my first omnivorous herp, but I am glad to see that a lot of the forbs cross over between the two species. I grow turnips, collard greens, carrots, and squash for my tortoises and am super pleased that they're part of a well rounded diet for beardies.

I am lucky in that I already had UV and basking lights, a good sized tank, calcium with D3 and multivitamin powders, etc. when I made the impulse decision to adopt Sir Nub yesterday. I've got some small reptiworms on order and picked up a bunch of little crickets today. When I was given two tortoise hatchlings I was lost and confused and had never taken care of a reptile before. I have a lot to learn about both species still, but I'm not nearly as stressed about my new friend as the first time around!

I am excited to be here and learn from everyone!

Welcome to the wonderful world of beardies :mrgreen: I am so happy to see you have the proper knowledge to care for one if these amazing critters, I wish you and your little pal the best of luck!

Thanks! I am glad I knew what I was getting into before getting Sir Nub, but I still have plenty to learn. It'll come with time and experience. I've mostly handled wild and dead reptiles until now. A great trick for bites is to blow into their mouth until they let go. Handling Nub is delightful compared to some angry wild lizards I was catching and measuring last spring.

I am also dreadful at portioning out crickets, but I have never had to deal with live food before. I'm super embarrassed - I'm not afraid of touching them but I am afraid of killing them? The only bearded dragon I've handled before now was a mature one, no feeding involved. I'll get the hang of it soon I hope.