Possible New Owner with Small Children.

Hello!! I am brand new to this forum and so far this place has been EXTREMELY helpful!! I am looking into getting a bearded dragon. My Mom was wanting to get the kids (ages 3yrs (almost 4yrs) and 18mo) a rabbit for Easter. Well doing research, it wouldn't have worked out very well. We are not able to have dogs or cats right now. I have been wanting a bearded dragon for awhile now, and thought this was the time to do it!! Trying to do all the research I can to make sure I do this right. I am a registered vet tech so I want to make sure I can completely provide for the animal before getting it. I stay home with the kids now.

Anyways, besides normal newbie questions, is there a concern with my kids? Plus trying to get pregnant now for our 3rd child. I have read some discussions on here about salmonella, and I will make sure to wash hands. But with loud noises, kids being loud, running around the house, throwing tantrums. Will that stress the bearded dragon out? Not be a good environment for them? Thinking about having the set up in the living room?

Advice on the kids handling him/her? We will probably get one from the pet store and it may be pretty little.

I REALLY want to get one, but I want to make sure I am doing the right thing for the kids and the bearded dragon.

Thank you!!

First, thank you for recognizing a rabbit wouldnt make a great Easter present/pet. Too many poor buns end up in shoddy lives

As for a beardie, they are hardy reptiles and once you have the equipment sorted they are quite easy to care for (comparatively anyway!). A dragon should be fine around kids but I would personally limit interactions with the kiddos while he dragon is little. It's just way to easy to hurt them. Most cages can be fitted with a locks.

I'd suggest as large of a cage as you can provide (48x24x24 minimum). If your kids are into reptiles or animals then a big enclosure also makes for a great learning/teaching opportunity to design the interior. A nice big home also lets you set it up so that it feels more secure and safe to the dragon with the action going on around them.

Taterbug":9omksa5x said:

First, thank you for recognizing a rabbit wouldnt make a great Easter present/pet. Too many poor buns end up in shoddy lives

As for a beardie, they are hardy reptiles and once you have the equipment sorted they are quite easy to care for (comparatively anyway!). A dragon should be fine around kids but I would personally limit interactions with the kiddos while he dragon is little. It's just way to easy to hurt them. Most cages can be fitted with a locks.

I'd suggest as large of a cage as you can provide (48x24x24 minimum). If your kids are into reptiles or animals then a big enclosure also makes for a great learning/teaching opportunity to design the interior. A nice big home also lets you set it up so that it feels more secure and safe to the dragon with the action going on around them.

Click to expand...

Thank you!! Would a 40 gallon tank work?? And yea I was worried about them hurting him. So just petting, watching him in his tank and on the floor (for playtimes)? Would the loud noises bother him?

My oldest son is 7 and my youngest is 3 (almost 8 and almost 4). I also have two dogs in my house, a Shepard mix and a Beagle mix. My house is quite noisy. Our beardie, Spike, is only, roughly, 2 months old. She is still quite little and only 9 inches long. I do let my oldest son hold her, supervised of course; but my youngest is only aloud to pet her while I am holding her. My youngest is quite rambunctious, so I don't quite trust him enough just yet to hold her, but he does amazingly while just petting her on the back. We haven't had Spike that long, so when we got her, I had to explain to my youngest that she was a baby and that he needed to be very easy with her.

Spike has done great, however, adjusting to her new home, my dogs (they like to go up and sniff her tank), my kids always running back and forth through the house, and all the racket.

I was a little skeptical about having such a small animal in the house, but I am enjoying every minute of it. We got a new addition to our family and my children get to learn the importance of life, in more ways than one. (My son's were fascinated when she started shedding. My oldest thought it was 'cool' and my youngest said she was a 'mess'. Haha.)

It should be fine, they like to be somewhere where they can look around and watch what's going on, just make sure to be careful when handling regardless of size. 40 gallons should be fine until it's an adult, and even then there are lots of different​ opinions, many people say it's fine but personally I think bigger is better and if you can get a larger enclosure you should. Also, you mentioned you are planning to get one from a pet store. Try to avoid the big chain ones as their reptiles come from huge breeders and are kept in bad conditions and can have health problems. Look for reptile shows/stores and breeders in your area. Good luck!

Find a local breeder , it's a better option .

Depends on how old the little kiddies are ?

I introduced Wriggles (my water skink (32g)), George (680g) and Mildred (720g) EASTERN BT skinks, and Rex (as a juvenile) and Puff (also a juvenile) to our grandson from when he was about 3 years old, starting with dropping live food treats into their tubs/tanks, and petting them (poppy = me) guiding his hand and fingers to show him what gentle means and so he could feel their skin on their heads , backs and tails) all the time impressing on him that the lizards are living beings and NOT TOYS, by the time he was 4 yo he was nursing the BTs and by now adult beardies (Rex and Puff).

I was also letting him help me give food treats to the wild skinks who live around / under our house and in our shed.

The look on his face the first time a lizard took a food treat from his fingers was priceless ....

And the big beaming grin he gave when he nursed a big pet lizard for the first time is a memory I'll forever treasure .... and when the big BTS crawled up and licked his cheak .... priceless ....


My advise allow access only for brief periods and always supervise. Impress on them the lizard IS NOT A TOY.

We have a small pet store that only sells reptiles, so I was planning on going there first. After doing a lot of research I don't really want to get one at Petco, because they have sand in their tanks and they are pretty small!! I feel bad for the little beardies!!! We don't have a local breeder, but possibly in the future I will have one shipped to us from a breeder.

Will definitely teach the kids that he is not a toy. Thank you for all this advice!!

Husband is not very keen on getting one Still trying to talk him into it! He is not a pet in the house person. I really think he would grow on the husband!!

Reptile stores are good as long as the beardies are in good condition, but if you want to get one personally from a breeder you can look for reptile shows in your area or ship. Good luck!