Soon to be a new owner

Hi guys, Me and my wife have been looking to get a BD for some time now and we had a few questions regarding picking one. I have noticed while scanning the site that dragons come in different patterens and colors. How many acual combs are there? pics would be great. I am not new to reptile care my dad had two small igunanas when i was younger and i am familiar with dusting the foods and heat sources along with cage cleaning. One of the questions I had is where to buy the BDs at I was thinking of petco or petsmart but I am not sure of what i am getting in terms of the lizards backround and the like. I like the idea of the breeders but i am afraid of the stress on the animal during the shipping. Is it really a problem or am i just over worried. i would like to buy from a breeder localy if possiable. I live in tampa Fl so if anyone knows of any in my area please let me know thanks for all your help and i hope to have a lil one soon.

Welcome to the site! You are going to learn so much here The color combinations are pretty much endless seeing as there isn't the nice cut and dry genetics like other reptiles, each beardie is basically unique in its pattern and coloration - sure there are a lot that are link one another esp. clutch mates but there are so many possibilities. Basically there are five base colors: red, orange, yellow, white and then the normals which are brown. Now you can have any range in between each one So look around and try to pick something you fancy the most.

As for where to get your beardie from - stay clear from pet store beardies. They aren't taken care of properly (no UVB, small living space, crammed in with others etc). You would be much better getting one from a well know breeder, and the shipping if done properly doesn't stress them out too bad.

I would strongly suggest you checking out Bennett at http://www.beardiedragon.com/ his beardies are AWESOME!

welcome! This site is absolutely amazing! I feel like I can take such better care of my dragon from what ive learned here. It is also a wonderful place to make friends and in times of need they will offer advice. There are several breeders on this site that you can check out. Look at the discussion for sale and then reptiles for sale.

I agree that you're far better off staying away from chain pet stores. Once in awhile a manager there will care, but if you see them and they're tiny (less than 6-7 in, when reliable breeders will sell them), on Calcisand, no UV, with mealworms/crickets too big, and all the things the caresheets say not to do.... You're better off not buying from them. If money is an issue, many breeeders have "budget beardies" for pets, too, which aren't going to make you wear sunglasses for all their colors, but they're still well bred, healthy dragons for about $50+ shipping. Dunk is bright orange and he was only $130.00 including overnight shipping. He's a Diachiu (more recent photo at the bottom) but there's a lot of reliable breeders people can vouch for here on the forum - as many people (like me) own one of their beardies, now an adult and grown up.

I've also owned one from BeardiedDragon, and she was gorgeous and arrived healthy, too.

http://www.diamond-gems.com/
http://beardiedragon.com/
http://www.dachiu.com/
http://www.kakadudragons.com/

The user Cuda has some, still, I think which look really colorful. I'm not sure how much he's asking for them, but he's got/had some babies

There's also Wendy from Neverland Dragons, but I'm not sure of her site link. She's often on here, too, and her babies are beautiful, too!



Mr. Dunklezhan who is a RedFlame SandFire/Orange German Giant X Red/RedYellow.

Thanks for all your help guys. I was really close to buying a a BD at petco the day i posted. And now I see how strongly you feel about the conditions that the pet stores keep them in and i have found some reputiable breeders near where i live on this site http://www.bearded-dragon-network.com hoping to have one in the next few weeks.