Preparing for my first Beardie

I am planning on getting my first Bearded Dragon in January next year. Actually, it's my first reptile at all. My wife and I are having our second child in December, so I want to take my almost 3 year old son to the reptile expo so we can pick out a Beardie for him to have something that will be "his pet". (Even though I will really be the one taking care of it).
I think I have decided on getting a 40 gallon breeder the next time Petco has their $1 per gallon sales. Is it cheaper to order the rest of the gear I need online, or will the Reptile Super Show in Los Angeles be a better place to get it?
I'm pretty sure I want to raise my own Dubia roach colony for feeding as it seems the cheapest, quietest, less smelly route. When should I start the colony, and how many males/females should I start with to make sure I have enough to feed a baby Beardie in January?
When at the reptile show, what should I look for and what should I avoid? There is a different reptile expo coming up soon I think. I might go to that one just to scope things out and get a feel for what I should expect in January.
Any other general advice you can give? My son is already gentle with the two dogs and cat that we have, so I am confident that with supervision, he can be good with the Beardie as well.

I order most my supplies online but I honestly don't know how the prices compare to a show. I can get a 36" reptiSUN 10 at petmountain.com for $29, they are over $50 at petco. I get my supplements at the same site.

I would start your colony now, it can take 3-6 months for a colony to really take off. I suggest getting a starter colony, usually its a mixed bag of adults and nymphs. If you are wanting to buy just adults, try 30-35 females and 15-20 males minimum.

When buying reptiles at a show, look for babies that are at proper temps and are alert/active. If a vendor claims a reptile is sluggish because its cold, find a different vendor.
For dragons, I want to see tanks full of babies under heat lamps, not individual babies in deli cups. Thats a ok way to display snakes and some geckos but not dragons.
Also, ask if the vendor is also the breeder, I won't buy from a middle man unless its a large company like LLLreptile. Ask about health guarantees and/or replacements, last thing you want is to have a baby die a couple days after you bring it home and no way to get it replaced.

It helps to know your morphs, some breeders are inexperienced and mislabel the morphs and overcharge. At least know what these terms mean. Translucent, hypo, dunner, leatherback. If you know what colors/morphs you are interested in, there is less of a chance you end up with a mislabel baby.
Translucents are fairly popular but they often have health issues, I would suggest you stay away from them.

It will probably be best if you get a bigger baby or juvenile, one 10" or over. They are hardier then tiny babies and might not be as flighty. Babies are active, don't expect it to just sit on your son and hang out. Its going to want to run around, its what they do.

Thanks for the info! I definitely plan on getting a bigger baby or a juvenile. As for my son, it's more for him to look at through the tank and be able to say he has a dragon for now. He loves watching our fish, and I know he will love watching the beardie hang out in his vivarium.

You could always look on sites like Craigslist as I've seen super cheap (even free) tanks there. For your UVB you'll wanna go with a reptisun 10.0 TUBE. Not the compact. And for a cheap fixture you can get one at like walmart. Just an under the cabinet fixture works and it's cheap. I bought my 24" reptisu off of amazon for only 20 bucks. As far as heating goes you can use regularge house bulbs as long as your basking spot reaches between 100-110. And you won't need any night heat as long as your house stays above 65°. I personally don't buy any of my stuff from pet stores. And usually at reptile shows stuff is expensive. Ordering stuff online is a cheap way to go. And if you're looking for cheap roaches go to westcoastroaches.com

We scoped out the reptile show last Jan and then bought at the April reptile show. We spent the time at the first show talking with the breeders that were there and looking at their animals and then did more research on the two we really liked when we got home.

you might find some good prices for equipment at the show. I found that lights were cheaper than online but other things were around the same price. But because I didn't have to pay shipping it worked out a bit cheaper.

Good luck with you future beardie.

Congratulations on you upcoming birth of you second child