NiGhtMaRe050910":1dy26nr5 said:
kingofnobbys":1dy26nr5 said:
Very dangerous practice likely to introduce a viral and bacterial infection, and / or parasites to your dragon. (Feeding it smaller lizards.).
This always confused me, bearded dragons in the wild eat everything they can swallow. i'm pretty sure they would be immune to parasites and mites, but idk can someone give me an explanation??
You're not talking about a wild bearded dragon who has very good genetics and has inherited a very good immune system from it's parents ( only the strongest wild dragons survive long enough to reproduce ) , nor a built up tolerance to paracites, viruses, bacteria and toxins it's encountered regularly over a lifetime ( and survived the effects ).
Captive bred dragons are poorer genetically than their wild cousins, and are more likely to succumb to deseases , paracites and toxins than their tough as nails wild cousins.
This is especially so outside Australia where inbreeding and very much reduced genetic diversity in the species is a huge issue.