A visit to TND Dragons

[sbattisti]

For those of you who have been following my saga, my 8-year old son desperately wants a reptile for a pet, and after a little looking around, it was quickly narrowed down to bearded dragons or leopard geckos. I kind of ruled out the geckos because they're nocturnal, and I figured that would be boring for him. So, being a profoundly "researchy" guy, I've been spending a lot of time here trying to learn about them myself and teach my son what would be involved in caring for one if we got one.

This past weekend, I took my son to visit TheWolfmanTom from TND Dragons, in Philly, about a 45-min drive for us. Tom and his wife were great. They have a very nice setup (says the guy who didn't know anything about bearded dragons 2 weeks ago). Tom took the time to introduce me to his breeders. (I mean the dragons, not his wife. I'd already met her at a reptile show the previous week... ) He gave me some tips on their care and let my son Mike hold a few beardies.

Mike was quite smitten with Tom's stud Dozer:

Anyway, it looks like we're taking the plunge. I'm collecting equipment now, and will *gasp* be starting up a dubia colony shortly. We're hoping to pick out a little guy from an October clutch (from Dozer and Babbs, who has since passed on) just after New Year's.

Eep! Hope I don't regret this!!

Steve

 

[pudden318]

u wont regret it one bit, your gonna fall in love and spoil more than your son. MY hubby was the one who orginally wanted a reptile cause i personally was content breeding my toy yorkies. Guess its a man thing. But anyway i can now saw that I Am a proud owner of 7beardies soon to be 9 i just purchase one from fresnowitte and am getting one from tom after christmas. You see you cant have just one they are addictive and steal your heart when your not looking. So good luck and congrats on the new pooper. Dont forget to post plenty of pics.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

yep plenty of pics is a must !!!! Congrats !!

 

[secretevo]

Thats awesome. That was probably very educational to go to their house and see how they handle and care for their dragons. That stud is georgious, no wonder your son liked him. I really enjoy going to the reptile expo's as well, I find it fascinating to see all the interesting reptiles there and you can find good deals on supplies as well.
Good luck,

 

[sbattisti]

Yeah, being the geek I am, I'm already considering starting a blog about our experience.

 

[secretevo]

LOL, that doesn't make you geek.. Its neat to go back and look at later down the road and see how far you guys have come with your lil lizard friend. Your son will probably get a kick out of measuring and weighing your baby to see how quick and much it grows through out the next year. Alot of people keep record of it. :study:

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Congrats Steve, and you will not regret anything! Yes Tom does have a great setup and great healthy poopers! So rest assured you are going to get a healthy dragon! Of course we will need pictures and if you start a blog please let us know so we can all share the greatest experiences you are about to journey!

 

[sheshe]

Congrats! My Rex is from Babbs & Dozer as well (a June clutch). He is the sweetest thing...and growing like crazy. I got him the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and he was 13 inches and weighed 136 grams. He is now 16 1/2 inches and weighs 214 grams. That's the growth in just 3 weeks. He loves his crickets and has just this week started getting some superworms a few times a week. He thinks those are the best! I just cannot bring myself to do roaches.

He has the most beautiful colors as well. I'll have to post more pics soon. He's shedding right now. Here is a link with some photos from last week (if you're interested) http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=118922
His head is even more yellowish orange after shedding yesterday. I can't wait to see how bright he is after shedding his body.

I will be taking Rex to live in my 3rd grade classroom after Christmas. My students are going to love him. I think it is the perfect age for them to start having some responsibilities for a pet. What a great dad you are! Your son will have so much fun with him and learn a lot at the same time!

I can't wait to see pics of your little guy!

 

[DeweysMom]

Awww, I'm so hapy for you Steve. I've been waiting for your update. Glad to hear that you and your son had a great visit. I look forward to seeing which beardie you choose.

As for starting a blog, if you're a geek then I'm a geek as well because I was considering the same thing! This is a huge step and I love keeping a record of stuff like that. I also love photography and scrapbooking so needless to say I'll be staring a beardie book once I get the supplies, let alone bringing one home!

Someone else had mentioned that your son would get a kick out of how much your beardie grows. This is another thought that I had. Every week (probably on the weekly anniversary of bringing one home) I'll be trying to get pictures of my beardie next to a yard stick so I can keep track of it. Didn't think of recording the weight though. I'll have to get a scale for sure now!

Sorry for rambling. I look forward to reading many more updates and seeing your photos!

 

[Hopefulresearch]

Wolfman Tom is a wonderful choice I might add...
Congrats! I expect pics!

 

[Freddiemom]

We join a local herp society after we fell in love with our 2 girls. Now we do all kinds of shows educating people about all kinds of herps! We have met the greatest bunch of people and the resources we have found because of them is tremendous!!! Now we know of a vet and have had people offer us free tanks and lizards Our beardies both love going to shows. They are imposible the next day cause they don't want to be in their vivs! Stardust actually fell asleep in my hand at one show. She woke up when I put her in her travel tank and she had a fit!! I picked her up, she fell asleep again while being fauned over by a bunch of kids. We got our 1st beardie in May-that's how far we've come. So, clubs are fun and helpful. I just found out they offer emergency funding for rescue work! Something else to look into. But, I still think the advice on these boards are the best! Enjoy your new beardie when it arrives! Sounds like you are doing everything the smart way! the best of luck! liz

 

[spurlee01]

Steve, I'm obviously slacking on my board-watching. I totally missed this post. I'm so jealous that you got to meet Tom and his beardies. I want to take a road trip this summer and go meet everyone, my bank account just happens to disagree with this idea :lol: . I have no doubt at all that you will be very happy with one of Tom's babies. (I originally wrote Tom's baby, but figured yal would have a hay-day with that). Congratulations and keep me posted! Next time you start a new thread, shoot me a PM if I don't show up.
Sara

 

[sbattisti]

Heh, so it's MY responsibility to tell you when to come to the boards now?

Well, I've done it. I've bought everything except for the first batch of dubias and the beardie himself. Mike and I had a little construction project tonight to set up a home for dubias. Went pretty well. Since Wal-Mart is heavy on the Xmas stuff right now, our dubias will be in a festive green rubbermaid tub. Oh, I have to find water crystals too.

Some stuff coming by mail, and the rest I have to pick up this weekend. Should have everything together for Xmas. Mike and I will get everything set up and temperatures looking good, and then we'll go visit Tom again before the next herp show appears and we lose our pick of the clutch!

Steve

 

[spurlee01]

Steve, have you read my thread lately? Obvisouly not. If so, you would know a. not to get a female and b. that yes, I do need help finding posts on the board! :lol: .
I would order the dubia (are you sure you don't want Turks?) asap so they can start breeding. Where are you getting them from? Anywhere that sells roaches should sell water crystals.