Beardie as a "beginner" pet

[Chaosadnd1]

I think I can generally agree with you on all points. Their first year cost is quite astounding. As well as the amount of care required as compared to "needed." I'll see if I can't comment on some or most of your points to add to the conversation.

Cost: I absolutely agree here. 200ish dollars for a tank they can live in. Decorations, etc are all upfront cost that likely won't keep up over time with having say, a dog. Feeding them the first year especially is -very- expensive. I personally have two young beardies ( One about 4 months,and the other maybe a month and a half.) and 5 leapord gecko's. I order a thousand crickets a week, and still have to supplement with petsmart. I don't really do dubias, as they creep me out. But I do get them occasionally for them. Then factoring in all the powder, lighting etc. So overall yes, it can be very expensive. After the first year when they start eating predominantly greens it will taper off some, but not much.

General care: They are not really a show animal imho. They lay there mostly. And might come off of their pearch to poop or care dance because you're home. I am sure everyone cares for their beardies differently as well. I am sure you can "get buy" and keep an animal alive for quite a few years, but who wants to do that? My routine during the week is pretty steady. I come home, handle each one for 5 to 10 minutes, then feed them before I leave again to do things at night. Add in baths and cleaning poop. It's likely a half hour process between the both of them.

So, enough rambling. Are they a beginner pet? I think it depends on how you take the statement "beginner pet". If you take it from the side of " easier than most to care for in regards to reptiles" Yes. They are a good beginner species to get you into keeping reptiles. If you look at it from the angle of "ease of care" then maybe intermediate, when compared to something like a leapord gecko. Either way, good post! I'm sure others opinions will be fun reads too.

 

[Lorilyn]

I agree.. definitely would not say it is a beginner pet. I have a 5-6 month old that adopted me 2 months ago. The people at petsmart told me he was very easy to take care of and has minimal requirements. That he only eats a handful of crickets every day and some greens. 400.00 later I left with “THE KIT” my new baby and some pamphlets. Found this forum a few weeks later and learned the whole truth. New lights, safer decorations, better equipment to measure heat.... yup a couple hundred more. Then learned the food requirements....now up to 50-60 Dubia Roaches daily! Don’t factor in the veggies and greens cause we humans eats them also.

As far as handling and attention I give...I always say what you put into it is what you get. If you have an I’m only gonna handle and take them out once in a while then you will get the same in return. That’s not my way, believe me it would of been cheaper and easier to have returned him when I was finding out how much time, money and effort goes into caring for a beardie. That’s not my way.

Haven’t found a vet yet that specializes in reptile care but I can only imagine the cost when I do.

So no I would not recommend a Bearded Dragon as a beginner pet and especially would not recommend as a first pet for children ( as I was told) my hope is that everyone who is thinking of getting a Beardie does their research first and doesn’t get blindsided like me.

I still wouldn’t give him back even if he ate 100 roaches a day! Don’t let him hear me or he will get ideas.....

 

[JessPets]

God no. It makes me so angry when people are like, yeah I went to Petshmo yesterday and bought this cute little beardie! The kit they sold me has everything I need, and all he eats is just a few mealworms each day!

These guys are by no means beginner, despite what basically any pet store tells you. For one, when you are out of town, how many of your friends are good enough to come over and feed cockroaches to your pet? What happens when the power goes out? What happens when you are short on money? Yes, I did months and months of research but still, THE COST! The lighting, the tank, and all the thousands of bugs in only one year! There are very few people who are actually good beardie pet parents unfortunately, and this isn't completely their fault. While yes, doing your homework should be a no brainer, you should be able to walk in a pet store and receive knowledgable information. And, of course, this is not the case

 

[Shidohari]

I am a first time beardie parent, and I can tell you that I probably have put close to 400-500 dollars minimum for the zilla 40 gallon enclosure, and the items I needed to stock it correctly. Since the 20 gallon aquarium I'd repurposed that I had on hand, wasn't going to allow me to do what I wanted with the décor.

Since then I've purchased a t5 22 inch fixture from lightyourreptiles, gotten an additional swap for the hide, gotten ceramic tile for under the food section of the enclosure, and a slightly higher wattage basking lamp. This doesn't include the funds I've spent on attempting butterworms and dubia roaches both of which got donated to a local petstore I trust to feed their lizards because I couldn't keep them. Also doesn't include the amount I've spent on my initial purchase of 400 BSFL to see if I can get my girl on a better source of protein to get rid of some of her stress lines.

I'm still learning and getting feedback from this forums, as everyone has been very helpful.

Definitely not a beginner pet, and if I hadn't used my one card to pay for most of these items, my girl would definitely not be in as good of a set up as she is.

 

[KeyBlu422]

Like most, I also don't believe that beardies are beginner pets. My relatives recently got a leopard gecko and the feedings are only 2-3 times a week, changing the water a couple times a week, and the heat mat is setup on a timer. Much less work and space(it's in a 20 gal) than my beardy who's in a 4 foot long tank. As a young kid who was into reptiles, I got my beardy when he was 6 months old. I and others in my house were first fooled by the pet stores. And it went on for a little while. Fortunately, some research was done and he improved his setup. However, after a short while, the "wow" effect wore off. So, being a kid, I hung out more with my friends and provided my beardy with proper but minimal care. He doesn't have MBD or stunted growth or anything but I still feel as I've neglected him for so long. Since my friends and I have split and it's hard making new ones(I'm not particularly social and teens these days are often foul mouthed or talk about things they know little about, plus teachers these days don't allow any real socializing anyway. 10 minutes a day of free time and the rest of the 6 hour school day are "shut up and do your work"), but at least I've come to realize that my beardy(who is named Beardy, I thought of it and it stuck) is also a living creature. I now take care of him with more enthusiasm and spoil him. However, it hasn't been cheap, again, like many here have stated. At least +200 or more dollars on cages(thank God for Craigslist), too many past pet store cricket runs to count, plenty of lighting changes since I got him 5 years ago, and lots of other expenses that have stacked up over the years.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Bearded dragons and the other common "beginner" lizard (here = bluetongue skinks) are in no way by any stretch of the imagination a beginner's pet , I would hazard to say , no lizard is .
If you want a beginner's pet - buy a gold fish.

They all require the prospective owner to be knowledgeable and about their needs and husbandry and behaviours BEFOFE taking even one on as a pet.

Too many people buy pet reptiles on an impulse and are given very bad advise and sold totally inadequate setups and food by know nothing sales assistants and even by breeders who should know better, and then when things inevitably a few months later go pear shaped , too many come here looking for no cost solutions to problems caused by their neglect or lack of proper preparation and lack of funds (this particular excuse really pisses me off - as IMO it's no excuse at all).
I'll be blunt , if you can't afford to provide proper food every day to the dragon , and can't afford proper housing and lighting for it, and can't afford to take it to a reptile vet if it's injured or sick or afford proper vet treatment and meds for it , and don't have time to care for it and give it the interaction it deserves , then DON"T BUY A DRAGON.


If your child is under 16 years old and even then he or she needs to be a very mature and responsible 16 yo , a dragon (or any lizard) is not a suitable pet for them.
Too many spoilt kids pester mommy and daddy into buying a dragon because they want a cool prehistoric looking pet , only to soon loose interest in the reptile once the novelty wears off and it becomes a chore to care for it (if it's lucky mom or dad fall in love with it and take over it's care) but commonly the result is a neglected reptile who winds up very sick and then pleads for no cost home remedies).
Be prepared to spend at least $1000 per year to care for your pet dragon (this is ONLY FOOD) , set money aside to regularly replace UV lighting (twice per year). If are not .... say no (little Johny or Suzy will get over the disappointments and will soon move onto their next fad).

Fortunately for reptiles here (in Australia) the impulse buying thing doesn't happen as it's ILLEGAL to have one unless you first get your wildlife keepers' licence from your local state government (this applies in all states and territories here) and it's illegal to take them from the wild (even to interfer with them unless you are a rescuer or have a special very hard to get permit).
So you have to apply for your permit / licence first ( takes a few months ) , then when you have a permit you must present it to buy your pet from a breeder , RSPCA , at a reptile show, or a pet shop (very few pet shops are licenced to sell reptiles here) , or to rehome one , and then you are required to keep a log book and submit a log book return about your native animal pets (even if there is only one reptile) each year.

Sorry folks .... keeping a reptile ie a beardie as a pet is not a right , it's a privilege .

One that's taken very seriously here (in Australia) As a result we very rarely encounter the kinds of issues I see all too often on these boards with beardies kept here in Australia.

 

[JessPets]

As much as I hate the government pressing into our lives, I think some sort of something should be needed. A one time $50 permit/licence or something. Not too hard to get, but will hopefully discourage impulse buyers. If someone is really set on getting a beardie, a little obstacle like that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[kingofnobbys]

As much as I hate the government pressing into our lives, I think some sort of something should be needed. A one time $50 permit/licence or something. Not too hard to get, but will hopefully discourage impulse buyers. If someone is really set on getting a beardie, a little obstacle like that shouldn't be a problem.

For instance here in NSW this is the process : http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/licences-and-permits/wildlife-licences/native-animals-as-pets/apply-for-a-native-animal-keeper-licence

Lots apply for a companion pet native animal keeper's permit (only one animal). Must renew annually.

In my case I have multiple reptiles (skinks and dragon) as pets, so I've a basic (R1) level keepers' permit that I renew every 2 years and I am a reptile rescuer / rehabilitator too.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

Definitely have to agree that beardies are in no way a beginner pet mostly because of cost. Leopard geckos and cresties on the other hand, are probably more close to a "beginner" reptile as they require less space, easier diet and very easy heating and lighting requirements that most people can probably achieve without spending too much money.

I've definitely spent at least 2,000 dollars on my beardies food, enclosure, lighting, heating, substrate and decorations. Honestly probably more near 3,000.

Meanwhile with my leo I spent only 25 dollars when I first got her because I already had everything else so I only had to pay for her. Although because I can't help but spoil my animals rotten I then spent probably a couple hundred on a bioactive setup for a 50 gallon that she currently is in.
Food is basically nothing for her as she has her own mealworm colony in her tank, although I still do feed her dusted crickets and roaches so she can have a variety along with her calcium and
multivitamins.

Weirdly enough even after I purchase my tegus full 8x4x4 adult enclosure in a few months her costs will never match the cost of the beardies (the enclosure is about $1,000).
Although it sucks It does help that tegus do go into a winter cool down even at a few months old, because if she didn't I'm sure she'd be at least 36+ inches in length because of how fast they grow. I was not expecting her to go from a 9-10 inch hatchling to suddenly a 20" hatchling in a single month of owning her. She's only grown about 4 inches since then but as the weather gets warmer (Should anyway...we had snow yesterday, sadly) she'll start eating and growing more.
Definitely not saying tegus are beginner pets at all, just in my experience so far she has been easier to deal with compared to the beardies cost and food wise...although shedding is a real pain since they need like 80-100% humidity to have perfect sheds.

I wouldn't mind some sort of license to buy and then renew every so often. It would most likely help keep people from buying on an impulse.

by kingofnobbys » Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:01 pm
Bearded dragons and the other common "beginner" lizard (here = bluetongue skinks) are in no way by any stretch of the imagination a beginner's pet , I would hazard to say , no lizard is .
If you want a beginner's pet - buy a gold fish.

Although probably easier to care for, goldfish get it pretty rough. Now I have no clue about fish heating requirements and things like that but I do know that most gold fish generally get up to 12 inches and live for about 20 years in proper care. And sadly most people just stick them in a glass bowl, no filters, and no heaters (This also goes for betta fish as well, not sure if goldfish need heaters but I believe betta fish do). Even though goldfish need a 20 gallon minimum (From what I've researched) and definitely a filter of some kind, not sure on heaters.

 

[BlueDragon09]

Hey,

Not here to debate about goldfish but they're not exactly the best starter pet. I agree more on crested and leo being starters. Venus is right they get huge and I want to add they're messy! Many people do stick them in bowls and tiny tanks without filters. For heaters, it depends where you live. I used to keep my goldfish in 69-70 deg and they lived 19 years so...they were my parents fish. Again, not wanting to get in a heated argument or anything so please don't start Im just sending facts.

I have to admit I start off with a beardie at 17 yo. Misinformed by pet shops that they were. Im 30 yo now so looking back oh goodness heck no beardies are not starters. Fortunately for my beardie back in 2004, I didn't have many friends and didn't like to socialize with people my age or anyone. Im highly antisocial and being diagnosed with Aspergers I depend on my beardie and he depends on me. It's a two way street here. I don't neglect him.

 

[kingofnobbys]

maybe i should have said ... "get a pet rock"..

 

[KeyBlu422]

maybe i should have said ... "get a pet rock"..

Haha, your bluntness can be a bit funny sometimes.

 

[KeyBlu422]

As much as I hate the government pressing into our lives, I think some sort of something should be needed. A one time $50 permit/licence or something. Not too hard to get, but will hopefully discourage impulse buyers. If someone is really set on getting a beardie, a little obstacle like that shouldn't be a problem.

I agree with every last word in there.

 

[BlueDragon09]

Im agreeing with JessPets on this too. I don't like the government either. Im sure I can obtain $50 permit/liscence no issue there. I do wonder though will they make it happen here in the US? I know someone is going to disagree at some point on here. But think about it. Im not one to get into heated arguments. It would stop the "purchasing on a whim" kind of people. Im not saying everyone on this forum is doing it though.

 

[Lorilyn]

I agree with a liscence. Just wondering if there should be a course/class required to go with the purchase of liscence...As someone who kinda sorta bought on a whim, meaning I never expected to come home with my boy and knew nothing about them and was slightly scared of him. I also don’t want to put myself in the whim category fully because when I bought him I knew immediately I needed to do more research and put more effort in then was described and I am more than willing to continue to do so! We also have a 60 gallon aquarium and it also requires tons of work for healthy fish and happy fish environment. We also have 3 snakes (yuck all my sons!) and they also requires constant care and attention.
I agree with kingofnobby....pet rock or stick for a first pet.