Did You Get Another Dragon?

[TJinPgh]

Hi all.
I just posted a memorial for Gertrude who we lost earlier today. Came out of nowhere and have spent pretty much the whole evening wondering if I did something wrong or could have seen it coming.

I can never replace Gertrude. There was only one of her.

I do have a question for those of you who have lost one you were close to. Did you get another? If so, how long did you wait?

I've lost more than my share of pets over the years. Quite a few hamsters and such. You kind of expect it with them. They don't live all that long.

When I was growing up we always had dogs. Lost a couple over the years. My parents have lost a few of them in the years since. They always responded by going out and getting another dog sooner rather than later. Typically the same breed. They always said that having something to fill the void is helpful.

I get the point. I just don't like feeling like she can be replaced that easily. Not sure I really even want to think about it at the moment. Probably should have waited a few days to post this when I've had time to calm down a bit. But, since I did, maybe you all can share your experience on how you dealt with it.

 

[zeppy123]

After I lost Zeppelin (my baby for 8 years), I got another right away who turned out to be a sick, unsocialized baby and a bad experience. I waited 6 months after Xena passed away to get Zalaika. I kept all of Zeppelin and Xena's things as I knew I would have another someday. This time, I picked out a good-sized, healthy baby who is a good eater. She's actually already as big at 2 months as Xena was at 1 year old before she died. It turned out Xena was actually subadult when I got him and not a hatchling as he obviousally sexually mature. Xena had been shipped to the pet store accidently as a single animal so maybe he was never even meant to be sold/a known sick animal.

And I'm also making sure I find a reptile vet for her in the next few weeks so if something does go wrong, I'll have backup. Waiting allowed me to do it right, with a clear head, rather than adopting the first one I saw out of grief like I did with Xena.

Sorry for your loss. I still dream of Zeppelin a year and a half later. I didn't really get a chance to bond with Xena.

 

[TJinPgh]

My experience was sort of backwards of yours. I bought a baby from Petsmart that turned out to be sick. I didn't know enough about them at the time to realize that at the time. It died maybe a week or two after I got it (short enough time for them to give a full refund).

I didn't have Sandy long enough to get too too attached so it was a little easier to consider getting another one right away. Only, my thinking was to gravitate toward one that was already a bit older, figuring it would be easier to notice if it was acting odd. And, Petsmart was out of babies at the time anyway.

Enter Gertrude. An independent pet store that specialized in fish near us also had quite the assortment of reptiles. Everything from anoles to snakes to even alligators... many of whom were more or less rescue pets that owners had taken there when they no longer wanted or could take care of them.

He ended up having 6 full sized beardies divided into two cases of maybe 15-20 gallons each. I've dealt with them enough since to know my original impression of the place probably wasn't accurate as they actually have a decent reputation with respect to the care of their animals. They were simply over-run with pets at the time and had no other place to keep them.

At any rate, I think Gertrude picked us as much as we picked her. She was fairly healthy, although suffering from a minor case of parasites.

I suppose the real villain of the story is probably the previous owner who never bothered to start giving greens when he should have. She ate crickets to the point where she never learned to eat anything else.

In any case, I expected to have a lot more years with her than I did. She was taken far too soon.

Just not sure getting another is the best way to cope or not. I still don't trust the regular pet stores. They all seem like they're being sold too soon from chain stores that know little to nothing about them.

The place where I bought Gertrude still has adults but he breeds them so they don't appear to be for sale. Although, I suspect he'd change his mind for the right price.

That leaves the reptile shows with vendors I know little about or mail order which I'm not sure I trust.

One thing's for sure, if I do decide to get another I'm going to make sure that anything over 6 months old has already been started on a diet that consists at least partly of greens. I never did get Gertrude to eat them, no matter what I tried and I don't have it in me to try that again.

 

[beamingdragon]

Hi, my names taylor and my bearded dragon beamer At age 1 year have been threw thick and thin. I could never imagine loosing him. I'm very sorry for your loss. But in my opion the faster you get one the better you'll feel.and we all know that that our fist dragons are the best and no other dragon can cimpare in any way. But you should get another one soon. And if you do maybe you should get a rescue.

 

[TJinPgh]

I did check the reptile rescue webpage. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess, depending on how you look at it), there doesn't appear to be a branch here in PA.

I looked through craigslist to see if anybody had posted any that were in need and there haven't been any like that in a while. Just typical sales.

I'd be hesitant to have a rescue shipped without seeing it in person. I'd be reluctant to have any shipped for that matter.

There is a reptile show here tomorrow and another that's close a couple of weeks later. So, I may go and take a look around. Dunno.

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

I'm so sorry for your loss I can't go into too much detail concerning my own experience with losing a beardie without getting really upset, but you can read the story of my little Monster's death here >>> viewtopic.php?f=1&t=171311 if you want. She passed away on 6/12/12 (RIP my sweet baby girl) and I was pretty incapacitated for several weeks. I just brought home another beardie, Captain, about a month ago - 2 months after Monster passed. I don't think there's any standard timelines for these kinds of things. Just give yourself time to grieve, however long it takes. Some people get a new beardie almost immediately because it helps to heal their hearts. Some people wait several months or even years before they can bring themselves to get another dragon. The pain never fully goes away, but only you will know when you're ready to bring another beardie home. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss and I wish you the best in recovering from this traumatic experience. You'll be in my thoughts...

 

[AHBD]

Hi Tj....I'm sorry that you lost your dragon, it's so sad to lose our pets, and we always wonder exactly what to do....how soon, etc. The best advice I could give you is that if you go to the reptile show, be very careful if you are choosing a new baby. There are breeders popping up every month it seems, or anyone thart has 2 dragons to mate can bring them to a show. Things to be careful about....if the babies are tiny. Less than 6 inches generally means they are less than 2 months old, that's not to say they may be unhealthy, but these are more delicate and you may have a more difficult time. Be careful, too if they are all just laying around....sleepy looking. They may not be well cared for. Some vendors at shows have many different types of animals on their table, so ask if they bred the dragons themselves, or who they got them from. In some states where there are many shows, babies are taken from a Saturday show right to a Sunday show, and may be stressed from the trips. Ask the vendor how they transported the babies .So be sure you pick one that seems to be healthy, alert, plump. Look under the dragon to see if it's clean around the vent. Of course, dragons DO get a little dirty at shows at times, because they don't have a little dragons room for such emergencies ! But in general, they should be healthy, clean , alert and the vendor should have lots of info for you. If you by chance are actually looking for rescue or a somewhat handicapped dragon, again, look for the same signs of reasonable health...plumpness, bright eyes, and not laying around. As far as having a dragon shipped, they ship just fine and are not even in the box for a full day, in most cases they are shipped out late afternoon and you receive them the next morning before 10:30.

 

[Onlymediocre]

HI, Im soo sorry for your loss, I just lost my little Dobby a little over a week ago It hurts so bad to think about it. I was so upset that b4 the night was out my husband was looking at dif breeders and trying to find me a new baby. There rlly isnt a time "limit" on when to get another. He ended up buying me 2 babies from the for sale section on here (they came with a dubia colony) It was a great deal. And yes it still hurts me that Dobby is gone, but Ive found taking care of my little ones takes up alot of my time, along with being on here, and the viv Im building, it keeps me occupied. I was looking at pics of Dobby yesterday and burst in to tears, and posted him a memorial just yesterday.. and today I had to go out to the storage building and it killed me to even go out there bc his grave is in the back yard by there. I dont think the hurt will ever go away, and no beardie can ever measure up to Dobby.. But having another one (or 2 in my case) def does hlp. At the time, I didnt even want to think about another beardie, but my husband was looking for me, and hey who doesnt want to look at baby beardie pics... so during the searching for another it kept my mind occupied. It wasnt long at all b4 my new babies showed up, and of course I love the little poop machines. As for having a beardie shipped to you, these were the 1st animals Ive ever had shipped ((besides dubia and reptiworms) and they made the trip fine. Ive never read any sort of horror story of something going wrong during shipping, its an overnight shipping , so they are in the mail less then 24 hrs. Anyway, Id def get another if I was you, itll occupy your time, and hlp you to heal. I think seeing Dobbys empty viv was the hardest part for me. And missing my night time snuggles. Another one wont replace what youve lost, but it will replace the extra time you have. Hope this hlps..

 

[TJinPgh]

Much thanks for the thoughts and responses from everyone.

I'll definitely take the advice about what to look for at the shows to heart. The one thing I think is maybe somewhat fortunate is that I've been to the shows that are local to Pittsburgh a number of times before. Most of the vendors are there month after month. There aren't many new ones that show up.

I think that might bode well for them not being some fly by night operation.

The info about size is appreciated. I'm not sure I'd want to get a baby regardless. Maybe try to find something 6 or 7 months old.

Like I said, I'm not even sure I want to go at this point. My family thought it might be good to get another fairly quickly, and the others in the house want to go. So, I'll definitely give it some thought.

Otherwise, the Steel City show is in a couple of weeks so if I don't go tomorrow I could always go then.

Part of me just feels that getting another so soon makes it seem like she didn't matter. She did to me and so long as I know she did that's all that matters I guess.

 

[kawa798]

I waited 7 months! After about 6 weeks I looked at them almost every day. I really liked the Fire and Ice dragons but one day at work this intern mentioned having some eggs hatching. Long story short I was able to observe the hatchlings grow and they were only 15 minutes from my house. I was able to see both parents. I couldn't stand it and made my pick. I wouldn't get one right away but that's just me. You will know the time! Just sayin...