finding the best breeder/dealing with fears of illness

[MLuisa]

Hi everyone
About a month ago I brought home my first bearded dragon, Waldo. I was in love instantly and I put in all my efforts into his care. However, I am devastated to say I recently had to put him to sleep as he was diagnosed with ADV and was just getting worse by the day (primarily because of a complete lack of appetite and ability to grow).
I admittedly had purchased him from a big brand name pet store and I regret not doing enough research on this virus and how common it can be especially in stores like this one. I am terrified of this ever happening again but I don't want my fears of this virus or other illnesses to scare me away from ever looking into bringing home another baby one day.
So, I want to know the best ways to look for healthy breeders. I know that it's almost impossible to find a breeder that is "ADV negative" or that can ensure "perfect health", but I just want some peoples opinions or experiences with their favorite and/or not so favorite breeders. Anything specific I should be looking for in breeders to increase the chances of having healthy baby? What kind of questions would you recommend I raise with a potential breeder? Or even just if anyone has had a similar experience, I would love to know how you went about things after the loss.
Thank you so much!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, sorry to hear about your experience. That would be very traumatic and of course it adds an extra degree of stress when looking for a new beardie. The breeders that I always recommend are
https://draggintails.net/ or Dachiu dragons.
They are both long time respected breeders [ over 20 years ] with excellent reputations. Tammy from Draggintails has sold their beardies world wide and is a true pioneer in breeding them.

 

[Claudiusx]

I second dragintails and Dachiu. I have personally bought from Dachiu.

The rest in my shortlist of breeders would be:

• Kidsanddragons
  Dragonsdenherp
  Phantom Dragons

Those are all breeders I've bought from and have had good success with.

-Brandon

 

[MrSpectrum]

We had a process that involved checking out breeders ahead of time, then meeting & checking them out in person. You can find the story/process here: First Reptile Show

Unfortunately, this process isn't workable at the moment--we all know why.

You can still check breeders out online, first by building a list. MorphMarket is one source; FB and/or other social media are other sources. Some sources (I don't know about MorphMarket) have feedback & ratings.

Just me, but I would look for breeders geographically near you. They might be easier to check out/meet in-person (taking appropriate precautions, provided they are willing, and I would understand if they are not). Shipping times/distances will also be shorter, theoretically reducing shipping risks; you might (again, if the breeder is willing) be able to pick up your purchase rather than having it shipped.

There are many threads about this subject already on this forum. See: best rated bearded dragon breeders and scroll down about half way, or use the Advanced Search tool, or the SIMILAR TOPICS at the bottom of this page.

If your vet is a herp vet, s/he might be a source of info as well. Even if they are reluctant to recommend good breeders, they may be able to advise you which ones to avoid (because they wind up treating the results).

I'd also look for health and/or live delivery guarantees.*

*If the vet who Dxd the ADV can say your first beardie had the disease at the time of sale, you should have a pretty good case for a refund. I would not accept a replacement, as the disease may still be present. I know it's not any consolation, but should help toward your next dragon. "Store Policy" may or may not apply; some states have consumer or agricultural laws that override store policies, regardless of how they're worded.

I apologize for this seeming so involved/complicated; take what makes sense to you--leave the rest.
We tend to be thorough. :roll:

 

[Claudiusx]

Personally I don't see a problem with finding a breeder that isn't too close to you. All animals that are shipped are shipped via next day air. So whether they are 3 hours away, or 18 hours away, technically they should all be in transit (or in the possession of the delivery company) for the same amount of time.

There is a bit of a higher risk for delays because of COVID, but so far, everything i've ordered hasn't had an issue with delays, so i'd imagine something so high priority wouldn't either.

Anything specific I should be looking for in breeders to increase the chances of having healthy baby?

How long they have been breeding, how happy their customers are, and how they deal with issues.
Another key is their genetic practices and lines. Do you want a fancy morph? Is the dragon you're looking at from this breeder bred responsibly? hetxhet pairings are generally considered to produce healthier dragons.

What kind of questions would you recommend I raise with a potential breeder?

Personally, in my experience I find that big time breeders don't really have much time for answering tons of questions from everyone. I don't blame them. It's typically the newer breeders that are more eager to please and sit around answering hundreds of questions from people who might not even buy from them. There are exceptions of course. It would be worth asking for the genetics of the parents of the dragon you are looking at if they aren't already made available.

And hey, we are here to help too. There is no reason why you can't find a breeder you like, or think you like, find a baby you think you like, and then ask us about it and what we think. That's what a community like this is for, you don't need to go it alone

-Brandon

 

[AHBD]

I agree, shipping time is not really reduced if a breeder is one state away or across the country . Beardies are shipped for next day morning delivery pretty much without exception. So a dragon is shipped from the breeder in the afternoon and is received the nextday before 10:30 a.m. Be careful of ANY breeder that would ship via USPS [ post office] rather than a reptile shipping company or FEDEX /UPS. Avoid at all costs.

 

[Claudiusx]

Be careful of ANY breeder that would ship via USPS [ post office] rather than a reptile shipping company or FEDEX /UPS. Avoid at all costs.

That's a good point I didn't think of. I've never experienced that, but that would for sure be a red flag and a quick hard no from me to any breeder.

-Brandon

 

[MrSpectrum]

Personally I don't see a problem with finding a breeder that isn't too close to you.

I should have qualified my statement with "All other factors being equal,"
It's just a thing I have about--all other factors being equal--supporting local businesses.
YMMV

 

[AHBD]

Yeah, it's definitely good when you can find a reputable breeder that's close by. Too bad this virus is messing things up as far as trying to meet with or visit people /breeders in person or their home.