jargonchipmunk
Juvie Member
We have two beardies (our first) General Tso and Mushu. I read up a LOT on what was what and how they acted and before I started reading on beardies, I was looking at all sorts of other lizards. Chameleons, water dragsons, frilled lizards, etc etc. I think I definitely made the right choice. We wanted a hands "on" pet, vs. something to look at and go "wow that's cool" Now I guess we have both.
The lucky bit isn't that though. I read all the time about people who got beardies that are either aggressive, act out, don't like handling, or have to be trained for a while to be okay with being held when they're young. Here's a bit of backstory on them.
General Tso: I got him from a breeder who I contacted via this forum. I was being picky (maybe too picky) about what I wanted in the two dragons I was getting, and searched long and hard to get it. Well... I loves me some General Tso!!! And not just the chinese food he's named after! He climbed out of that little plastic container in the parcel when I got him and into my heart lol. When he's not in shed, or irritated by something, he's the most gorgeous yellow dragon. He's got clear nails, and pretty blue sidebars too. He loves riding around on my shoulders, and falling asleep either in my hand or on top of my head while Jamie and I watch movies. He also likes patroling the back of the couch while I'm sitting on it but he won't go far enough away to where he can't rush back to sit on my shoulder if something in the room makes him nervous lol. I was worried about his eating for a bit until I got my first shipment of pheonix worms in... WOW he has bulked up FAST since I got those! He's now growing like a weed and has a lot more energy! All in all, picking a dragon from one picture off of a forum where you know no one is almost like picking a needle out of a stack of needles. But I gotta say, he's perfect for me already and he's still a baby.
Mushu: This one was Jamie's fault lol. I originally had my heart set on a red male and a yellow female. Also, I didn't want to get one from a petstore, so we could escape any dangers of it being mishandled, etc. Well, Jamie went to a pet store and fell in love with one of the beardies there and called me while I was at work. "You have to come out and look at this one. I think you'll like her, she's so red!" So I went out, and even though she wasn't quite as red as Jamie made her out to be, she was very cute, and definitely stood out from the rest personality-wise. So we got her. Well, let me just say she was definitely in shed when we bought her, though I didn't know it at the time. I have no clue about her genetics, or even age for that matter, but every shed keeps revealing more and more GORGEOUS red in her. I'm always amazed that we got such a "quality" dragon from a pet store where they would probably tell you that a Hypo dragon is one that's "very active" She is very different from General Tso. She loves chasing crickets, and the pheonix worms are a secondary concern for her. She'll eat them happily, but only after she's had at least one cricket meal that day. I think she's older than General Tso, mostly because of her shape and demeanor. She was smaller than him by a smidge when we got them, but I think her growth was stunted at the store from improper diet, not enough room to excercise and bad lighting. (no UVB at all) If she was unhealthy at all when we got her, she sure as heck isn't now. She's outgrown him by a little now and is eating like a CHAMP lol. She'll chase down crickets all day long if you let her. She's even learned to eat her veggies from watching General Tso eat them. (that's thanks to the breeder of General Tso for getting him started on Veg early.) Howling Gale Dragons if anyone was curious. Very nice to work with, and a great price for such a quality dragon!
All in all, we now have two gorgeous dragons without breaking the bank, both of which are surpassing my expectations in color, and both of them love to come out of their viv and hang out with their humans. (they're even starting to take a liking to our smaller dog. I think because he's always really warm lol)
That's about it. I'll post some pictures soon. There's one picture of them together that shows how massively different their colors are.
The lucky bit isn't that though. I read all the time about people who got beardies that are either aggressive, act out, don't like handling, or have to be trained for a while to be okay with being held when they're young. Here's a bit of backstory on them.
General Tso: I got him from a breeder who I contacted via this forum. I was being picky (maybe too picky) about what I wanted in the two dragons I was getting, and searched long and hard to get it. Well... I loves me some General Tso!!! And not just the chinese food he's named after! He climbed out of that little plastic container in the parcel when I got him and into my heart lol. When he's not in shed, or irritated by something, he's the most gorgeous yellow dragon. He's got clear nails, and pretty blue sidebars too. He loves riding around on my shoulders, and falling asleep either in my hand or on top of my head while Jamie and I watch movies. He also likes patroling the back of the couch while I'm sitting on it but he won't go far enough away to where he can't rush back to sit on my shoulder if something in the room makes him nervous lol. I was worried about his eating for a bit until I got my first shipment of pheonix worms in... WOW he has bulked up FAST since I got those! He's now growing like a weed and has a lot more energy! All in all, picking a dragon from one picture off of a forum where you know no one is almost like picking a needle out of a stack of needles. But I gotta say, he's perfect for me already and he's still a baby.
Mushu: This one was Jamie's fault lol. I originally had my heart set on a red male and a yellow female. Also, I didn't want to get one from a petstore, so we could escape any dangers of it being mishandled, etc. Well, Jamie went to a pet store and fell in love with one of the beardies there and called me while I was at work. "You have to come out and look at this one. I think you'll like her, she's so red!" So I went out, and even though she wasn't quite as red as Jamie made her out to be, she was very cute, and definitely stood out from the rest personality-wise. So we got her. Well, let me just say she was definitely in shed when we bought her, though I didn't know it at the time. I have no clue about her genetics, or even age for that matter, but every shed keeps revealing more and more GORGEOUS red in her. I'm always amazed that we got such a "quality" dragon from a pet store where they would probably tell you that a Hypo dragon is one that's "very active" She is very different from General Tso. She loves chasing crickets, and the pheonix worms are a secondary concern for her. She'll eat them happily, but only after she's had at least one cricket meal that day. I think she's older than General Tso, mostly because of her shape and demeanor. She was smaller than him by a smidge when we got them, but I think her growth was stunted at the store from improper diet, not enough room to excercise and bad lighting. (no UVB at all) If she was unhealthy at all when we got her, she sure as heck isn't now. She's outgrown him by a little now and is eating like a CHAMP lol. She'll chase down crickets all day long if you let her. She's even learned to eat her veggies from watching General Tso eat them. (that's thanks to the breeder of General Tso for getting him started on Veg early.) Howling Gale Dragons if anyone was curious. Very nice to work with, and a great price for such a quality dragon!
All in all, we now have two gorgeous dragons without breaking the bank, both of which are surpassing my expectations in color, and both of them love to come out of their viv and hang out with their humans. (they're even starting to take a liking to our smaller dog. I think because he's always really warm lol)
That's about it. I'll post some pictures soon. There's one picture of them together that shows how massively different their colors are.
