Im gonna get blasted for this but...

[Fredsdad]

I am reading post after post by people who are underage with a beardie with something wrong and their parents wont take them to a vet, or wont spend money on the BD at the vet. What is wrong with these people? The teens on here with something wrong with their BD's are at no fault, because they are teens and cant do for themselves in situations like these...you can read their posts and feel the desperation from them. It is the parents I blame.

Why would they not regard the life of that animal as a real life? I mean, when they agreed to let their child have a pet, that means they have to take care of the pet when something goes wrong. These people refuse to help a LIFE? These people would rather that BD die than take it to a vet? I just cant understand what their deal is. These animals have feelings...they suffer, they feel pain, they want to live as much as any other animal or human. They need our help when they are sick or hurt.

To the youngsters here...it isn't YOUR fault! Keep taking care of your pets as best you can. Maybe, one day, your parents will wake up.

/rant

 

[VerriKerri]

Seems like parents only worry about the big expensive pets like dogs and cats. That's how my mom was when I was younger and I had a very sick hamster. Unfortunately I think a lot of parents say yes to their kids getting BD's without realizing that they take a lot of care and they do need vet's. Not sure if you wanted a reply to this but just wanted to add my input. :]

 

[Jamiedog]

Speaking as a parent, I think you can use a sick animal to send a couple of very strong messages - (1) that all life has value, and (2) that pets are a big financial responsibility as well as a physical/emotional one.

For the first, you take a sick animal to the vet. A cat or a dog is not inherently more "worthy" of care than a mouse, or a lizard, or a parakeet. (I do understand the difficulty of finding exotic vets, however...) Instill in your child the sense that everything deserves the best care you can give it.

For the second, however, I do think it needs to be emphasized to a child, particularly older children/teenagers who are the primary caretakers, that the vet visit does cost money - often a lot. If that child isn't old enough to have a part-time job, then have him/her do some extra chores around the house or the yard to help "cover the cost," even if it's not actually going to contribute anything. This will help instill the idea that hey, it's great to have pets, but they do cost real money. You have to earn the right to have an animal. Mowing the yard or scrubbing the bathtub is a good way to start to help children understand that.

My daughter is currently 16 months old. Not really old enough to help out much. :wink: But one day, she's welcome to have pets, and they will certainly be taken to the vet if they need care - but if they do have to have vet care, I do plan to let her do some figurative "earning" of that vet visit. I won't make her actually do enough to "earn" a $100+ visit, but doing a little something will hopefully help make it clear that an animal is a financial responsibility as much as any other responsibility.

 

[Fredsdad]

Awesome way of looking at that! My problem is with the parents that refuse to help an animal because it isn't a dog or cat. Every life deserves to live to the fullest and without sickness and pain.

 

[Jess]

Yeah, I agree. I pay for all of my own pets, vet bills included (I'm 17), so I can do whatever I can have the money for.
My parents were that way when I was younger though. Our hamsters and other smaller pets didn't go to the vet if they got sick, because they (mainly my dad) didn't want to spend the money on it. Once I was, like, 7 years old I was pretty much on my own with all of my pets. No one made sure that I fed my pets or kept their cages clean. My dad and his half of the family have the "It's just an animal" mentality to the extreme, so that has always been an issue. Once when I was going to have my hamster put to sleep, he tried to kill her my making her breathe starter fluid while I was in the shower, just to save $10. There was a LOT of stupid stuff that happened because I didn't have help with my pets when I was little... Which is probably why I'm so incredibly OCD about taking good care of them now.

I wish more people cared.

 

[BeardieGrandma]

Nice signature Fred's dad! So true, isn't it?
Getting Joga was 100% my son's idea (he was 10 at the time). So I took the oppty to make him research how to take care of bearded dragons, what he would need for housing etc. And understand the ongoing costs associated with feeding, updating lights, cleaning the cage, vet bills, and all the rest. I had to tell myself at the time that this dragon would eventually be mine ( I know my son, and while he likes the idea of having one I was not convinced he was going to be capable of keeping up with her needs). I would not have allowed him to have her if I wasn't willing to have her myself. Animals are not disposable (get rid of them when you are done) and I wish more folks would take the time to thoroughly understand the commitment you make ( this applies to any pet).
He still claims her as his (whatever) and when I go out of town for work I sit him down and emphasize the importance of making sure he tends to the details. I call home everyday and make him give me a rundown of what she ate, did she get her bath, did he take her out, etc.
So I think you are spot on - kids by and large do the best they can with what they have in terms of resources, money, and guidance from their parents. As adults I think we have a responsibility to teach the importance of proper care and commitment it takes to have a pet, and help our kids do right by their animals. They are such a joy to have and deserve the best we can give.

 

[SamusTheDragon]

Wow. This really is the story of my life :lol: , but yeah it is quite sad. I'm 15, I would love to get a summer job but I can't drive and only have one parent who works everyday. My dad helps out by paying for food I order online and bulbs when we go to petsmart and whatnot. I try to buy things without him knowing, because it's my pet and I don't want him to have to buy small things for my beardies. I know it sounds weird... but yeah. He doesn't really like me taking them to the vet either, :/ ... but like everyone else we've been struggling finicially for awhile too. I really want to get a job to help ensure that my beardies stay happy, healthy, and get their vet check-ups. My best friend's fathers a vet, and it was about $300 for 2 visits . But like the great guy he is he did it free of charge (except for the panacur which ended up being to much on my little dudes). But I can't ask things like that of them... it's really strange. It's like either way I feel horrible that I don't take my guys to the vet, but I don't like "taking advantage" of my friend... I feel like this would all be fixed if I could get a job :evil: How do you other teens do it

 

[sheri85]

when i was growing up i had my cat (the one i have now--she's ancient), my turtle (also ancient), and a rabbit. my brother had a cat. we each took care of our animals, cleaning litter boxes, cleaning bowls and feeding them. we even had a dog, but that was our mom's lol. my mom did have to remind us sometimes to check on our pets, especially me since i whined my way into having three at a fairly young age, but we did well. obviously i still have the turtle and cat (i'm 25 if anyone's wondering), and my rabbit lived to be 7.

i definitely agree that kids can learn a lot from having pets. i always went with my parents when we went to buy food for our pets, and i helped my mom vaccinate the cat and bunny (cheaper to do it yourself!). i not only had my household chores to take care of but i was responsible for living creatures' well-being. but i certainly wouldn't have learned that without my parents teaching me how to take care of each one of them and keeping on me to care for them. so yes, the parents are responsible.

i did have one issue when i was in college and one of my two pet rats got a respiratory infection. my stepdad made an issue out of me taking a rat i paid $5 for to the vet, but i argued he'd do the same for the dog he got for free, and i HAVE to feel like i tried to help my pet. sometimes it's difficult to get people to understand the value of a pet that's not a dog or cat, but it can happen.

btw Jamiedog, love the new banner of Wave.

 

[bandit27]

This post is so true, it infuriates me when i hear kids/teens talking about how sick their beardies are, but mum/dad won't take them to the vet for whatever reason

My son is 9yrs old and our 2 dragons are his. Since we got them he told me he doesn't want his pocket money (earned by doing little chores around the house) he wants me to use it to pay for the upkeep of his dragons. Even though this doesn't even cover the cost of their food. It's so important to teach our children how to be responsible pet owners. It also teaches them the value of money. Don't get me wrong my son gets whatever he wants/needs so he isn't going without.

When we got our beardies they were housed together, we decided it was best for them to be seperated so i discussed it with my son and gave him options. (1) we re-home one of them (2) we buy a new set up or (3) leave them together and the male would evntually kill the female (this wans't really an option but i had to tell him this is wot would happen). As he already loved them both he told me to take money out of his bank account to buy a new set up. As far as he is concerned this is what i did.

I had to also take on the responsibility of these animals, as yes, he is only 9 yrs old and loves all animals. They are living and breathing so should get the care love and attention that any other pet would get.

He had a russian dwarf hamster that was so sick, i took it to the vet who had no option but to put it to sleep, whick cost me £43. When i told people they said i was mad as they would of hit it over the head!! ARGHHHH some people just don't understand, a pet is a pet and should be cared for just the same as our dogs or cats.

Thanks fredsdad, i needed a good rant, i am with you on this one 100%

 

[wizbee]

Blast you? I was enraged that the one posters parents wouldn't take the poor squished beardie to the vet. Why are some pets considered "disposable"?

 

[Spookle]

I must agree too!! surely these parents don't act in the same way when their children are sick?? children can tell you if they are in pain or not feeling well, pets on the other hand can't, these are living beings too and give so much pleasure and deserve the best lif possible the same as us, my partner and myself took on a 2 and a half year old beardie 4 weeks ago because the owner (an adult) said she was being bullied by the male, she gave my partner no othe indicatiion of any illness, she was off her food for 2 weeks which we put down to relocatio stress, after 3 weeks we found she was full of parasites and spent the next week giving her intensive care, sh died a few days ago, what makes me angry is if she had said the beardie was poorly we could have got her to the vets sooner, if you are going to have ANY pet then you WILL have vet bills!!

 

[Jamiedog]

btw Jamiedog, love the new banner of Wave.

Thanks! :mrgreen: Wish I could take the credit, but it has to go where it's due. :wink:

 

[Fuzzyviper]

When I was little, I had a pet anole that I kept in my room and I always made sure to take care of him. I was only about 9-10 when I got him so my parents had to pay for most of his food but I made sure to feed him his crickets, wash his fake plants and tank furniture, give him water from a dropper daily, and rinse/wash the wood chips when they got kind of skanky. I'm sure he was only about $5 but he was well taken care of and we even took him to the vet once when he developed some kind of growth on his head (the vet took it off and he got an antibiotic ointment for the spot). I never really understood people saying anoles were hard to care for since I was a little kid and mine lived 3 years (my neighbor promised to take care of him over a vacation and I came back to find he had never been cared for at all and had died. I cried and it still upsets me to this day.)

I hate that parents let their children and teens have pets and will do nothing when it's obvious they aren't being cared for. Either the parent needs step in and discipline the child/teen (has them pay the money for the vet, do chores around the house to offset the parent having to care for it, etc) or needs to give an "Take care of your animal properly or we're finding it a home that will take care of it" talk.

I'm always surprised by the number of people that think animals are disposable, especially fish. A fish can feel hunger, discomfort, and pain just like we can but parents are FAR more likely to come in, looking to throw a couple goldfish in a tiny bowl for their kid to be interested in for a week then neglect until they die. The worst is the fairs giving out goldfish as prizes. We've had TONS of people that got these fish, coming in to get it a "friend," only for me to tell them that, "Hey, a goldfish can't live in a 5 gallon fish tank. They get 5-6 inches long and poop like crazy." My hope in humanity is always uplifted when someone has an animal they obviously care for and they are trying their best with little information. I helped a family this weekend that won one of those goldfish a couple years ago and they bought a really nice 10 gallon, new decorations, the works for the little guy, even though he's "just a fish" and he was free.

 

[xdoomedsoulx]

I happen to be a son of this kind of parent (though I'm now 21), and there is nothing more frustrating than knowing your pet needs a vet, but not having the means to do anything yourself. Although I fought them into going every time he needed it, they were reluctant. I always made sure I didn't take it for granted, I knew exactly how expensive it was, and I did let them know before we got a beardie.

As I'm writing this, Spike is looking at his carrot and lettuce waxworm salad and puffing at me, as if to say 'why is there green stuff with my worms?!' :lol:

 

[Jamiedog]

As I'm writing this, Spike is looking at his carrot and lettuce waxworm salad and puffing at me, as if to say 'why is there green stuff with my worms?!' :lol:

You cruel, heartless owner. People who try to force nasty green stuff into their dragons shouldn't be allowed to have them! :wink:

(It's amazing, I'm getting that exact same "look" right now... :lol: )