Just need to get this out there.....

[turtlelover1992]

So ive only been a beardie owner since January 1st but little Dobbie has become my life. I eat, breath, and sleep bearded dragons. My girlfriend tells me I'm obsessed lol. But that is ok because I would do anything for my little buddy. But what gets me is other beardie owners who don't take the time to learn about their pets. Numerous times do I see craigslist ads for beardies "3 months old eating well on mealworms and lettuce" Lettuce? Come on a simple search would tell you that lettuce has no nutrition. And mealworms are even worse. And owners who have 2 beardies in a 20 gallon? How do they even get space? A friend of mine who I love dearly just lost his beardie. His beardie was 3. He thought 3 was old. I asked him about his beardie and guess what. He never had a uvb, lived on 3 crickets 3 times a week and lettuce. I helped him correct his setup for a new beardie which hopefully will have a better life than his last. I wish people would just take a little time to research a pet BEFORE they buy it. Thats all. Just needed to get that off my chest as it's been driving me crazy for days

 

[herpgirl2510]

I think many times people think of reptiles like disposeable pets almost like a goldfish. Many of the beardies are also bought for kids so the parents are notreally that into them. I know when I got rosie she had not been handled on months because the kids got a puppy and the mom was not a lizard person. An example is how rosie was under a uvb that was probably two years old like she was. Even when people sometimes find out the correct info they do not want to have to pay the extra money to properly care for the animals. I feel your frustration I adore my beardies. I started keeping my first reptiles 22 years ago and I am amazed some people still care for their reptiles the way we did back then and husbandry has come so far since then.

 

[Bwalter]

When I got my little one, I went to look at them when they were a week old, got him at 5-6 weeks, but while I waited I found this site, did the research and asked a ton of questions on here. I wanted to make sure everything was right before I got my baby. I did get him to the vet and make sure eveything was right, which he had pin worms and was taken care of. I took him with me to petsmart yesterday, everyone loves him. I always take care of my animals, they are my kids.

 

[trinity040400]

Torus former owner laughs at me when she finds out that I feed her a mixed salad every day with a bunch of different stuff in it and I feed her as many crickets she will eat in 10 min. She told me I was feeding her to much and if I fed her less she wouldnt poop as much. They had gotten her when she was something like 7 inch and only feed her collard green and afew crickets every third day!!

The problem is that alot of people see their animals as window dressing and dont care enough to spend any time on finding out how to care for them. Petstores can be any easy scapegoat sometimes, when I ask her why they treated her the way they did she just shrugs and says that was what the petstore told them to do.

It only took me a few hours to lean most of what I needed to know about bearded dragons, I think they just didnt care.

 

[scubasteve25]

honestly, i couldn't agree more, i have talked to my girl countless times about this. people aren't willing to put in the legwork and do some reading, a proper beardie setup should cost 200$+ WITHOUT the beardie. not te beardie and the 40$ reptile starter kit you bought. i see a half dozen posts a day where people impulse bought a living thing, then a week later wonder why it's sick. i can barely even go into petstores any more, just because of what i know now about beardie care. i did months and months of lurking here, and constant reading online and beardie books. the way i see it is, you took the life of another creature in your care.... least you could do is educate yourself and give them the best care you can. beardies have feelings, at least i know mines does. at night we spend some time with her before bed, and she loves to snuggle up under my neck or on my pillows while i watch tv/play games. they are awesome pets, and they deserve better than some of the things i have seen.

 

[AchiKat]

i can barely even go into petstores any more

It's true, he gets so mad when he sees people picking out a dragon and all they have is like a little 10g tank, 1 light, and talking about "they don't need anything else. it's just a lizard."


I couldn't agree more with everyone here....I get so upset now when I see a poor little beardie, sick as can be, with a look like "help me"

 

[turtlelover1992]

yeah i hate going to petstores. I always refer to baby beardies as "little dobbies" and everytime i see one that looks sick or is injured i just feel so sick. I dont know how anybody could let a beardie get that sick and just not care.

 

[jemiluc]

Thank you so much for getting this out there. I've been wanting to something like this for a very long time. I think another factor is people don't understand how much time is needed to take care of these guys. I'll admit, I thought I knew what I was getting into, but until you have your set up complete, your feeders chosen and your feeding schedules set up, you don't really understand all the work and time that goes into it. I totally agree a lot of people buy them on impulse. I used to be like that, but after talking to a rare, knowledgeable store employee, I realized there's more to these guys then just a tank and some food. So, I decided after talking with him to take some time to figure out if this is what I really wanted and if I'd have the time and energy to put into it. After researching for over a month I decided it was time and went in with a realistic idea of what to expect. Of course, things always come up, and as prepared as I was, I still ran into problems. But in the end, things are great I have 2 amazing, beautiful, charming and adorable Beardies that I absolutely love! My whole family loves them. My husband won't go near them or touch them, but he talks to them and watches them for hours - laughing at their tilting heads, watching them chow down their wormies. If there was only one more thing I wish we could put out their besides the amount of time and care that these little guys need, it's the amount of money. I believe the reason a lot of people get rid of their babies is because they don't realize the amount of money it takes to keep them fed. Don't get me wrong, I can totally afford to feed my 2 guys, but it's turning out to be a lot more then I originally expected, but I've found ways to make it work. Thanks to everyone on this sight - for sharing your knowledge and supporting one another!

 

[turtlelover1992]

yeah the cost is alot between setup and food. i struggled for a while with crickets until i decided to get some dubia. best decsion i ever made. saves me so much money every week

 

[AchiKat]

yeah the cost is alot between setup and food. i struggled for a while with crickets until i decided to get some dubia. best decsion i ever made. saves me so much money every week

Yes it does cost alot more than I thought it would to feed her. I'm so glad we got dubia too! Saves us like $40-$50 a week!

 

[fez09]

I couldn't agree with you more! We have many different animals and I have ALWAYS researched before buying...Even guinea pigs, I was amazed at the proper diet that they require (not just pellets). I'm seeing a whole other side to people. I'm a breeder (new to the biz) and have actually had to turn down a few people because they weren't prepared and when I asked them about what type of UVB and diet they would be providing, I didn't like the answers...In my opinion, a lack of knowledge is sometimes better than having the wrong knowledge. It would've been different if they were open minded but some people just won't listen...It's nice to know that there are still responsible people who think before purchasing on a whim!

 

[turtlelover1992]

yeah its crazy how people dont prepare for a pet. i mean even pet stores who should KNOW how to take care of the animals they sell give bad information. where i bought dobbie they said to feed him only mealworms and every other day. im glad i did research before i even bought him. i think petstores should be required to know the proper care for each and every animal that they sell.