Hi Scott,
I lost a gecko 3 months after buying it from a pet store. I took good care of her but in the end it had to be something wrong within her from the start. It was unexplainable. I even spent a ton of money on vet bills. I will never buy another animal from a pet shop again.
Anyway, I would suggest sticking with reptile expo's to buy another one or order one online from a breeder. I was in search for so long. Either I didn't like the price or the living conditions or the fact that the breeder was mass producing them & really just didn't care all that much. I also was pickey about what I wanted in color & in age. I didn't want to get one too young because of the higher risk of death. I wanted to find one locally too because I felt shipping was too stressful on them. However, on Monday I ordered my little girl from
Rainbowbeardeddragons.com. Tamara really worked with me on my concerns. She reassured me that shipping BD's is okay because when you cover them up they go to sleep. She gets them ready right before they leave to be shipped & within 12 hours I had her.
When she arrived she didn't seem stressed at all. A little chilly from not being under the lights but she was fine. She arrived yesterday morning. She is beautiful too. She ate right out of my hand last night (crickets & a few bites of apricote). She was born in April. Tamara told me exactly what she was feeding her & the percentages of everything too (very percise). I felt she really knew her dragons & cared deeply for them. She is out of Portland Orgon.
There are a ton of breeders out there so just know what you want & don't settle for anything less than what you want. Research everything. I can't begin to tell you things that shocked me that I had found & discovered that wasn't good. Just like anything, there are good breeders & their are not so good ones. Do your research.
I was buying my crickets at a pet shop too. Tamara referenced the place that she buys her's out of Georgia. Shipping cost are always a problem but considering you know that they are coming right from the supplier who is gut loading them & that they are used for reptile food, is very reasurring to me. As a matter of fact I am waiting for my box of crickets to come now. You can pick the exact size you want. They have pictures of the sizes. Mine is eating 1/2". The web site is
www.ghann.com
Here is a picture of my new little girl.