My PetSmart Beardie

[Aberdeen43]

A month ago while I was at my local PetSmart, I decided to look at their reptiles. When I looked into the tiny 10 gal bearded dragon display, I was horrified. Inside where 4 bearded dragons, 3 of which were about 7 1/2 inches, and the 4th, a little over 5 inches. It also looked as if it had not been cleaned for over a week. It was just after they fed them crickets, and the larger ones were able to easily get them, but the little one did not. I decided to purchase the little one even though I have never owned one before (apart from petsitting my friend's for 2 weeks). I was terrified that the bigger ones would nip at it or that it would get hurt. The employee there helping me said they were all supposed to be the same age, but didn't know the exact age. She asked me multiple times if I was sure I wanted the smallest one, as the larger ones looked nicer. But I wanted the small one so I could give her the best home possible. Now a month later, she is almost 7 inches and doing well. I've heard that pet store chains really do not take care of their reptiles, but I didn't realize how bad it was until my experience. My beardie's name is Aberdeen and I call her a she, even though I don't know if shes male or female yet.

This is the day I first got her and brought her home. The dish she is sitting on is a little under 3 inches at that spot, so you can see how small she is.

This is her within the last week. She is now just under 7 inches. I'm assuming she's between 2 and 3 months old.

I guess the moral of my story is that while all of the morphs out there are beautiful and its safer to purchase from breeders, purchasing a beardie from a PetSmart or a similar store can help a little one get out of a bad situation, and they end up being just as cute!

 

[AnthonysGotMilk]

Wow, that really shows your integrity! I am so glad to see that your beardie is doing well after being in such a poor situation. Your little guy looks very beautiful and happy.

 

[ofcourseilikepasta]

So sweet of you! She's gorgeous! You're going to give her a great life, I can tell

We got Gary from Petco, and he unfortunately was not in good shape He was housed with either 4 or 5 other beardies all in a 10 gallon tank. He was completely dehydrated yet the humidity was over 80% in tank, and the temperature was hitting 70... And of course they had a bowl of mealworms in there that there's no way they should be eating as they were too large for them and they were only babies Gary ended up having parasites so that wasn't fun at all, my poor baby

But now it's nearly 4 months later and I couldn't be happier with the decision we made to buy him from Petco. We chose him by holding two different ones we wanted, saying "Gary!" and seeing which one would react. And he did so we picked him It was meant to be. He's cuddly, outgoing, he eats well, he's healthy... He's worth all the money it costs to have him.

And most of all, we always will feel as though we rescued him.

I wish you and your beardie luck and happiness!

 

[Aberdeen43]

Gary is so handsome! I always feel so bad for all the little beardies cooped up in the tiny tanks at pet stores, I wish I had the money (and space) to buy them all!