Need advice on where to buy feeders

[ShannyBeard]

I'd go without food before my animals would. That is very shameful. How dare some people!

Wish I had pics of that dragon to post. His tail was thin and triangular since it was just skin covering bones. Shocking! I'm going back to see him tomorrow and find out if he is eating for them. If they will loan me the tank and lights I'll take him for a few months and rehab him, but we'll see how he is and if they are able to take care of him. He's a tall guy so I cant just stick him in a quarantine bin, he'd get out easily. :? Honestly, there are so many of these dragons like that, not fed properly. I just don't get it.

 

[alexisbeardie18]

Its terrible because unlike us who can go out and get food, they cant and they depend on us, they should think about what would happen if their parents stopped feeding them and just forgot about them

 

[ShannyBeard]

Its terrible because unlike us who can go out and get food, they cant and they depend on us, they should think about what would happen if their parents stopped feeding them and just forgot about them

Yes, I agree! :silent:

 

[Onlymediocre]

I think a lot of it is the pet stores giving out false info...I personally am new to the wonderful world of beardies, and knew NOTHING about them except ah.. its so cute, I want one.. after seeing one glass dancing at petsmart one day.. I have never owned a reptile b4.. im 28 y/o.. I didnt buy one that day, My 4 y/o and I came home telling my husband how cute the dancing dragon was...A month or so later, we were just out and about, and ended up in a pet supply plus...just to look around.. my husband was asking a guy there about some snake (cause hes gonna get one...one day, lol) And I happened to see my little beardie in a 10 gal all by himself and I asked about him...The response I got was basically well I just feed it, I never handle him...yada yada. At this point i had no interest in the beardie cause we had bought a completely vicious guinea pig from there b4, due to nvr being handled... LONG STORY (sry) SHORT... thru asking about another pet store in the area we found out the manager had just sold his 2 adult beardies to the other store, SO I thought yay someone with some knowledge, I went thru what the other guy had said and the manager said he handled the little guy and went and got him out, let us pet him, etc. So Im looking at the little guy longingly.. and the manager says he can get me the dragon and everything I need for around $100... I was like HECK YEA... I walked outta the pet store with an enclosure ( I did get him to up the size of the enclosure by saying Id pay the $15 difference), the wrong basking light (red), a light fixture, carpet substrate, 2 little bowls of dehydrated dragon food (which he wouldnt eat) a water bowl, a dozen crix and my dragon....being told to feed him 3 crickets a day and veggies...

POINT BEING... IF I wouldnt of got home and started doing my homework and trying to learn everything I could about bearded dragons, AND finding this site... My poor little Dobby would be sitting there eating 3 crix a day and have some dehydrated dragon food available to him, veggies every once in a while...sitting under a red basking light 24/7 , with no uvb... AND thats if he woulda survived... thats how the manager of the pet store (who mind you just had sold 2 adult bds) told me to take care of him.

So, I dont think you can really blame ppl who dont know better, you dont know where they got their dragon and how they were told to take care of it.

ALSO, Alexisbeardie18...CONGRATS on your new dragon!!! And awesome that your parents know how to breed dubia...Im having to learn how to myself over here, lol.. I wish you best of luck

 

[ShannyBeard]

I think a lot of it is the pet stores giving out false info...I personally am new to the wonderful world of beardies, and knew NOTHING about them except ah.. its so cute, I want one.. after seeing one glass dancing at petsmart one day.. I have never owned a reptile b4.. im 28 y/o.. I didnt buy one that day, My 4 y/o and I came home telling my husband how cute the dancing dragon was...A month or so later, we were just out and about, and ended up in a pet supply plus...just to look around.. my husband was asking a guy there about some snake (cause hes gonna get one...one day, lol) And I happened to see my little beardie in a 10 gal all by himself and I asked about him...The response I got was basically well I just feed it, I never handle him...yada yada. At this point i had no interest in the beardie cause we had bought a completely vicious guinea pig from there b4, due to nvr being handled... LONG STORY (sry) SHORT... thru asking about another pet store in the area we found out the manager had just sold his 2 adult beardies to the other store, SO I thought yay someone with some knowledge, I went thru what the other guy had said and the manager said he handled the little guy and went and got him out, let us pet him, etc. So Im looking at the little guy longingly.. and the manager says he can get me the dragon and everything I need for around $100... I was like HECK YEA... I walked outta the pet store with an enclosure ( I did get him to up the size of the enclosure by
saying Id pay the $15 difference), the wrong basking light (red), a light fixture, carpet substrate, 2
little bowls of dehydrated dragon food (which he wouldnt eat) a water bowl, a dozen crix and my
dragon....being told to feed him 3 crickets a day and veggies...

POINT BEING... IF I wouldnt of got home and started doing my homework and trying to learn everything I could about bearded dragons, AND finding this site... My poor little Dobby would be sitting there eating 3 crix a day and have some dehydrated dragon food available to him, veggies every once in a while...sitting under a red basking light 24/7 , with no uvb... AND thats if he woulda survived... thats how the manager of the pet store (who mind you just had sold 2 adult bds) told me to take care of him.

So, I dont think you can really blame ppl who dont know better, you dont know where they got their dragon and how they were told to take care of it.

ALSO, Alexisbeardie18...CONGRATS on your new dragon!!! And awesome that your parents know how
to breed dubia...Im having to learn how to myself over here, lol.. I wish you best of luck

I disagree about where blame should fall for grievously bad husbandry practices and mistakes that new bearded dragon owners make. Every purchase should be researched ahead of time. People who would like to have a new pet need to make sure they are fully able to take care of that pet before the purchase is made. If you want a bearded dragon and have no experience with them, then you need to do your research. People make impulse buys all the time without having researched and then they make the big excuse that the pet store gave them wrong information and it is the pet stores fault. Sorry, but I disagree. That's just a big excuse for the new owner's refusal to take the initiative to carefully consider a reptile purchase.

Pet stores are buildings full of animals and products to buy, and they are staffed with sales people who can help you navigate their store and find the products that you need. If you think pet stores hire reptile experts with a degree in zoology, then you are mistaken. it is impossible to expect every sales person to know the ins and outs of caring for as many species of reptiles as they sell. They van help you find what you are looking for, but you need to already know what you need before you go to the pet store.

Do you go to the grocery store and tell the cashier that you have never made beef stew, but you want to, and expect the cashier to guide you through your purchase and make sure you can cook it when you get home? No! You find a recipe and go to the store with a list. How is the purchase of a reptile any different? You should arrive at the store knowing what you want, how to care for it, and what you need to purchase ahead of time. If you see something in the store that you want, but you don't know it's proper habitat, then go home, do your research and then come back to purchase when you are better informed.

People need to take responsibility for their decisions and actions.

 

[beamingdragon]

they are expensive if i would of know he was this expensive to take care of i probley would of never bought him in the first place. my bearded dragon is 11 months old now but when he was 5-7 mounths old he was eating 175 meduim crickets a day!! his vet bills are around 200 a vist! his food bill was around 45 to 60 bucks a month!! so make sure your parents know this before you get one!!

 

[Onlymediocre]

I didnt say I thought pet store associates have degrees in zoology... I said pet stores give ppl false info on how to care for animals... IF the ppl working in the store had better training or could at least own up and say well I know you need this and that but I'm not 100% sure on how the setup/care should be, make sure you look it up, it would make a difference. You cant expect a kid that goes into a pet store to argue with what the adult that works there, around these animals everyday... They say feed it 3 crickets a day, the kids gonna feed it 3 crickets a day... And ppl make impulse buys everyday.. Im sorry if you think Im a bad person because I didnt research into every aspect of owning a bearded dragon before I bought one. I was trying to say ppl go into a pet store and the trust the workers to know what theyre talking about...Its completely different than going to a grocery store that carries multiple items to make multiple things..Its a pet store, they specialize in PETS... I wasnt trying to get into an argument... I was just trying to state that it does happen, and its not fair to judge ppl w/o knowing the facts of their situation.. Im not saying its ok...

 

[beamingdragon]

beareded dragons are very expensive!! my bearded dragon is now 11 months old but when he was 5-7 months old he was eating 175-190 midum sized crickets A DAY. if i would of know he was going to cost this much i would not of got him but i love him!! the vet bills were expensive the were 200 a vist. the food bill was about 45-60 a month. that not inculding all the other expenses!! make sure your parents know this before you perchuse the creature!!

 

[ShannyBeard]

I didnt say I thought pet store associates have degrees in zoology... I said pet stores give ppl false info on how to care for animals... IF the ppl working in the store had better training or could at least own up and say well I know you need this and that but I'm not 100% sure on how the setup/care should be, make sure you look it up, it would make a difference. You cant expect a kid that goes into a pet store to argue with what the adult that works there, around these animals everyday... They say feed it 3 crickets a day, the kids gonna feed it 3 crickets a day... And ppl make impulse buys everyday.. Im sorry if you think Im a bad person because I didnt research into every aspect of owning a bearded dragon before I bought one. I was trying to say ppl go into a pet store and the trust the workers to know what theyre talking about...Its completely different than going to a grocery store that carries multiple items to make multiple things..Its a pet store, they specialize in PETS... I wasnt trying to get into an argument... I was just trying to state that it does happen, and its not fair to judge ppl w/o knowing the facts of their situation.. Im not saying its ok...

I definitely did not say you were a bad person because you didn't do your research prior to purchasing a bearded dragon. I opined that placing the blame on the pet store for someone's uninformed purchase isn't right, and people need to take more responsibility for their purchase and take proper reptile husbandry more seriously. This isn't judging people, it's just a plain and true fact. No one should get their feelings hurt or feel judged, instead they should learn from the experience and move on.

It happens with dogs and cats, too. Someone buys a tiny bull mastiff puppy and then it grows into adulthood and now it is too big so they want to get rid of it. Same thing. Had they researched bull mastiffs and realized they get to be 3 feet tall and 130 pounds, perhaps they would have realized this is a big dog and bought a smaller breed. Meanwhile there is a bull mastiff at the animal shelter on a euthanasia list because he was too big for his owner and now is unwanted.