On the fence about a Bearded Dragon

[map1199]

I love the idea of the bearded dragon because of how social they are. I have a Moroccan uromastyx and he is skid-dish although we have been working with him but I now understand that is how the Moroccans are. For the holidays I want to get a lizard for my 10 y/o although it will really be mine. But I am a lil weirded out about bringing bugs into my house to feed it. Along with the possibility of it getting a bad cricket or bug and it getting sick from it. Has anyone else had this issue? Did you get over it quickly? Plus the concern about the parasites they can pick up from bugs.
Any advice would be great!
Mary Ann

 

[AtlasStrike]

Crickets are the feeder most likely to carry parasites. They are also louder, smellier and die faster than any other feeder. Don't Uro's eat some bugs? If you go with Dubia, you will have much less to worry about. Super worms and repti worms don't seem to have many complaints loges against them. I really want to try horn worms too.

Beardies really do need their bugs. I actually find the cricket chirping comforting now.

 

[map1199]

Uros are herbivores which makes them very easy to care for.

 

[DeweysMom]

I was also hesitant in getting a beardie for the whole bug feeding issue, but shortly after I got Dewey the bug part didn't freak me out anymore. I started him out with crickets, but they did smell a lot and I had a few escapees so I started a dubia roach colony. The roaches are much cleaner and much easier to care for. They're also silent and have no odor - at least nowhere near as strong as the cricket's odor. If you're still unsure about the bug issues you could go with worms, but it would be a lot more expensive using them as a staple. I started Dewey on phoenix worms which he loved and then started adding butterworms and superworms. He no longer likes supers, but he goes crazy for hornworms (which can be very messy when eaten), but worms are Dewey's favorites so I deal with it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you're anything like me you'll soon be over looking the food source once you get to know and care for your beardie.

 

[RedInkAus]

I love the idea of the bearded dragon because of how social they are. I have a Moroccan uromastyx and he is skid-dish although we have been working with him but I now understand that is how the Moroccans are. For the holidays I want to get a lizard for my 10 y/o although it will really be mine. But I am a lil weirded out about bringing bugs into my house to feed it. Along with the possibility of it getting a bad cricket or bug and it getting sick from it. Has anyone else had this issue? Did you get over it quickly? Plus the concern about the parasites they can pick up from bugs.
Any advice would be great!
Mary Ann

Look into blue toungue skinks...

 

[nini02]

we do phoenix as a staple, with horn worms to get him to eat vitamin supplements. the phoenix can get expensive, we go thru 1000 in two weeks and its about $42 for them. but they freak me out a lot less than any other option, and they seem to be the best as far as nutrients (along with reptiworms i hear). a lot of people on here love dubias, but i just CANNOT wrap my head around bringing roaches into my house. (no offense to anyone on here, just not my thing.) the phoenix worms come self contained and stay in the container with no care for them needed. I use a spoon to get them from their container and into bowsers cage. the horn worms, either of my kids will pick up (freaks me out, lol) crickets get loud, smell and can be a pain to catch if your beardie doesnt eat them all. hope this helps

 

[Dracosmommy]

Hi,
I had a problem with feeding bugs too when I first got Draco. I actually went to the petshop before to see if I could even handle the crickets. I have/had a phobia of bugs. I also wasn't into feeding live. I won't buy lobster because of it. I couldn't through one in the pot live to save myself. :roll: :mrgreen: I now can feed crickets to Draco without apoligizing to them (the crickets) first. Just don't catch the wild crickets outside and feed cause they have a high parisite load. The store ones are bred for feeders. I live in Canada and haven't had a problem with them. I suggest going to a pet store to see if you can handle the crickets and other bugs and worms. That's how I got over it. I just won't pick up superworms, just by tweezers, cause they can bite. :mrgreen: Don't let the bug issue stop you, the rewards of owning a beardie are wonderful. I never though I could love a lizard the way I do Draco. :love10: Hope this helps a little from a former bug phobic!!
-Rosanne

 

[Gail]

I don't know if a blue tongue would be that great for a child. I had one and he wasn't terribly friendly plus they can loose their tails. The bugs really aren't that bad, you'll get used to them soon enough. Its very rare to get a bug that will make your dragon sick and parasites is something all reptiles can get, even herbivores.

Have you though about a different kind of uro? My mom has a pair of banded uros and they are super tame.

 

[map1199]

Thank you everyone for the great info. Listening to some of the posts make me feel a little better about it.