Unfortunately this isn't a good story. While I believe pet store employees truly care about their reptiles, they simply just don't know how to take care of them and would seem to trust a store manual over people who have successfully raised beardies. I haven't had beardies for long, only about a year, but I recently received a sick beardie that the store was about to freeze in a couple of days. The manager at the store didn't want to freeze the beardie so she gave it to me knowing that I have a few of my own. Originally, when by sister bought Damien, she was one of two beardies who were brought to the store as rescues when someone found them in a dumpster by an apartment. When they first arrived the dragons were thin and lethargic.
Iceberg lettuce was found in their cage, which was a 10 gallon aquarium separated in two by a piece of cardboard. These little guys had no room to run and they were missing some digits. At the time they first arrived, Damien was the smallest of the two, and still had her entire tail so my mother and sister bought her. Damien has been to the hospital once for a infection on the foot which had the missing toes, but she is doing very well now.
However, the other rescue began to wither away in a cage with crushed walnut shells, no UVB, with crickets available once every other day. On top of that, the only leafy greens and veggies available were carrots and lettuce from the premixed store bags. I'm surprised the baby beardie even lived this long.
What grinds my gears is the fact that I've told this manager many times how important UVB is, how dangerous walnut shells can be for little ones, and how important it is to feed ANY baby animal multiple times a day. Part of the reason I'm taking this beardie in is because he deserves a chance to grow, and possibly get better. The other reason is simply because maybe, if this beardie can live or improve, that maybe this store will stop and think about what they are doing.
When we brought Damien in the store to show the manager, the look on her face was priceless when we told her it was the smaller rescue lizard. Afterwards she proceeded to tell us that mistreatment during young ages tends to become more visible when an animal gets older. She refused to admit that she made any mistake whatsoever.
Anyways, I now have a handicapped and thin beardie. It looks like the spine on this beardie is twisting upwards just before his back legs, and his right foot is also twisting inwards. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Does anyone know how good/bad a zilla T50 florescent UVB bulb is?
Hope this picture shows up.. on the right is Damien and on the left is Lucifer.
When Lucifer tries his hardest to pull himself along with his front legs, he sticks his tongue out a bit to get that extra distance. He's really a cutie and I wish he had a better chance.
Iceberg lettuce was found in their cage, which was a 10 gallon aquarium separated in two by a piece of cardboard. These little guys had no room to run and they were missing some digits. At the time they first arrived, Damien was the smallest of the two, and still had her entire tail so my mother and sister bought her. Damien has been to the hospital once for a infection on the foot which had the missing toes, but she is doing very well now.
However, the other rescue began to wither away in a cage with crushed walnut shells, no UVB, with crickets available once every other day. On top of that, the only leafy greens and veggies available were carrots and lettuce from the premixed store bags. I'm surprised the baby beardie even lived this long.
What grinds my gears is the fact that I've told this manager many times how important UVB is, how dangerous walnut shells can be for little ones, and how important it is to feed ANY baby animal multiple times a day. Part of the reason I'm taking this beardie in is because he deserves a chance to grow, and possibly get better. The other reason is simply because maybe, if this beardie can live or improve, that maybe this store will stop and think about what they are doing.
When we brought Damien in the store to show the manager, the look on her face was priceless when we told her it was the smaller rescue lizard. Afterwards she proceeded to tell us that mistreatment during young ages tends to become more visible when an animal gets older. She refused to admit that she made any mistake whatsoever.
Anyways, I now have a handicapped and thin beardie. It looks like the spine on this beardie is twisting upwards just before his back legs, and his right foot is also twisting inwards. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Does anyone know how good/bad a zilla T50 florescent UVB bulb is?
Hope this picture shows up.. on the right is Damien and on the left is Lucifer.
When Lucifer tries his hardest to pull himself along with his front legs, he sticks his tongue out a bit to get that extra distance. He's really a cutie and I wish he had a better chance.
