Reliable place to get a healthy baby/juvenile beardie?

[DovahDad]

My fiancee and I just lost our little one - only about 5 months old - after a three month battle with an RI and RI relapses. We did everything we could think to do husbandry-wise, and the vet gave us both oral baytril and for the nebulizer. We nebulized him daily on and off with Baytril and/or diluted F10SC, and syringe fed him food and probiotics for the last two months. Although he regained weight, he never regained an appetite. He sometimes got extremely puffy and bloated for no apparent reason. He had diahrrea for a time, but had normal poos toward the end.

In the end, I was hopeful he was getting better, but he finally passed suddenly two days ago. I fed him on lunch and he seemed alright, and I went back to work. I came home and he had gone. We got him at PetSmart, and I now wonder if he was ADV positive, as nothing we did seemed to keep the RI at bay for long, or give him back his appetite. He was lethargic all the time, and seemed to be in pain. At least his suffering is over.

This loss has hit us pretty hard, and has left a beardie-shaped hole in my heart. And while he will always be our first beardie, and first in our hearts, my fiancee and I would like to get another beardie sometime soon. Life just isn't the same without a little one waiting for you when you get home.

So with that backstory, my question is, where can we get a baby/juvenile beardie that we can be sure is healthy? We live in Bangor, Maine, and incredibly, I can't find any sign of a bearded dragon breeder anywhere in Maine. I'm very hesitant to go back to PetSmart. I see there are options to ship them from breeders online, but I'm concerned that shipping wouldn't be great for them psychologically, or physically, as it's about 0 degrees here.

Is shipping a viable option for them psychologically, and in such cold weather? If not, does anyone have any idea how to find a reliable breeder? Thanks!

 

[AHBD]

There has been a show in your area, the Northeast reptile expo....if you Google it you might contact the person who runs/ran it. They could put you in touch with any potential breeders but be sure to ask for pics before you meet with anyone , ask enough questions as to where they got their breeders, how they care for their babies, if they have references, etc. As for on line breeders, Tamara from Rainbow has healthy, fast growing dragons. They can be shipped in very cold weather, but the most important thing to watch for are storms. A package can be delivered only if there are no flight cancellations, and as you know wev'e had a terrible winter thus far. So it's always good to Google the weather at the departure state as well as the Fedex hub in between and then your own state. You might feel more comfortable waiting a month, and Tamara seems to have dragons available year round.

 

[DovahDad]

Thanks for the recommendation, AHBD! I just sent the Expo a Facebook message. I had no idea there was a reptile expo that took place right on my doorstep!

And yes, weather is another concern I have with shipping. We've already had the mail delivery delayed twice this winter. The last thing we need is to have a beardie stuck in a box in some warehouse during a blizzard, with the heat packs running down... :shock: I'd have to check the weather obsessively. That and the psychological effect of being in a dark box for days makes me prefer buying local.

So thanks for the suggestion - we'll see what it turns up.

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome. But if you can't find anything good close by, don't rule out having one shipped. Only in severe weather do Fedex shipments get hung up.....it's not common for that to happen, you really just have to watch for the obvious " big " blizzards.

 

[DovahDad]

Good point - we won't rule out shipping if there are no decent breeders/dealers close by.

As we contemplate getting another beardie, I'm wondering about the pet store practice of keeping multiple dragons in one enclosure. They all seem to do it, and it seems like horrible practice to me. If one beardie has ADV, it means they'll all have it. Is this a practice I should make sure my breeder or dealer doesn't do (make sure they all have separate enclosures), or is there more to ensuring we get a healthy beardie than that?

I guess I'm just looking for any tips or questions to ask a dealer to ensure they ensure their lizards' health.

 

[Ofthelime]

Expos are great. Also some websites like Big Apple pet, and LLL Reptiles, have good reviews.

 

[Taterbug]

Some Breeders test for ADV, but I think it's more uncommon than common.

Most of this is geared towards shows, but can apply to private breeders. In the case of just a breeder, it doesn't hurt to ask to see their sets up/animals. Worst they say is no, but you might get to go over and check it out.

Ask them about their husbandry, how they keep their breeders and babies, what they feed and how often, how they supplement, what age they sell babies at, what lights they use etc. you can even ask about their de-worming routines, basically the sorts of things we ask around here to get an idea of their husbandry since good husbandry is really the key for healthy animals. I prefer breeders (not all will) who have lineage information, hatch dates etc. if it's a expo, observe how they show their animals. I look for booths with clean enclosures that aren't too crowded (and at shows by nature they are over crowded but I've seen piles of lizards in rubbermaid bins), that they have heat and light (uv isn't always taken to shows, so that's not a huge deal) with alert active animals.

Some vendors at reptile shows (and many websites) are resellers, whole sellers or drop shippers in the case of websites. Generally places that have lots of species or a handful of individuals or several species are ones to look out for. If they can't tell you anything about the individual dragon, I'd skip it. I don't like the booths with poop in the cages or on the animals, or the ones with rubber ades full of dragons.

Faunaclassifieds.com has a board of inquiry you can use to check out breeders for possible complaints or happy customers.

When we got Pepper I spoke to the breeder for 30 minutes or more while observing her animals, walked around came back, talked a bunch more and held the guy I wanted. She keeps records of her breeders, where she got them, who their parents are etc. she even had a book of photos of her breeders and was able to give me a hatch date when I emailed her after the show.

Good luck!

 

[AHBD]

Tater brought out lots of good points. But one question you asked is whether breeders raise babies together.....the answer is that all breeders do so. It's impossible to separate a clutch of 25 -35 babies into individual bins. There are usually 5-10 per bin, depending on the size of the bin as well as the size of the dragons. Of course as they grow in to large juveniles they are further separated.

 

[DovahDad]

@Taterbug: Wow, thanks for the talking points and ideas! I'll write down a whole list of questions to ask based on your post.

@AHBD: That's good to know. So it really isn't about whether they're all kept in bins together, it's more about whether the breeder makes sure they don't come in contact with any ill dragons or

@Ofthelime: Thanks for the recommendations. It's good to get a sense of which online breeders are trustworthy.

Lots of good information in this thread - thanks, everyone, for helping us find another baby to care for.

 

[Ofthelime]

Any time