Oh I'm fine enjoying Elvis with her. I have two sugar gliders, two dogs and a Gray Parrot. I was very surprised when she became interested in reptiles in the first place. She's normally the girlier and more bug-phobic of my two daughters, so wanting something she has to feed crickets to was very out of character. I made her jump through lots of hoops before I let her get him, just to be sure she was committed. She had to do research, prove her responsibility and save her own money.
First she thought she wanted a chameleon, but her research showed her that they were higher maintenance and maybe not a good choice for a first pet of her own. Then she saw someone with a green iguana at a festival and wanted one so she could take it places. Of course her research showed that they can get very big, mean and even dangerous when they reach adolescence. Then she was looking at water dragons but was directed towards beardies by someone at PetsMart. I know, I know, I wouldn't get a pet from a store. I've learned from my gliders that you're much better off going to a reputable breeder. Anyway, people kept telling us what great personalities BD's had. They kept calling them the dogs of the reptile world. I wasn't that excited about them at first and tried to push her towards the pretty green water dragons, but the more she learned the more sure she was that she wanted a beardie.
To prove her responsibility, she had to care for a green anole we found in the back yard for 6 months. I figured if she lost interest, we could just return him to the wild rather than having a pet who would need to be rescued. We got him a little tank and set him up with the right temps, UV and humidity and she had to feed him crickets and dust them with vitamins. She stuck with it and actually had him 7 or 8 months before she got Elvis.
Finally, she had to save her own money to pay for not just the dragon, but the viv, MVB, viv furniture, etc. This is a kid who previously just wasn't a saver. The minute she had enough money for a pack of gum, she had to spend it. The most she had ever saved was enough for a Webkin. This was a wonderful lesson for her. She had to buy all the set up before she could save for the dragon. She would have been happy with a normal colored dragon, but I was the one who wanted her to get a pretty colored one. So I said if she would save $75, I would contribute another $75 because we thought we could get a pretty one for $150. She decided she liked the citrus tigers best. As it turned out, there was a reptile show in town when she was just $5 short of the required $75 she had to have before I would contribute. So we went to the show and found Elvis, who is a citrus tiger for $60. Gotta love buying local and not having to ship!
Sorry for the long post. As you can see, I'm a proud mom. Elvis has already been very good for my girl. I've learned a lot too. I never understood the attraction for people to keep reptiles before. Helping with her research has shown me how interesting they are, but I don't want one of my own. I really like Elvis though.
