Hi, I am Enderess, or Emily, you can call me whatever you really want, I really don't care.
If you saw my other posts, like Should I? and Black Tail? Is this coloring?, you might know that I was considering getting a dragon, and well, He left me crumbling.
Last night I found my new love, Sebastian, my new bearded dragon.
This is our story.
Before I start, I want to say, thanks. I get it that I have said it before, but you guys are the people that helped me answer my questions, and this whole community is awesome! The idea of other pet owners helping communicate to each other! This was one of the things I really wanted when I was new to pet rats, but I never got, but now I can actually finally step back up on my feet in the bearded dragon realm! I have learned so much here! Thanks, you guys deserve it!
Lets skip to a few days ago.
I had learned a lot about bearded dragons, had got a 40 gallon tank for only $70 (not bad..) and had also made a list on amazon of everything else that I needed to buy. (Proper lighting, food, substrate, etc.) and was planning on getting the beardy soon. My school is off on summer break, so it was a pretty logical time to get one, considering the fact that I don't want to be busy on the first few weeks of having him/her. (They always say that the first week is the most important...) I was browsing through craigslist, looking for an adult in my area, since just like other animals, the babies are always more expensive, in terms of food, to say the least, and they also are probably harder to grasp for the average newbie, so yeah, I was looking for an adult. That is when I saw some listings that caught my eye.
The main one that actually caught my eye was a 6 year old bearded dragon, that came with everything *cough* *cough* garbage *cough* *cough*. I had done enough research to know that he was in way to small a tank, had improper lighting, there was barely anything in the tank, and he didn't look like he was in great condition, so I really wanted to see him. I contacted them, and surprisingly, they got back to me! (Unlike all the other people I tried...) They said that I could come over the next day, and I gladly agreed.
It was the next day, around 4ish-5ish pm, and my parents and I were going over there to see him. Apparently the posters' daughter didn't really want him anymore, so, that was why he was being sold? kinda irresponsible, but whatever. The thing that bothered me was that this was one of those really shady neighborhoods, you know, the ones with the small houses, weird people looking at you, but that didn't stop me and my parents from going over there. We arrived at a small house, with the daughters mom outside the door, leading us in.
When we got inside, it was a cramped, small house, and we were lead to a small, cramped room with a 20 gallon tank. His skin was really dark, he had brighter and darker patches on him, but luckily, no visible wounds. His tail was dark, and so was his back, but that didn't bother me. The girl claimed that he "didn't like to be held very much", but she was totally wrong. Since there were other people looking into him, and I had the money with me, I knew that it was better to bring him home with me. These people had good intentions, but were delivering them wrong.
I got home, and quickly got him out of his cramped 20 gallon (which was also very messy, filled with poo, and looked like it was never cleaned) and let him go on my floor as I put some soft paper towels into the bottom of my 40 gallon tank. I added some of the decor they provided after I cleaned it off a bit, and put in what I could. I put on the crappy lights for now, since I am going to the store later today, I am going to get an 100 watt bulb and stand, since the light is way to cold. The thermometer is broke, so I cant tell the temp, but so far he is alert, and eating. I am ordering better stuff right now, so he will be fine.
Sadly, we had to leave his crappy lights in, but don't worry, we are getting new ones soon.
Here are some pictures of him (warning, bad picture quality):
Picture from the craigslist ad
Picture of him on my floor
Picture of his temporary enclosure
After that, and a lot of snuggles from him, me and my family went to sleep.
This morning we got him out, and he talked to my grandma on the phone and hung out with my parents.
We also gave him a bath
He looked a lot brighter after it, but still dark.
His tail looked a bit brighter as well, but I am not sure that you can tell in the picture.
I also am going to mention that he was eating butter lettuce DUN DUN DUN! It is fine though, because I will get collard greens next time I go to the store. He also decided to poo finally, which he thought it was a great idea to do it while I was holding him :roll:
The thing that worries me is how dark he is, because his scales feel almost burnt, maybe because of how close he was to the light in their tank, and I am going to give him a bath later today to see if he perks up a bit.
One big thing that I am worried about is his belly. It is almost completely yellow, along with some on his head. My mom thinks that it is a bad shed, and while that could be true, and I am not so sure about it. It might be yellow fungus, due to the bad sanitary conditions, but praying for it not to be.
I hope that he gets healed up, poor thing, his older owners didn't really seem to care much about him. Whether he makes it or not, he is at least getting the love he deserves.
Please tell me any tips, or things that would help.
Also, could the dark, crusty skin on his back be shedding?
Thanks for your time!
Regards,
Enderess
If you saw my other posts, like Should I? and Black Tail? Is this coloring?, you might know that I was considering getting a dragon, and well, He left me crumbling.
Last night I found my new love, Sebastian, my new bearded dragon.
This is our story.
Before I start, I want to say, thanks. I get it that I have said it before, but you guys are the people that helped me answer my questions, and this whole community is awesome! The idea of other pet owners helping communicate to each other! This was one of the things I really wanted when I was new to pet rats, but I never got, but now I can actually finally step back up on my feet in the bearded dragon realm! I have learned so much here! Thanks, you guys deserve it!
Lets skip to a few days ago.
I had learned a lot about bearded dragons, had got a 40 gallon tank for only $70 (not bad..) and had also made a list on amazon of everything else that I needed to buy. (Proper lighting, food, substrate, etc.) and was planning on getting the beardy soon. My school is off on summer break, so it was a pretty logical time to get one, considering the fact that I don't want to be busy on the first few weeks of having him/her. (They always say that the first week is the most important...) I was browsing through craigslist, looking for an adult in my area, since just like other animals, the babies are always more expensive, in terms of food, to say the least, and they also are probably harder to grasp for the average newbie, so yeah, I was looking for an adult. That is when I saw some listings that caught my eye.
The main one that actually caught my eye was a 6 year old bearded dragon, that came with everything *cough* *cough* garbage *cough* *cough*. I had done enough research to know that he was in way to small a tank, had improper lighting, there was barely anything in the tank, and he didn't look like he was in great condition, so I really wanted to see him. I contacted them, and surprisingly, they got back to me! (Unlike all the other people I tried...) They said that I could come over the next day, and I gladly agreed.
It was the next day, around 4ish-5ish pm, and my parents and I were going over there to see him. Apparently the posters' daughter didn't really want him anymore, so, that was why he was being sold? kinda irresponsible, but whatever. The thing that bothered me was that this was one of those really shady neighborhoods, you know, the ones with the small houses, weird people looking at you, but that didn't stop me and my parents from going over there. We arrived at a small house, with the daughters mom outside the door, leading us in.
When we got inside, it was a cramped, small house, and we were lead to a small, cramped room with a 20 gallon tank. His skin was really dark, he had brighter and darker patches on him, but luckily, no visible wounds. His tail was dark, and so was his back, but that didn't bother me. The girl claimed that he "didn't like to be held very much", but she was totally wrong. Since there were other people looking into him, and I had the money with me, I knew that it was better to bring him home with me. These people had good intentions, but were delivering them wrong.
I got home, and quickly got him out of his cramped 20 gallon (which was also very messy, filled with poo, and looked like it was never cleaned) and let him go on my floor as I put some soft paper towels into the bottom of my 40 gallon tank. I added some of the decor they provided after I cleaned it off a bit, and put in what I could. I put on the crappy lights for now, since I am going to the store later today, I am going to get an 100 watt bulb and stand, since the light is way to cold. The thermometer is broke, so I cant tell the temp, but so far he is alert, and eating. I am ordering better stuff right now, so he will be fine.
Sadly, we had to leave his crappy lights in, but don't worry, we are getting new ones soon.
Here are some pictures of him (warning, bad picture quality):
Picture from the craigslist ad
Picture of him on my floor
Picture of his temporary enclosure
After that, and a lot of snuggles from him, me and my family went to sleep.
This morning we got him out, and he talked to my grandma on the phone and hung out with my parents.
We also gave him a bath
He looked a lot brighter after it, but still dark.
His tail looked a bit brighter as well, but I am not sure that you can tell in the picture.
I also am going to mention that he was eating butter lettuce DUN DUN DUN! It is fine though, because I will get collard greens next time I go to the store. He also decided to poo finally, which he thought it was a great idea to do it while I was holding him :roll:
The thing that worries me is how dark he is, because his scales feel almost burnt, maybe because of how close he was to the light in their tank, and I am going to give him a bath later today to see if he perks up a bit.
One big thing that I am worried about is his belly. It is almost completely yellow, along with some on his head. My mom thinks that it is a bad shed, and while that could be true, and I am not so sure about it. It might be yellow fungus, due to the bad sanitary conditions, but praying for it not to be.
I hope that he gets healed up, poor thing, his older owners didn't really seem to care much about him. Whether he makes it or not, he is at least getting the love he deserves.
Please tell me any tips, or things that would help.
Also, could the dark, crusty skin on his back be shedding?
Thanks for your time!
Regards,
Enderess