Should I get this 3 month old beardie or a baby?

[Ack]

I've found a 3 month old beardie at a local mom-and-pop pet shop that I really like. It seems healthy to my untrained eye -- clear eyes, clean, no obvious injuries. It was calm, yet active and curious. Walked up to the glass when I approached the cage and moved it's head to watch me wherever I went. I handled it and it was very tame. Sat on my hand and let me touch and pet it. Stayed alert and looked around, crawled around a bit, but mostly just stayed calm. I'm not really sure what else to look for healthwise... I like the idea of this one being a little older and more hearty, as well as more tame and being larger makes it easier to handle and find in the house if it slips away.

My questions are:

--Are there any drawbacks to getting a few month old beardie vs. a small baby?

--The pet store lady did mention that both she and customers handle it a lot and that's why it's so tame. Is it a potential drawback that a lot of random people have handled this 3-month-old? (under direct supervision from the pet store owner.)

--Does he (she) look healthy and the right size? The pet store owner said that it's eating around 10 crickets plus some greens every day.

--Anything else I should ask about or look for health and temperament wise before buying?

Here's a pic of the 3 month old:

 

[idcouple]

Babies are more delicate, yes. I would suggest getting the 3-month old if you feel you already have a connection with it. Many people like to get babies so they can watch them grow from very tiny. The babies need more attention when it comes to monitoring heat and what not, where as the older they get the easier they are to take care of, in my personal opinion.

 

[Spikey92]

--Are there any drawbacks to getting a few month old beardie vs. a small baby?

--The pet store lady did mention that both she and customers handle it a lot and that's why it's so tame. Is it a potential drawback that a lot of random people have handled this 3-month-old? (under direct supervision from the pet store owner.)

--Does he (she) look healthy and the right size? The pet store owner said that it's eating around 10 crickets plus some greens every day.

--Anything else I should ask about or look for health and temperament wise before buying?

- Well like already said you cant watch him grow from tiny on. But I mean hes still not an adult & you can & will see him grow nevertheless.

- No I personally think its more an advantage than disadvantage. Like you mentioned , he is already quite tame & he never bonded with a costumer so I think once he´s with you he´ll bond with you cause you will be the one feeding him & spending time with him.

- 10 crickets actually is a little less for a Beardie his size. He should eat more crickets twice a day. But he doesnt look severely underweight or nothing & the way you describted him seems healthy. That hes eating greens is a + . Most Babies/Juvis dont even wanna touch greens so its really good that he does. The greens provide him with extra nutritions.

- Theyre using paper towel as substrate right? Thats good. You can ask what kind of UVB light theyre using and have a look at the Thermometer.


If you like that little guy(& he is a cutie) then Id actually get him. Hes already tame and not tiny tiny so once hes settled you can actually start cuddeling with him etc and dont have to worry about taming the little fella first. ( And Babies can be VERY skittish).

But eitherway I wish you all the best & have fun with your Beardie

 

[tweet0302]

I think you should get it its very cute same size as my girl renesme

 

[Esther19]

It sounds to me like this little one chose you. He/she looks healthy, by the picture anyway.

 

[lillylizard]

I love my boy and i got him when he was 4 weeks old but next time i get a beardie it will be a few months old. Just two weeks after having my boy we fell off a high branch in his enclosure and hurt himself and had to go on for x-rays. I would so go for the three month old

 

[Ack]

- 10 crickets actually is a little less for a Beardie his size. He should eat more crickets twice a day. But he doesnt look severely underweight or nothing & the way you describted him seems healthy. That hes eating greens is a + . Most Babies/Juvis dont even wanna touch greens so its really good that he does. The greens provide him with extra nutritions.

This is the one thing that's bothering me. She said he's eating 10 large crickets per day, plus his greens. She said he'd probably eat more crickets if they were offered, but she wants to make sure he keeps eating his greens too so she limits them. How many crickets would you estimate this guy should be eating per day? And if he was somewhat underfed will it limit his overall growth potential as an adult, or can I just start feeding him enough now and he'll catch up?

Someone commented that he doesn't look underfed in the picture, so maybe it's not a big deal.

 

[Soulwind]

It depends on what they mean by "large".
What the local pet store here calls large, would be way to huge for that guy.
He shouldn't be eating anything larger than the space between his eyes as it can cause problems.

At his size, I'd be thinking that he should be going through at least 10-15 appropriately sized crickets, 2x a day,
although 20 or more wouldn't be uncommon...especially if you're feeding smaller sized ones.

Which will probably go up as he gets bigger, until you can go to a larger sized prey, then it goes down
as he gets fuller sooner, and then back up again as he grows....up and down until he gets to adulthood.

 

[Spikey92]

I agree with soulwind.
But Id say he could probably eat even a little more.Spikey is around that size and she eats 30-50 small/medium crickets per feeding(2x a day ).depending on her mood and of I mix it with worms
But every Beardie is different ,however I wouldnt worry.If you provide him with a good diet & proper light he should grow normally.


Edit : Sorry soulwind said AT LEAST. Haha just woke up my eyes are still kinda tired haha

 

[Ack]

She said the 10 crickets per day were "what she calls large, but a bit smaller than what the chain petstores sell as large." Not sure what exactly that means, haha. Anyway, it sounds like everyone here is saying a total of 20-30+ small to medium crickets per day. He's currently getting 10 "large-ish" crickets per day so maybe it's not too far below what he should be getting.

Once I get him home I'll go with giving him all he can eat in 10-15 minutes, and do that twice per day. Does that sound about right?

Also, when people say don't feed crickets larger than the space between the lizard's eyes, does that mean the length of the cricket (from nose to tail) or the width of the cricket (how fat they are).

Thanks!

 

[wmwelch]

Length of the cricket is what is meant.

Wendy

 

[Boss12]

Be prepared for him to eat way more than that. He is definitely bigger than my month old and he's put away 100+ in one sitting. These are of course small ones. I tried mediums, but he started not eating more than once a day. I bought Phoenix worms yesterday and he ate the entire cup of 150. Just prepare to pay $$$ for food when they're that age!

 

[Nathan1995]

To be honest, this guy looks incredibly healthy for a pet store dragon. The little guys at my pet shops are severely under nourished. His colours look good, and the fact he's shedding is a plus! He will eat a lot more, but everything that needs to be said has been said! If you like him, I don't think there's anything you're missing! You won't be able to see him grow the first few inches obviously, but he still will probably double in size from that!