Hi, I'm delfiend. I have yet to get a bearded dragon, but for the past month I have been doing extensive research on the notion that I would one day get one. As it just so happens, this morning I got the OK from my mother that I could get a little beardie later in the summer, after we've gone on any of our extensive trips away from home.
So no, I do not have a bearded dragon yet, but I am very excited to get one.
My Problem:
However, I have run across a dilemma. Of the dozens of websites and caresheets I've read, EVERYONE says "DO NOT PUT BABY BEARDIES IN SAND!!" Well, at my local Petco, which is a GREAT Petco by the way (the manager Phil and I are buds and he's super knowledgeable and caring for all the animals) keeps their juvenile bearded dragons in sand. Also, they don't seem to feed them as much as everyone says to (2-3 times day, as much as they can eat in 10-15 minutes). All I see in their habitat is sand, a log they all perch on, and a shallow dish of mealworms (another no-no as I have learned).
Look, out of all my local pet stores, this Petco is the best of them all. The others simply lack the care and knowledge to properly care for their pets for an extended period of time. But they aren't caring for their baby dragons correctly. It would be a different story if they were newly arrived babies that I could take home and keep from the wrong-doings of the Petco Bearded Dragon set up, but they aren't. They've been there a while. Two of them are developing really nice dark colors too.
So naturally I want to buy from a breeder to get the best dragons that are properly cared for, but I'm not looking for anything special. Just a beardy to love and call my own. Personally, I've made it a goal of mine to one day start breeding bearded dragons of my own and specialize in dark colors like black and purple, as well as pastel and snow dragons.
About Me:
There's where my problem lies. Look guys, I'm just a teen with a love for animals and an unhealthy obsession with researching and studying all sorts of critters. Let me tell you a bit about myself so you can get an idea of who I am. I have several pets. I have the family dog, a white lab from a great breeder. I also have our Abyssinian guinea pig Skittles who is very special and brave and hilarious. I made sure Skittles got his needed 8 sq. feet of cage space and give him a salad every day. I also have a 46 gallon fish tank that's dominated by my ever-growing Tiger Oscar (his name is Greg but I mostly just call him oscar). Recently (about a year ago) I got hermit crabs after learning how poorly cared for they are and all the stereotypes of how to care for them that tend to be the death of the poor things. I have all four of them on two types of hermit crab food I bought from a specialist website as well as on a calcium and mineral supplement. I got a humidifier for Christmas and since then their humidity has never dropped below the needed 70% mark. I got a baby scorpion that my older brother caught in Georgia that I brought home and kept, named Klaus. He's getting bigger.
So that's me. I'm a pet fanatic, and also an animal lover. Nothing bothers me more than a person who doesn't know how to care for a pet but buys one anyway. That's why I want to make sure my bearded dragon is healthy, and that all my efforts to keep him that way aren't in vain.
On the Topic of Beardies Again:
Right now, I'm struggling with money. I'm glad to know I have until July to get the money I need for my beardy and his supplies. I found BeardedDragon.co which had the same supplies as Petco at more than half the cost!! I also watched Carolina Classic Dragons' YouTube series and found some cheap ways to provide substrate and shelter for my beardy (papertowls and stone patio blocks for a homemade cave). I put everything into online shopping carts and checked out and totaled everything up with tax. Here's what my list looks like. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I'M FORGETTING SOMETHING!!! (P.S. I have the aquarium and hood light and heat lamp fixture already)
Substrate: Repti Carpet from BeardedDragon.co: $6
Light: 24" Repti Sun 10 UVB from BeardedDragon.co (w/shipping insurance): $26
Heat: 75 watt Zoo Med Basking Spot Lamp 2 Bulb Value Pack at BeardedDragon.co (w/shipping insurance): $10.50
Housing: 3 of the 6-in x 9-in Ashland Countryside Patio Stone at Lowes: $3.16
Basking: 14" Repti Hammock at BeardedDragon.co: $6
Supplements: Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamin at BeardedDragon.co + Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D3 at Amazon.com: $11.19
Food: Rep-Cal Juvinille Bearded Dragon Food at BeardedDragon.co: $4.50
Gutload: Rep-Cal Adult Cricket Food at BeardedDragon.co: $7.50
Total: $79.02
Add to that the $60 for a pet store bearded dragon, and I come up to needing $139.02.
So I would buy a breeder's bearded dragon in a heartbeat for $60, but the problem is the $50 shipping. I'd much rather find a bearded dragon near me without the hassle and danger and cost of shipping one from somewhere else. I'm planning on getting the money I need mostly through getting payed for my grades from this last quarter (all A's is $100 in my pocket), babysitting for cheap for my parents (they usual don't pay me but if I ask I can get a few bucks), dog-sitting for my neighbors, and doing work around the house for a few dollars here and there. Plus it never hurts to count quarters and check the couch for spare change.
I've gotten pets before with very little money to start with. My hermit crabs for example. I had some money burning a whole in my pocket at the end of last summer and I did the research and decided to get hermit crabs. Well, I had the money for the basic supplies and the crabs (and already had a tank), but by the end of the first wave of my endeavor I was scrounging together spare change to buy the best of the best hermit crab food and spare shells for my babies. But I got them, none the less, and my crabs are as happy and healthy as they can be!
In conclusion, wish me luck and bestow upon me priceless advice as I start my drive head first into the world of bearded dragons with an empty pocket, a mind full of knowledge, and the ever lurking anticipation of the first day my new baby will crawl around in his new home and start an inseparable bond with me, his friend and owner!
So no, I do not have a bearded dragon yet, but I am very excited to get one.
My Problem:
However, I have run across a dilemma. Of the dozens of websites and caresheets I've read, EVERYONE says "DO NOT PUT BABY BEARDIES IN SAND!!" Well, at my local Petco, which is a GREAT Petco by the way (the manager Phil and I are buds and he's super knowledgeable and caring for all the animals) keeps their juvenile bearded dragons in sand. Also, they don't seem to feed them as much as everyone says to (2-3 times day, as much as they can eat in 10-15 minutes). All I see in their habitat is sand, a log they all perch on, and a shallow dish of mealworms (another no-no as I have learned).
Look, out of all my local pet stores, this Petco is the best of them all. The others simply lack the care and knowledge to properly care for their pets for an extended period of time. But they aren't caring for their baby dragons correctly. It would be a different story if they were newly arrived babies that I could take home and keep from the wrong-doings of the Petco Bearded Dragon set up, but they aren't. They've been there a while. Two of them are developing really nice dark colors too.
So naturally I want to buy from a breeder to get the best dragons that are properly cared for, but I'm not looking for anything special. Just a beardy to love and call my own. Personally, I've made it a goal of mine to one day start breeding bearded dragons of my own and specialize in dark colors like black and purple, as well as pastel and snow dragons.
About Me:
There's where my problem lies. Look guys, I'm just a teen with a love for animals and an unhealthy obsession with researching and studying all sorts of critters. Let me tell you a bit about myself so you can get an idea of who I am. I have several pets. I have the family dog, a white lab from a great breeder. I also have our Abyssinian guinea pig Skittles who is very special and brave and hilarious. I made sure Skittles got his needed 8 sq. feet of cage space and give him a salad every day. I also have a 46 gallon fish tank that's dominated by my ever-growing Tiger Oscar (his name is Greg but I mostly just call him oscar). Recently (about a year ago) I got hermit crabs after learning how poorly cared for they are and all the stereotypes of how to care for them that tend to be the death of the poor things. I have all four of them on two types of hermit crab food I bought from a specialist website as well as on a calcium and mineral supplement. I got a humidifier for Christmas and since then their humidity has never dropped below the needed 70% mark. I got a baby scorpion that my older brother caught in Georgia that I brought home and kept, named Klaus. He's getting bigger.
So that's me. I'm a pet fanatic, and also an animal lover. Nothing bothers me more than a person who doesn't know how to care for a pet but buys one anyway. That's why I want to make sure my bearded dragon is healthy, and that all my efforts to keep him that way aren't in vain.
On the Topic of Beardies Again:
Right now, I'm struggling with money. I'm glad to know I have until July to get the money I need for my beardy and his supplies. I found BeardedDragon.co which had the same supplies as Petco at more than half the cost!! I also watched Carolina Classic Dragons' YouTube series and found some cheap ways to provide substrate and shelter for my beardy (papertowls and stone patio blocks for a homemade cave). I put everything into online shopping carts and checked out and totaled everything up with tax. Here's what my list looks like. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I'M FORGETTING SOMETHING!!! (P.S. I have the aquarium and hood light and heat lamp fixture already)
Substrate: Repti Carpet from BeardedDragon.co: $6
Light: 24" Repti Sun 10 UVB from BeardedDragon.co (w/shipping insurance): $26
Heat: 75 watt Zoo Med Basking Spot Lamp 2 Bulb Value Pack at BeardedDragon.co (w/shipping insurance): $10.50
Housing: 3 of the 6-in x 9-in Ashland Countryside Patio Stone at Lowes: $3.16
Basking: 14" Repti Hammock at BeardedDragon.co: $6
Supplements: Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamin at BeardedDragon.co + Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D3 at Amazon.com: $11.19
Food: Rep-Cal Juvinille Bearded Dragon Food at BeardedDragon.co: $4.50
Gutload: Rep-Cal Adult Cricket Food at BeardedDragon.co: $7.50
Total: $79.02
Add to that the $60 for a pet store bearded dragon, and I come up to needing $139.02.
So I would buy a breeder's bearded dragon in a heartbeat for $60, but the problem is the $50 shipping. I'd much rather find a bearded dragon near me without the hassle and danger and cost of shipping one from somewhere else. I'm planning on getting the money I need mostly through getting payed for my grades from this last quarter (all A's is $100 in my pocket), babysitting for cheap for my parents (they usual don't pay me but if I ask I can get a few bucks), dog-sitting for my neighbors, and doing work around the house for a few dollars here and there. Plus it never hurts to count quarters and check the couch for spare change.
I've gotten pets before with very little money to start with. My hermit crabs for example. I had some money burning a whole in my pocket at the end of last summer and I did the research and decided to get hermit crabs. Well, I had the money for the basic supplies and the crabs (and already had a tank), but by the end of the first wave of my endeavor I was scrounging together spare change to buy the best of the best hermit crab food and spare shells for my babies. But I got them, none the less, and my crabs are as happy and healthy as they can be!
In conclusion, wish me luck and bestow upon me priceless advice as I start my drive head first into the world of bearded dragons with an empty pocket, a mind full of knowledge, and the ever lurking anticipation of the first day my new baby will crawl around in his new home and start an inseparable bond with me, his friend and owner!