Thinking of Adopting

[TylerS]

My son is 13... going on 14 in January.... he has saved his grass cutting money and would like to get a bearded dragon. He has had anoles in the past and did ok with them so I think he'll be ok with it. Is this something a 13-14 year old can handle or is it more complicated that an adult should handle?

Thanks in Advance for your help!!

 

[Jiffy]

First of all, hello and welcome. :wave:
It is always nice to see someone actually doing research before getting a beardie.
I believe a beardie is something that a 13 or 14 year old can handle, depending on the kid himslef. There are several younger teens on this board who have beardies and do very well with them.
One of the first things to think about is money. I know that you said your son has saved up his money. The starting setup for a beardie can be rather expensive.
Also, feeding a baby beardie can get very expensive. So he may need help with money. Another option is getting an adult beardie. The starting setup is still the same, but feeding it is less expensive.
Babies eat lots and lots of food, and need lots of live feeders, which can add up to a lot of money for month.
Good luck with whatever you decide to get, and any questions feel free to ask. There are lots of helpful people on here.

 

[TylerS]

Thanks so much for your help!!!

We still have the stuff from the anole... so we have a tank (small one for now, I know we'll have to get a bigger one by next year), heat lamp, dishes for food, stuff to perch on... I got used to buying crickets for the anole, so that's not a problem... but am I reading it right that they can eat 100 a day? So, if I buy them at a local pet store, they are $1 a dozen... thats almost $10 a day? So, I guess the question is, how expensive can this get?

 

[Jiffy]

Yes, they can eat up to 100 or so crickets per day. Your best bet is to order them online. You can usually get 1000 delivered to your house for approx $20.
I have a baby that I have had about 5 weeks. I just got another 1000 crickets in the mail yesterday. This makes 3000 for him so far. So that is $60 for just crickets.

 

[cinder]

I think 13-14 is a great age to have a beardie...I'm 15 and have had a zoo of reptiles in my lifetime!
as far as crix go, you should definitly order online by the thousands...buying from a petstore is really a horrible rip off (going from 11 cents/cricket to 1-2 cents/cricket) and you'll find a beardie is no anole, they are way more work, but waaaay more profit and once you get past the stage of cricket hoarding baby then you'll have a interactive cuddly pet that was soo worth it!
good luck with your new baby!

 

[TylerS]

Thanks so much for the replys.... I think we'll go ahead and get a new pet.... we'll let you know how it's going!!

 

[zebedeepink]

I would definitely get a beardie they're brilliant!! I got my first one nearly 3 months ago and am desparate to get another one. The only thing I would say, is check out a few care sheets and the food lists as pet shops will give you a lot of wrong advice. I also believe that most of the big pet store chains over there don't care for their animals properly so you would be better getting a beardie from a private beardie or check out the for sale/for free on this board.

Good luck and welcome

 

[jennybud]

My boyfriend and I recently bought our beardie together. almost a month now. and definatley go with and online crickets if you can, or if you have a great local pet store, not a petco or petsmart, you can order crickets through them. my boyfriend and i buy from a pet store 1000 crickets for $23 but we like to support them because they are so good with pets and take such good care for the most part. but google nyworms they've been the best prices i've found so far with $17/1000 and they don't charge extra for postage and winter packing. in the winter the $13/1000 gets as expensinve as $27 to $35 with postage and winter packing charges. the fresh fruit, veggies and greens aren't all that expensive especially if you are buying stuff you would eat as well i don't think even a starving baby beardie could go through a pound of strawberries a week even if we were letting him have them every day ( i dont like to give them too many fruits, too much sugar) but i love strawberries too! lol. so we share. but they are pretty easy to take care of i think because it is so much fun as well it's fun to watch them eat, and giving them baths especially when they start to swim and play. and just spending time with them they make great pets. My boyfriend is allergic to any thing with hair so have ing a pet that is also playful and enjoys being played with is nice my anoles wern't as fun though i still loved them.

so tell us how it works out and if you have any questions we're here to help.