Three legs...

[WesOzzy]

So I've only had my first bearded dragon for a little over a month now. Who I named Ozzy. At first I assumed Ozzy was a boy but apparently not, so I have to try and adjust my he to a she all the time lol.
Anyways things are going great with Ozzy, mostly down to her easy going attitude. She eats a TON of crickets, all her veggies, loves coming out to hang around on my bed and is just a really great little lizard.
But here's where my problem lies, Ozzy is missing one toe and a good inch off her tail. She was like that when I got her from the pet store. When I went in to get her I noticed another little Bearded who was missing well.. not a whole leg but one foot. I've since been calling him three legs.
I wanted to get him but my common sense told me as a first time beardie owner it'd be smarter to go with the most 'whole' and healthy beardie in the store to give myself and the beardie the best chance!
However I'm always back at that store to get crickets and I've noticed that three legs is still there a month later, even though all the other little ones are gone. By the way these dragons were only about 3-4 inches long a month ago, Three legs hasn't grown at all since then.
Anyway my point is.. I would love to go back there and get Three legs but I've only got one 20 gallon tank for Ozzy at the moment, and I really cant afford a larger one at the moment to upgrade Ozzy and make room for Three legs.
I've also heard that it is a bad idea to house two beardies together. Not to mention Ozzy is now twice if not three times his size... and I've heard horrible stuff about beardies eating other lizards on youtube.
So yeah... I just hope three legs finds a good home.. I think that petstore is a really crap place for a beardie to live.. 2-3 crickets every second day and all :/

 

[Atrax]

Poor Three legs I hope he'll get a good home soon!

 

[LaPrice]

you can report that petstore to: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Reptile-Care-Alliance-RCA/186725731345701

They'll contact them or report them to the SPCA or animal conservation(?)

 

[kimbasmom]

Where are you located? Maybe there's someone who can rescue three legs? Poor thing. Might want to post on the rescue board?

 

[jon21388]

i have a 3 legged one i call stubz hes amazing

 

[WesOzzy]

Okay so as it turns out my girlfriend has undergone a very intricately detailed plan to get me to lend her my old and non-working tank that I was saving for when Ozzy gets older... only to have her dad repair it and make it all snazzy so that I can let Ozzy live in it..
This was all done in preparation for the real gift she's getting me which happens to be lil Three legs! Who i'm apparently getting later on today according to her.
An early birthday present!
Life is goooooooooooooooood! lol
As for the pet store, I don't they're intentionally cruel to their pets or anything, I think it's actually just ignorance. They don't know what the animals need.
I had one girl tell me that a bearded dragon cant digest more then 2-3 crickets a day and that the repti-sun 10.0 was far too powerful and I should definitely go for a repti-glo 5.0.
So yeah.. I think pet-stores are generally just ignorant about their exotic pets.
Anyways hopefully i'll have little three legs later on! He's gonna be living the high life!
btw I wanted to ask, if the larger tank isn't ready is it safe to house two bearded dragons together for a short period of time or is that strictly a no no.. I've seen a lot of people advise against it on here.
Thanks!

 

[RowenJade]

Okay so as it turns out my girlfriend has undergone a very intricately detailed plan to get me to lend her my old and non-working tank that I was saving for when Ozzy gets older... only to have her dad repair it and make it all snazzy so that I can let Ozzy live in it..
This was all done in preparation for the real gift she's getting me which happens to be lil Three legs! Who i'm apparently getting later on today according to her.
An early birthday present!
Life is goooooooooooooooood! lol

That's awesome! Can't wait to see pics of little three legs What are you going to call him/her?

As for the pet store, I don't they're intentionally cruel to their pets or anything, I think it's actually just ignorance. They don't know what the animals need.
I had one girl tell me that a bearded dragon cant digest more then 2-3 crickets a day and that the repti-sun 10.0 was far too powerful and I should definitely go for a repti-glo 5.0.
So yeah.. I think pet-stores are generally just ignorant about their exotic pets.

That's what the Reptile Care Alliance is trying to accomplish with these pet stores and owners, to educate them on how to properly care for these animals because the info is ALL over the web yet no one wants to do their own research. It's our obligation that if an owner or a pet store knows how to properly care for them and is not doing so, to then report them to the ASPCA and try and find a rescue. I'm so glad your girlfriend saved little three legs and I hope he lives long and well for you! Keep us updated

 

[BeardieGrandma]

Congrats on getting 3-legs out of there...I wouldn't house them together though, even for a short while.

 

[WesOzzy]

Okay so... i'm going to have to start this with a little history lesson... My first bearded dragon was a little fella about 3 inches long who I named Biffy. When I brought Biffy home though he started acting really weird and couldn't walk or put his head down. I was completely uneducated on how to handle a sickly beardie so I was forced to take the little guy to a woman I know who cares for sick beardies and finds them homes.
Anyways that series of events led me to get Ozzy, who is now a very happy, healthy beardie. Ozzy also happens to be staring at me from a new and much larger tank.
The reason I have Ozzy in this new tank however isn't because I now have Three Legs. As it turns out, when my girlfriend went to pick TL up he had already found a home (TODAY). What are the chances? So I'm really happy about that
But what happened next is even better!
My girlfriend got in contact with the woman who cared for Biffy this past month. It turns out Biffy made a full recovery, though i'm still not sure what was wrong with him. So now Ozzy's old tank is being used by a very grumpy and stressed out little Biffy.
By the way thanks for that advice on not housing them together... it turns out Ozzy likes to eat small beardies.
I found that out as she tried to leap through her glass tank to get a hold of Biffy.
Anyways... I think thats the best possible turn of events that could come from this situation! Three bearded dragons got new homes and will now all hopefully live long and happy lives!
Also i'll get some pics up soon.
Biffy is extremely small.. no larger then 4 inches and 6 months old (maybe older according to the pet store) which worries me... he is missing over half his tail though.
Ozzy is around 7-8 inches, missing an inch of her tail.
Thanks for your replies!

 

[Atrax]

Aww, I'm sooo glad that three-legs got a better home than that pet store.
Hope we'll see pics of Biffy soon!!