TwoSheepForAnOre
Member
I agree with most everything that was said.... on both sides.
Yeah, no one can compare a rescue versus a pet store beardie. The rescue deserves a second chance at a good life. The comparison should be between a pet store beardie and a beardie bought online from a breeder. In this situation, they are both young (true the pet store one will be very young). But as most people have said, the breeder will probably take better care of the dragons than the pet store. If so, then the pet store ones deserve a good home right away.
I'm also wondering why people object to getting beardies when they're "very" young. People just say that they shouldn't be taken until 6 weeks of age. Why is that? beardies are not really social creatures (with each other). How many stories are out there of beardies having missing toes or some tail because a housemate got hungry or mad? That's why most people agree that beardies should not be housed together. So then why keep them together until a certain age, and then suddenly change that rule?
I will also agree that most pet stores are not that great. But some out there are actually fantastic. I did get my first beardie from a local petsmart, and I couldn't be happier! I've had him for about 6 weeks now and took him to the vet today to get a checkup. I went in expecting he'd have worms or be filled with parasites since I've been feeding him crickets from the same store. But the fecal test came back negative! The vet also threw in a free x-ray to check his bone development, which was also stunning and quite beautiful. She said she has never seen such a healthy and active beardie before! So who knows: maybe I got lucky with my beardie, maybe it could have been worse if not for all the great advice from this site and all you beardie owners, or maybe pet stores are not always so horrible. And if the pet store aren't doing something right, let them know about it! It's easier to just walk away and *hope* it gets better. But many people that work there aren't reptile experts and only know what their manual says (which I feel is the source of a lot of these problems). If we don't tell them something is wrong, all they have is the numbers from sales to make assumptions.
In my opinion, I could never buy a living creature over the internet (except feeder foods of course lol). I want to feel the creature and get a sense of its personality the moment I see it. I feel that buying from a picture from a breeder is analogous to buying a bride from another country. If it worked for you, then congratulations. But I don't think I could ever do it. Maybe if I get another beardie down the road, I'll look at rescuing one first.
Yeah, no one can compare a rescue versus a pet store beardie. The rescue deserves a second chance at a good life. The comparison should be between a pet store beardie and a beardie bought online from a breeder. In this situation, they are both young (true the pet store one will be very young). But as most people have said, the breeder will probably take better care of the dragons than the pet store. If so, then the pet store ones deserve a good home right away.
I'm also wondering why people object to getting beardies when they're "very" young. People just say that they shouldn't be taken until 6 weeks of age. Why is that? beardies are not really social creatures (with each other). How many stories are out there of beardies having missing toes or some tail because a housemate got hungry or mad? That's why most people agree that beardies should not be housed together. So then why keep them together until a certain age, and then suddenly change that rule?
I will also agree that most pet stores are not that great. But some out there are actually fantastic. I did get my first beardie from a local petsmart, and I couldn't be happier! I've had him for about 6 weeks now and took him to the vet today to get a checkup. I went in expecting he'd have worms or be filled with parasites since I've been feeding him crickets from the same store. But the fecal test came back negative! The vet also threw in a free x-ray to check his bone development, which was also stunning and quite beautiful. She said she has never seen such a healthy and active beardie before! So who knows: maybe I got lucky with my beardie, maybe it could have been worse if not for all the great advice from this site and all you beardie owners, or maybe pet stores are not always so horrible. And if the pet store aren't doing something right, let them know about it! It's easier to just walk away and *hope* it gets better. But many people that work there aren't reptile experts and only know what their manual says (which I feel is the source of a lot of these problems). If we don't tell them something is wrong, all they have is the numbers from sales to make assumptions.
In my opinion, I could never buy a living creature over the internet (except feeder foods of course lol). I want to feel the creature and get a sense of its personality the moment I see it. I feel that buying from a picture from a breeder is analogous to buying a bride from another country. If it worked for you, then congratulations. But I don't think I could ever do it. Maybe if I get another beardie down the road, I'll look at rescuing one first.
ABD 
