Stolzieren":3d1k9jv7 said:
so my grandpa is utterly convinced that the pet shop lady knows everything. she said that just 80 degrees is fine for poncho and that she "NEEDS" sand so he bought digestable sand for her and everything and says the ceramic tile is WRONG!! he says I can do whatever I want though so I'm leaving the tiles because I never trust sand and besides it's so much easier to clean up her poop and make sure there's no bacteria left
he says he believes the pet shop lady over you all on the forums and I said "why would you believe her when the people on these forums have been raising these lizards for years?" and he still won't listen :roll: old people and their distrust of the internet lmao
he says because the other owner had her on sand that means it's fine and she should be on sand because she was on it in the wild blah blah blah
First of all I want to say you have a beautiful beardie!!
I am so glad you are open minded enough not to believe everything the pet store employees tell you. I have been in your shoes. Infact when I got my Zoey I had everything wrong (except for her cage!). I wish I had kept count of how many times I'd gone back to a pet store to return things that were just flat out WRONG. Unfortunately they are not trained properly but do believe they know EVERYTHING there is to know, plus some. :roll: lol You are so right about the sand (as beardies lick to get familiar with their surroundings (as opposed to a dog who would sniff with their nose). I made the mistake of getting those red lights too....the pet store guy convinced me that my beardie "couldn't see the red light and it would not keep her awake. We proved that wrong in 2 seconds! I have to ask, beore I forget, what type of thermometer do you use? It wouldn't hurt to increase the basking spot temps to at least 102 for easier digestion.
Beardies do have access to sand in the wild, but their life span is also closer to 3 years as opposed to the life span of a dog in captivity. There is only one time that it is okay to purchase sand for your beardie and that is if you have a female about to lay eggs (but in that case it will be mixed with dirt and water also).
It was said before that the difference between listening to a pet store employee and those of us on this site is we have nothing to gain by selling you a $40+ basking bulb when you can get one for .50 cents. My beardie is my first also and if not for this site she would be in bad shape by now. I got mine young also she was 8 weeks old) and she will be 2 years old at the end of the month. This site has been a god's send!
I am glad you have joined us and you are doing your research! I want to thank you for listening to me ramble on. lol Like I said, I went through the same thing you are going through now and I feel your pain!
I want to congratulate you on your new beardie and feel free to ask any question, there are no stupid questions.
Welcome! :wave: