Want a new beardie. Questions...

[nikochanr3]

Hi There.

My bearded dragon died (a baby) two weeks in. When we got him he seemed weak and we were told it's he's still adjusting (not really eating). I talked to this board and you gave me good advice and he perked up, then he got weaker last night and this morning he died. He never was able to catch the crickets easily. He drank, but when i wet him. He never moved well. Is it possible he was sick to begin with? We got him from Petco.

Also, my wife took him out and held him while i cleaned his tank or to give him bank. Not often and not for long times and we washed our hands prior. We also let him wash in the sink. I am very cautious (i am a worrier) but now i am worried we killed him holding him.

Is it bad to get from Petco? I live in NY, we want a second, but first we want to clean everything out (in case he had a disease that will stay in the tank) and some research first.

He was awesome, it's really sad. Even in a short time you could see he was an interesting pet, just watching him hunt (and fail) and move in his sleep.

Thank you,

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

Most big chain petstores have badly inbred and or sick beardies, some do well some dont.

It was most likely nothing you did wrong as long as the tank was fine.

I'd personally use a bleach and water solution to clean the tank in case it was any sort of disease that was contagious. Depending on the decor you may be able to keep it, again someone else may have better input on that.


Theres quite a few good online breeders or you could go to an expo and get a beardie there. I believe redhotchilidragons just posted a few babies up on their website today.

Basically a whole list of what I would believe are good breeders would be this.
Redhotchilidragons
Carolina classics
Spice dragons
Fire and ice dragons
Dachiu Bearded dragons
Gateway bearded dragons
Phantom dragons (or josh d dragons)
Bloodbank dragons

 

[JessPets]

I am so sorry to hear about your first beardie

TBH, almost all chain petstores are horrible, and don't care for their animals at ALL. Try going to a reptile expo, where you can see many different breeders and such. If you can't, then try going to a reptile petstore - they are usually better (but not always great). Good luck!

 

[nikochanr3]

His belly was turning white. Is that a disease?

I will check out the websites above and think about if i can find an expo. Thank you

 

[Martadragon017]

I got my beardie from Atomic Lizard Ranch. I don't know what defines a 'good breeder', but the lizards there are all under 200 dollars from what I've seen so they're pretty cheep. The highest price I've seen was 175 dollars. Marta was healthy when I got her but I think they house their dragons together because some of them have nip tails/toes. They tell you in the description though if they do so it isn't a surprise. If you visit their website they also have dunners that aren't shown if you just click on 'Available'. If you hold your mouse over 'Available', there will be a pop-up and they will be at the very bottom.

 

[nikochanr3]

Hi There. I got one from Daichi. I got it at the Reptile Expo this weekend. It's like night and day, he eats, he's super active and alert, he hides at night (which leads me to think he's more alert because he's worried).

My other one, hunting looked like a chore, we always had crickets left over. He was so weak from day 1, i clearly was sold a sick lizard. This one, 6/7 crickets, he hunts them down withs peed and just so energetically.

Ill post some picks soon but thanks everyone. Im sure ill be around with questions.

 

[JessPets]

Wow, that is fantastic news! I am so glad to see your new baby beardie is healthy and happy! Can't wait to see some pics of the little guy!