Okay, I have recently discovered the wonder that is beardies. I'd done all my research, could partially fund operations, had space, etc 
. My parents still said no. No bearded dragon (too little space, too much money!). No leopard gecko (still not sure why...). No snake (not even a corn, which have relatively low-maintainance lifestyles). I continued to peruse various reptile breeders' sites, gazing longingly at all the beautiful babies. Then, Providence intervened. Our neighbors owners of two beardies, a corn snake, and more, were moving to Spain! For me, this meant A POSSIBLE PET!!!! 
!!!! My family discussed it, and we thought we would take care of the corn. Then, plans changed and our neighbors decided to give us the nicer of the two beardies! I was ecstatic! After recieving multiple care books and practically living glued to my computer, catching up on herp news and all the beardie articles, he came!! My beautiful boy, Yoshi!! I obsessed over him. I did everything according to the books, down to the last word. He was under a mercury vapor bulb, which since the previous owner was slightly slack, was probably nearing the end of its useful, UVB-producing life. I pestered my dad to get me a Reptisun 10.0 bulb, and he obliged I still need a housing (grrr... 
).*edit- it's installed* Also, checking his temps, its not hot enough in his cage, so I'm going to get him a hotter bulb and higher wattage fixture. (I'm currently at 75 watts and about 80 degrees F).
After the dazzle of having a new pet gradually wore off, and I could honestly look at my Yoshi w/o bursting into joyous tears (kidding, I found something awry. He wasn't eating as much as I thought was healthy. Sure enough, something was off. At his vet checkup today (he, in the 1.5 years of his life, had never gone. 
) Yoshi was diagnosed with a severe case of worms. The vet gave Yoshi his first dose. I'm hoping to see some improvement by Tuesday. May the Force be with him.
. My parents still said no. No bearded dragon (too little space, too much money!). No leopard gecko (still not sure why...). No snake (not even a corn, which have relatively low-maintainance lifestyles). I continued to peruse various reptile breeders' sites, gazing longingly at all the beautiful babies. Then, Providence intervened. Our neighbors owners of two beardies, a corn snake, and more, were moving to Spain! For me, this meant A POSSIBLE PET!!!! !!!! My family discussed it, and we thought we would take care of the corn. Then, plans changed and our neighbors decided to give us the nicer of the two beardies! I was ecstatic! After recieving multiple care books and practically living glued to my computer, catching up on herp news and all the beardie articles, he came!! My beautiful boy, Yoshi!! I obsessed over him. I did everything according to the books, down to the last word. He was under a mercury vapor bulb, which since the previous owner was slightly slack, was probably nearing the end of its useful, UVB-producing life. I pestered my dad to get me a Reptisun 10.0 bulb, and he obliged I still need a housing (grrr... ).*edit- it's installed* Also, checking his temps, its not hot enough in his cage, so I'm going to get him a hotter bulb and higher wattage fixture. (I'm currently at 75 watts and about 80 degrees F). After the dazzle of having a new pet gradually wore off, and I could honestly look at my Yoshi w/o bursting into joyous tears (kidding
, I found something awry. He wasn't eating as much as I thought was healthy. Sure enough, something was off. At his vet checkup today (he, in the 1.5 years of his life, had never gone. ) Yoshi was diagnosed with a severe case of worms. The vet gave Yoshi his first dose. I'm hoping to see some improvement by Tuesday. May the Force be with him. 
