# Bearded Dragons? Anyone?



## biancaDB (Nov 3, 2011)

Does anyone have one? I'm just curious about them! I'm more so concentrated on future pup right now but I hung out with my friends beardie the other day and they are so strangely affectionate for a reptile...I'm officially intrigued.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

We don't have a beardie, but my son's Chinese water dragon is very cuddly. He enjoys being held and petted. Even when we had to give him antibiotic shots, he wouldn't run away, just close his eyes and will get mad if my son doesn't give him enogh "cuddle time". Maybe it's a "dragon" thing.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

My daughter had a Male bearded dragon a while back. We had a large tank for it with the heat lamps and everything for it! She raised it from a a small baby to a full sized adult. She after time and the thrill was over , sold it to another person who was very interested in him! His name was Lenny! They are really not to hard to care for. You have to get the temperature correct and feed them the crickets and meal worms . She held him at times, and was very comfortable with him. She was very successful at raising him.


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## biancaDB (Nov 3, 2011)

celt- hahah maybe it is! My boyfriend and I really like them but I don't know if I could get passed the cricket thing... I am SO squeemish when it comes to bugs but then again... I thought I would be turned off by raw feeding too but now I'm 100% comfortable with it:biggrin1:

and wags, do you know if you should get pairs ? or do they prefer being alone?


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

To BiancaDB~~~~~~~~~My daughters was alone. And that was plenty! They did not (I have the Chicago reptile place not far from me this is where we get these type critters!) recommend anymore than one. If your squeamish with crickets that's one of their staples! Meal worms you have to put in the bowl. The cricket go hopping all over until the reptile catches them and then their is the pinky mouse stage now that's the gross thing! Ewwwww! My son had a snake and he fed that the white mice and when the bearded dragons or many lizard type reptiles are bigger you start out with pinkies and can get the baby mice Now talk about squeamish ! When I would put one of those little things in their when the reptiles got bigger OMG I would run out of the room and slam the door so I would not hear the poor little thing squeak and they do I have heard this! That's horrible! Bit Yeah I know the food chain I just don't want to hear them ! Poor little things! I would get the little things and say awww maybe we should just raise them! I got some pretty weird looks heehee! But if you get one be prepared for some disgusting stuff like that! See now my daughter loves the reptiles and laughs at my antics about their feeding habits! My son had no problem with his snake! I guess it was just me! Good Luck they are fun to watch as they grow!


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

I adopted a bearded from the pet store that I worked at. He had his front foot bitten off, was treated by a vet and had a nice little stump of an arm 

Charlemagne (couldnt think of a better name LOL) was 6 inches when I got him and grew to 18 in a year. He would happily wave his little stump around. Beardies are such cool pets.


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## biancaDB (Nov 3, 2011)

wags said:


> To BiancaDB~~~~~~~~~My daughters was alone. And that was plenty! They did not (I have the Chicago reptile place not far from me this is where we get these type critters!) recommend anymore than one. If your squeamish with crickets that's one of their staples! Meal worms you have to put in the bowl. The cricket go hopping all over until the reptile catches them and then their is the pinky mouse stage now that's the gross thing! Ewwwww! My son had a snake and he fed that the white mice and when the bearded dragons or many lizard type reptiles are bigger you start out with pinkies and can get the baby mice Now talk about squeamish ! When I would put one of those little things in their when the reptiles got bigger OMG I would run out of the room and slam the door so I would not hear the poor little thing squeak and they do I have heard this! That's horrible! Bit Yeah I know the food chain I just don't want to hear them ! Poor little things! I would get the little things and say awww maybe we should just raise them! I got some pretty weird looks heehee! But if you get one be prepared for some disgusting stuff like that! See now my daughter loves the reptiles and laughs at my antics about their feeding habits! My son had no problem with his snake! I guess it was just me! Good Luck they are fun to watch as they grow!


AHHHH!! Pinkies nooo! I've seen a snake eat one once and I thought it was so tragic LOL! Yet if I see a full grown mouse in my garage or outside I scream....Are pinkies necessary in their diet? I know crickets usually are a pretty big part but I haven't read about the pinkies. I was doing some reading and it looks like caring for the crickets can be some work too. A lot of people breed them themselves and have to give them places to hide so they don't eat eachother?:suspicious: Crickets freak me out. I knew someone else who's beardie loved eating worms but kind of turned his nose up at crickets. I wonder if that's uncommon... cause that's the kind of beardie I'd hope for lol! And how often do you buy the crickets? and if you keep them in a tank, how do you get them out to feed them to the beardie? A net or? I imagine it taking a little bit of effort !
Geez the more I watch youtube videos of them the more I fall in love hahaha


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## biancaDB (Nov 3, 2011)

Sprocket said:


> I adopted a bearded from the pet store that I worked at. He had his front foot bitten off, was treated by a vet and had a nice little stump of an arm
> 
> Charlemagne (couldnt think of a better name LOL) was 6 inches when I got him and grew to 18 in a year. He would happily wave his little stump around. Beardies are such cool pets.


18 inches!? I'm in love. I did read that they can get to 24 also which got me even more interested. I guess it depends on how much living space they have, right?


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## Huginn (Nov 21, 2011)

The coolest thing about beardies is that when they get older about one quarter of their diet is fruits and veggies. They are really awesome, super friendly guys and are fairly lazy. The original setup can be a little pricey due to lighting. They need to have UVB lights on them for at least six hours a day or they will get a calcium deficiency where they get crooked limbs or tails and can actually die from it. 

Dragons Den Herpetoculture

Bearded Dragon Food and Feeding

This last page is amazing and full of so much information.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

biancaDB said:


> 18 inches!? I'm in love. I did read that they can get to 24 also which got me even more interested. I guess it depends on how much living space they have, right?


Yes and no. Beardies under the BEST care may get to 24 inches but most reach an average of 18-20. It depends a lot on their diet, environment, stimulation, sex... I had this guy in an 18by48 tank, and only had him for about 16 months before I had to rehome him. Last I heard he was still growing. I never gave him pinkies but the calcium content of those would be ideal for a beardie. He got meal worms, crickets, a pellet meal and veggies, all dusted in calcium. Now that I think about it, I miss him  haha


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

What I know is they do need the pinkies! Yeah I agree in the garage or house I like them dead but when they are little critters in that little clear box just looking all pink and cute even when they start to get that white hair its ok but feeding them UGH I agree 100% Hated that the most! That squeak OH man that is embedded in my brain HORRIBLE< but well its the food chain! Funny I have never watched that Planet earth series so finally am watching it and I am just like ok I get the food chain zip past, that part I dont want to see them eating each other YUCK! But yeah with the snake ugh I didn't like that and ran like I usually do out of the room and the bearded dragon and my son had shoot I will have to remember a fancy lizard that also ate them YUCK worst part of the the whole thing! The crickets crunch but the mice ummm they cry and that is the sick part of it! But if you want one that's when they get older so it wont be for a while and heck have the other half do that part ! And we had the heat lamp and we had a nice log for him to go on and rest. .Oh yeah, the crickets we had a separate cage plastic one for them and had to buy special food and these special water things (little yellow globs as I call them) in cans at the store. Of course egg crates and give them partial oranges shoot crickets ate good haha! Oh and you have to buy that powder to put on the crickets for the calcium! Its a bit involved , but you know once you get in the routine, its just habit. The pinkies I believe were only once a week and it was only one. ewwwww!


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

wags said:


> What I know is they do need the pinkies!


Bearded Dragons don't need pinkies. I've cared for them and have a few friends who keep them, they do fine with insects and veggies .


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Strange where we go Chicago reptile house said you can use these in place of doing crickets and with them if you wanted to which we did both! Maybe they were trying to sell them then! I heard though you can do both and that they did need pinkies! Hmmmm.


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## Huginn (Nov 21, 2011)

It depends on who you talk to on whether or not pinkies are acceptable or required or not an option. The common thought is that pinkies are too high in fat, but a friend of mine had a 14 year old beardie who lived on crickets, earthworms, veggies, pinkies, and even full grown mice that her snakes didnt eat. He got the occasional egg and even macaroni occasionally (even though that is terrible for them).


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## biancaDB (Nov 3, 2011)

Huginn said:


> It depends on who you talk to on whether or not pinkies are acceptable or required or not an option. The common thought is that pinkies are too high in fat, but a friend of mine had a 14 year old beardie who lived on crickets, earthworms, veggies, pinkies, and even full grown mice that her snakes didnt eat. He got the occasional egg and even macaroni occasionally (even though that is terrible for them).


14 years old ?! :shocked: That's incredible! When I looked up lifespan I saw 7. However that is only an "average" lifespan!


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## Huginn (Nov 21, 2011)

Ya the average I hear from customers that have them is about nine or ten. The main thing that makes them live longer is the veggies, baby food is a great way to get started with veggies, I usually recommend the sweet potato one cuz it has a lot of good stuff and is in the higher calcium range.


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## April 2012 (Feb 8, 2012)

We have 5 bearded dragons in our house right now. At one time we had 15. Wow that was an experience! But then again we hatched out some eggs for a friend who had to leave the country and 9 of those 15 were hatchlings. 

Please ensure you do ample research on these lizards BEFORE purchasing one. The absolute best place to go for information is Bearded Dragon . org There are many knowledgeable, highly experienced and helpful members on that site. I am and help out when I can. I used to be more active but my dragons have been doing fabulous. 

I'd even be willing to guide you more in a better direction than any pet store employee. Remember, they are the ones that make money off of what you buy as a consumer. The more unnecessary crap they sell you, and believe me there are more products that do more harm than good for a Beardie, the more money they make.

I have been very passionate about my lizards and have rescued and re-homed several.

Never feed pinky mice to a bearded dragon. I think it's too dangerous for their little intestines. They can cause blockages but then again, so can crickets if they are too big. Appropriate size for the size of dragon you have. Also, meal-worms are not very nutritious for a bearded dragon either. It's mostly a hard chitin shell and too much shell can also cause problems. Baby dragons can eat up to 100 appropriately sized crickets per day. Typically babies need 80% bugs and 20% veggies until they become adults (approx. 2 years) and then that number reverses. And don't forget about the expensive and hard to find UVB lights. And the calcium and multivitamins, ohh and did I mention that a vet for these is difficult to find? What if there are problems? You do need to find a good one!!

If you still want more info, please visit the site I mentioned. Happy reading and please take your time.


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

I have a 2 year old male beardie. He eats many different types of dark leafy greens, plus veggies, SOMETIMES he gets a couple blueberries or some apple but not very often because of the sugar content. For protein he gets hard boiled eggs and the occasional butterworm. His veterinarian says crickets are unnecessary, they also often carry pinworms - hard boiled eggs for protein are better.


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## dooneygirl09 (Mar 9, 2012)

They are awesome pets. But they are a lot of work if you are not prepared starting out of the gates. ALWAYS get everything you need. No matter what. They do need a lot of socialization if you expect them to be good pets.


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## biancaDB (Nov 3, 2011)

I was just wondering about them but I definitely don't have any intention to get one any time soon. I'm doing enough as it is to prepare for my next dog! It would be awhile down the road kind of thing for a beardie and trust me, if I get one PLENTY of research will be done. I plan meticulously for most things, animals more so than anything else. But thanks for the responses, all!!


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