Bearded Dragons

Galileo · March 2010

Has anyone ever owned them? Are they pretty easy keepers? Any tips? I'm thinking about getting it.

Hibachi · March 2010

I LOVE beardies! I know Sushi owns some, I would ask her! She's has quite some knowledge on animals.

From what I know they are easy keepers, they can reach up to 2 feet though -from what I know-. xD

SCWT345 · March 2010

I had a bearded for a couple years. Bosko was awesome. The only thing I hated about keeping him was the terrible smell of his crickets. Other than that, he enjoyed his baths and I wish I gave him more things to climb on and a hammock. His total length was around a foot, and he was very easy to handle. He loved his greens as well, though he was very picky. He loved kale and nothing else. Good luck with your bearded if you get one. If it weren't for the crickets, I would have another.

RoyalRaccoon · March 2010

I own, and used to rescue bearded dragons. They make fantastic pets! The problems that people often run into with bearded dragons is their cost and the room they take up. They are expensive to maintain because of special lighting that needs to be replaced about every 6-8months, mass amounts of live food every year, supplements, and housing. I would also suggest buying a tame adult or specimen at least 10 inches long. I've not seen signs that they bond to owners, so buying a baby is not necessary. Basically, a tame dragon will be a tame dragon to anyone as long as you treat it right. Most babies don't really want to be touched, eat more live food, and are more susceptible to getting sick when cared for by an inexperienced owner. Adults on the other hand are calmer, already tamed(if cared for correctly), stronger, and eat less live food. Just let me know if you want more info.

Galileo · March 2010

I've owned iguanas so the housing and cost is nothing new. As for buying one I'll talk to my mom about it. I'm just wondering to they need the same Tedious training to be tame? Like my iguana needs to be handled an hour every day. Does the same thing apply with dragons?

SunnyDaysDontLie · March 2010

They grow to be pretty big, about two feet, but they're really easy keepers(: I love beardies...

DiamondPuppy0809 · March 2010

HAHA! Okay, I though the topic said "Komodo Dragon." And I was like o_O "those are pets?!" Lmao. But. I know nothing about Beardies, so I'm gonna leave. ^_^ Lol.

RoyalRaccoon · March 2010

Galileo wrote:

I've owned iguanas so the housing and cost is nothing new. As for buying one I'll talk to my mom about it. I'm just wondering to they need the same Tedious training to be tame? Like my iguana needs to be handled an hour every day. Does the same thing apply with dragons?

That's good. I was in the pet store with my BDs, and some woman with a kid wanted to buy one, but they were expecting to pay $100 or less. When I pointed out the 60 gallon tank(they wanted a 10 gallon), and explained that it will probably be $500-$1000 to get everything bought and set up for the first month, they decided not to get one. No, I wouldn't say they need tedious training. BDs get hormonal, but it's not aggressive like iguanas. For the most part handling them 15 minutes a day in the beginning is enough. Once they mellow out after reaching adulthood, you don't need to hold them everyday if you don't want to. However, you will want to! They make perfect lap lizards. This is why I recommend an older dragon for your first BD. In my opinion BDs are the best family reptiles.

Galileo · March 2010

PrinceSushi wrote:

 No, I wouldn't say they need tedious training. BDs get hormonal, but it's not aggressive like iguanas. For the most part handling them 15 minutes a day in the beginning is enough. Once they mellow out after reaching adulthood, you don't need to hold them everyday if you don't want to. However, you will want to! They make perfect lap lizards. This is why I recommend an older dragon for your first BD.

That, my friend, is the key thing! My iguana is handled for 15 minutes each day and still seems to hate me. He tolerates me but he looks like he's saying " Good she's going to sleep! I think I'm going to kill her" Dx Hopefully the beardie will be nicer as you said xD. Thanks for all the help guys!

Pepper97 · March 2010

I want a beardie SO bad. They are truly domesticated in most cases. I've always thought large reptiles should be left to the wild, but not after I met my aunt's beardie. WAY better than the iguana. -.-

RoyalRaccoon · March 2010

That, my friend, is the key thing! My iguana is handled for 15 minutes each day and still seems to hate me. He tolerates me but he looks like he's saying " Good she's going to sleep! I think I'm going to kill her" Dx Hopefully the beardie will be nicer as you said xD. Thanks for all the help guys!

I know a lot of pet stores present iguanas as good pets, but they are quite difficult, especially the males. I honestly don't think anyone should ever get a male iguana without plenty of experience. Having owned, and worked with both BDs and iguanas, I will say that if you get a well cared for BD, you will be speechless at how different they are! My male is so tame he goes places with me, kids(and adults) handle him, and he'll even chill out on/with my dogs.

I want a beardie SO bad. They are truly domesticated in most cases. I've always thought large reptiles should be left to the wild, but not after I met my aunt's beardie. WAY better than the iguana. -.-

Size doesn't really matter though. It'd be like saying big dogs shouldn't be pets. It all depends on the owner and species. Some are naturally aggressive, and there is not much you can do about that other than train them to be manageable, but some are only aggressive because they don't know any better, or they are scared. I rescued a a sav monitor(big lizard. Way bigger than BDs). A sweet heart that was way too forgiving for the way he was treated. Then I had an alligator lizard(Small lizard. Snout to vent length about 4-5inches) that I raised from hatching, and no matter what I did he bit more and more as he grew up. Once he got big I could not hold him without bleeding. <img src="http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/PrinceSushi/Pets/BittandMonitor.png"; alt="http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/PrinceSushi/Pets/BittandMonitor.png"; class="bb-image" />

Galileo · March 2010

Thank you for all the facts and stuff guys!

I'm so confident in getting a beardie now

Hibachi · March 2010

PrinceSushi wrote:

I've not seen signs that they bond to owners.

Odd. My Collared Lizard, Bama LOVED me, she def showed signs of bonding and she had the funniest personality. Every time I walked in the room she would jump off her hide (basking area) and claw on the cage wanting to be let out. Even Ajax, who is skittish knows who I am. But, I've only owned Collared breeds. xD

RoyalRaccoon · March 2010

Avla wrote:

PrinceSushi wrote:

I've not seen signs that they bond to owners.

 Odd. My Collared Lizard, Bama LOVED me, she def showed signs of bonding and she had the funniest personality. Every time I walked in the room she would jump off her hide (basking area) and claw on the cage wanting to be let out. Even Ajax, who is skittish knows who I am. But, I've only owned Collared breeds. xD

Going by what I've experience, studied, and been taught, reptiles do not feel complex emotions. Things like love and hate are dominantly mammalian. Reptiles don't have very advanced brains, and though not 100% provable(it's just impossible to ask a lizard what they are feeling), there is evidence to support that they only feel your basic emotions, or otherwise instincts. They feel things like satisfaction, fear, aggression, etc. Love, hate, like, dislike, etc. scientifically doesn't seem possible with their brains. Scratching at the glass just seems to just be a lizard thing in my opinion. They have trouble understanding glass at times. All of my lizards kept in glass tanks have done the same behavior on occasion when I've walk in the room, some of which do not like to be held. I could go into detail about lizards and emotion, but it's probably not important(you can look up information if you are interested). Plenty of people also believe reptiles feel emotions. I currently do not feel they do, and thus emotional bonds are impossible in my opinion. As I continue to work towards becoming a herpetologist, I might change my mind, or find better proof to support my current opinion, but in the end it doesn't really matter who is "right or wrong" as long as the lizards are kept satisfied and healthy.

Hibachi · March 2010

PrinceSushi wrote:

 Going by what I've experience, studied, and been taught, reptiles do not feel complex emotions. Things like love and hate are dominantly mammalian. Reptiles don't have very advanced brains, and though not 100% provable(it's just impossible to ask a lizard what they are feeling), there is evidence to support that they only feel your basic emotions, or otherwise instincts. They feel things like satisfaction, fear, aggression, etc. Love, hate, like, dislike, etc. scientifically doesn't seem possible with their brains. Scratching at the glass just seems to just be a lizard thing in my opinion. They have trouble understanding glass at times. All of my lizards kept in glass tanks have done the same behavior on occasion when I've walk in the room, some of which do not like to be held. I could go into detail about lizards and emotion, but it's probably not important(you can look up information if you are interested). Plenty of people also believe reptiles feel emotions. I currently do not feel they do, and thus emotional bonds are impossible in my opinion. As I continue to work towards becoming a herpetologist, I might change my mind, or find better proof to support my current opinion, but in the end it doesn't really matter who is "right or wrong" as long as the lizards are kept satisfied and healthy.

I don't think they can technically feel emotion. However, it wasn't like the normal scratching on the glass, Ajax does that. But when Bama did it, I would take her out and she would immediately jump onto my shoulder and after about 30 minutes or so she would get squirmy and I would put her back in her cage and she would go back to her basking spot and when she wanted to be let back out she would jump off it and go back to scratching. Other than that she never scratched on the glass. I do however, believe they can have a personality which is what Bama had always wanting to be let out. xD

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Bearded Dragons

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