Does anyone have a bearded dragon?

[LoudestRoar]

My 6 year old has been asking for a bearded dragon. I've been reading up, and they seem like good pets for kids, but would like some first hand experiences if possible.

We had two for about 5 years. Very good for dc ime!! We had a pop up paddling pool we fed them live crickets in!! Dcats sat and watched too!!
Not for the squeamish!
Do some research on feeding /housing and good luck!!

They’re great as long as you handle them a lot. If you’re confident doing that, get one. My ds13 has one.

Ours used to love sleeping on dh's moobs! Lots of warmth /comfort there!

Rankin's dragons are similar but smaller.

They are wonderful pets, but as PP said definitely do your research on their housing, lights, set up requirements etc.
They are lovely and often very friendly.

Not beardies but similar reptiles. They make a good first reptile pet but a) make sure you research their heating/lighting/ food needs appropriately and b) pet them enough so they stay tame. Rankin's are smaller if you don't have the space for a viv for an adult bearded dragon (so many adults end up in rescues for this reason amongst others)

They are fab pets but are not as easy as people make out. Once the viv is correctly set up then yes they are great pets but it takes a lot of research. I am more than happy to help you out with what is necessary and what is not, pet shops try to sell you unsuitable homes.

They need a 4'x2'x2' viv as an absolute minimum with a t5 Arcadia 36"uv tube (best option) and a suitable heat bulb too. Do you have space for this size of viv!

Also they are solitary creatures and under no circumstances can they be housed together. Babies in the pet shop will be as it helps them build up their hunting skills and getting best basking spots (survival of the fittest etc) but adults will attack each other or dominate one another as far as heat and uv is concerned to the detriment of the other one.

On their own they are actually really sweet. My girl is 2 and an absolute sweetheart.

This is ours, she's about 3 and a half now, and as you can tell she's a bit dippy 🤦‍♀️
She's lovely, really friendly & our 2 DC love her (5 and almost 3 yo)
Her vivarium and lights are the expensive bit. She costs about £10 a week in locusts & loves lettuce and wax worms!
Great pets for kids especially getting them used to something different from a cat/dog and to get them used to bugs!
She's my baby.

Thank you all :-) How much per week would you say running costs are please?
Dixywitch19 I see you've said £10 per week, how much would you say the heating etc is per week? Do you have pet insurance?
She's a lovely girl!

hairypaws that's interesting - we had 2 together for over 5 years with only 1 spat!

£5 percent food for ours. Probably similar for electric.

Per week not percent

I'm not sure tbh! Our electric bills didn't go up much after getting her so I couldn't guesstimate!
No we don't have pet insurance though you have reminded me to look into it - definitely worth getting!
Her viv is about 4 foot and she likes to watch us so she's in our lounge, just thought I'd say so you know where you'd be putting it etc

@Easterbunnyiscomingsoon that's the problem though. They may not fight particularly but when they do it is vicious with the probability of limb loss or even death. Not only that but often one will dominate the other by sitting on it to get the best of the heat and uv - lots of people mistake this for "cuddles".

I don't want to start critiquing people's set ups but diet and set up is so important and sadly a lot of vets don't even get their advice right. You need to find a vet practice with an exotics specialist, a normal practice just won't cut it. You need to do yearly fecal tests for worms etc, and definitely need to do this for a new reptile. Loose substrate is fine but it must not be calcisand and personally I'd stay away from wood chip too. Definitely no coloured bulbs, they do not need heat at night time as they naturally need to cool down to self regulate as long as your house isn't freezing overnight.

Lots of leafy green veg (not lettuce as it's only water with no nutritional value for them and veg like spinach should be fed rarely). Adults eat a varied diet of bugs every 3 days which need to be dusted with calcium (with or without D3 depending on your uv bulb - which must be tube not spiral).

This is just a snippet of the info you need to research to ensure a healthy reptile. I'm sorry to bore or go on but there are so many poor dragons housed in unsuitable vivs that it is so important that you get it absolutely right from the start. I can recommend a brilliant Facebook group which expert knowledge.

Lastly I believe only Exotics Direct currently insure lizards. I took out a policy for the first year but haven't renewed this time and would just use savings. A lot of things aren't covered my way. It cost about £110 for the year.

Yes, most commonly known as the mother in law

hairypaws Thank you, the FB group page would be great. I appreciate all the advice, as mentioned, we are still considering it, and won't be rushing into it.
One of my main concerns is when/if we go away, as I imagine the dragon needs feeding every day, instead of leaving a day or 2 worth of food?

Cookmysock1

@LoudestRoar you can leave them for a weekend if they are adults and in a bio active viv (just give them a big big feed before you go and water the plants in the viv (herbs, grasses etc) but you would need to arrange someone to visit or arrange boarding if it's a sterile viv as veg would need to be replaced everyday. Babies need feeding bugs everyday until they are a year old. I would recommend you look into bio active. I made this transition and it's so much easier once established.

Facebook group is bearded dragon owners uk - I recommend you familiarise yourself with that for lots of research and it's fantastic that you are doing your homework before committing as that is the problem with them then being housed improperly. Keep us posted if you decide to go for it, they are fab pets and I say that as someone who did not want one, now of course I'm the one who cares for her and my son doesn't bother with the day to day necessities.

Thanks Hairy

We looked at bearded dragons when teen DS1 wanted a reptile but he isn't great with insects so that made it a big no! He ended up with 2 corn snakes (seperate vivs) and they're surprisingly interesting, I thought they'd just lay around all day but they're out and about quite a lot, especially this time of year when it's breeding season and they're looking for ladies! Only need feeding (one defrosted frozen mouse) every 10-14 days as well now they're adults.

I love beardies and have thought about owning one for a long time. However - I'm no good with insects!

Do I have to touch the insects?
What's the chances of them escaping and bouncing round the house?
Where are they stored?

Sorry to jump on your thread op!

@hothotsoup I only touch locusts or silk worms. I have a mix of morio worms (and the beetles they hatch into), wood lice and cockroaches but can not touch any of them (these live freely in the viv and clean up waste). I also feed calci worms and silk worms. Silk worms and locust are all I can touch, I use tongs for everything else. I always have escapees of the locusts as the just ping everywhere but they always eventually turn up and get chucked in the viv.

We shake ours into a plastic bag with the dusting powder in it, give them a shake & tip them in. Only a couple have escaped over the years!

Insects can be kept in the containers they were bought in, or transferred to specialist housing (better). Don't forget you should provide water balls and preferably gut load with fruit/veg your insects before feeding too!
Our microgeckos are fussy and only eat crickets (probably due to previous owners). I don't have to touch them, I tip some into a container for dusting then tip them into the viv.
We do get the occasional escaping cricket, however the microgeckos' food is tiny, sometimes the food escapes through the air vents. We've never had this problem with our other gecko which is larger and takes bigger insects.