Obtaining Your First Dragon

Adoption - Not many beardies become available for adoption, but you can check your local area for a reptile rescue or your local humane society. Be aware that these animals may have been neglected in the past and may need special care, but dragons seem to understand kindness, and you can build a close bond with time and patience.

Purchasing - This is how most people find their new friends. There are several ways to buy a beardy, my personal recommendation is from a knowledgeable breeder. If you know one personally and can get it locally is best. Talk to other owner and find where they got theirs, the service, any problems with them or the animals.

• Breeders - If you can find a local one, this is great as you can actually see the animals and find which beardy chooses you . If not, search the web for breeders, don't be afraid to ask for references or ask in they plan on attending a local show. Do your homework first if you can find out who will attend and know about them. If you can attend a Reptile Show, you again can see the animals and make a decision and choose or in some cases, see who chooses you. Don't let the fact you can not SEE an animal first put you off from buying from a reputable breeder. One of ours came from a private breeder that had to ship him across the country and we could not be happier with him. A breeder should be willing to send you photos of the beardies and let you choose one. If not, I would be very hesitant to purchase one from such a breeder.

Websites such as Fauna Classifieds and KingSnake provide forums and a board of inquiry that provides information and opinions on peoples' experiences with such breeders and retailers of reptiles. If you find a breeder and like his animals, don't be afraid to post and ask others what experiences they have had with them. they will answer you on the forum or privately.

• Pet Stores - Not the best place, but some have few other options. Ask where there beardies come from, local or shipped in. You might find that they only buy from a local breeder and he will stand behind the sale and guarantee that it is healthy. Where we live, there are two breeders that sell to two different privately owned Pet Stores and they care for the babies well and have few problems. But there is also a chain Pet Store that is loaded with problem animals. Again, ask questions, if they are not willing to give you info, find another place to purchase from.

Now that you have the places in mind to buy from, what do you look for? For starters, with babies, try to find one over 3 weeks old or more. A baby two months old is more likely to be adapted to eating and a better chance of survival than ones younger. IF your able to view the animals, first see that the enclosure they are in is clean. Babies are messy, so give allowances for a few poopy messes, but you can tell if it is not cleaned regularly.

Ask if the babies are eating greens and vegetables yet, if they are, ask to see them fed. If the babies are eating them already, this is a BIG plus to you. Whoever raised them had to have spent a lot of time preparing them and getting the babies started on them. Many babies will not eat veggies for awhile unless they were offered them from the start. If you can, also view them while being offered crickets, watch for the little ones that run to catch and stalk them and seem more accurate then the others in catching them.

Look at the tail-base of the babies, and the overall appearance. Don't select a baby that is thin or has bones showing on the upper part of the back near the back legs, also avoid babies that seem to just watch the food or crickets. Even if they have eaten recently, a healthy baby will usually stalk a hopping cricket. If the owner says they just ate and are not hungry, ask when they will be and come back then. I can not stress enough how important a good eater is at this stage of their life, if they are poor eaters now, they always will be and can have a host of problems later on or the fact they are poor eater should be a red flag of an unseen problem. A good eater puts you and the baby one step ahead for the future.

Look that the eyes are clear and open. Dragons' eyes do not seep like some animals, and check the mouth areas that they are clear of any gray or black spots. Look the beardy over, they hate being turned over, but check the tummy area and under neck, if you see any yellow, gray or black discoloration in the skin, DO NOT purchase any of their animals and wash your hands well before handling any other reptiles or eating. When we go to pet shows, we carry hand sanitizer with us, and a good breeder will usually have it on their table or not allow animals to be handled. If a breeder does not want you to handle any of his animals, don't be offended, this is a good sign that he is aware how easily a fungus or bacteria can spread from one animal to another and is proving he cares about his animals, he will gladly hold the it while you look it over and turn it for your inspection. Usually once you have decided that you want one of his babies, he will be more willing to entrust it into your hands when you think you know which one you want.

If you are buying online, ask for a written guarantee regarding the beardy and that they have a return policy that you feel comfortable with, examine it carefully when it arrives, if there is a problem, let the seller know right away that you want to return the animal. I purchased one that I felt I was actually qualifying for, and that breeder still emails me and checks on him several months later. I would not hesitate to recommend a breeder like this, it tells me he cared about the animals, not the sale and that my pet had excellent care before he came to me.

Be prepared, if you are viewing the beardies personally, you may see a few that seem right and maybe have narrowed it down to one or two, look back in the tank. Is someone watching you? Or suddenly one you had not considered will leap toward you or come to the front of the tank and follow your finger or stare at you. You know he is watching you more than you were looking at him. If he look healthy, and meets all your other basic requirements, even if not the color or pattern you wanted, give up looking at the other dragons. You have been selected and this little one will become apart of you. If one is tuned into you, that tells you he is more intelligent than his siblings or cage mates and knows a good thing when he sees it. Take him home. From past experience I have found this is one that will really bond with you deeply and you will love like no other animal, he wanted you and knew it and will be more willing to learn with you.

I have several and care for each of them, but the one that stole my heart was a bland graphite color that insisted on running up my arm each time I tried to pick up the baby I thought I wanted. I picked her off my arm and put her back with the others and she would run back up my arm or finally just sat on a branch looking at me as I discussed the pretty gold color one I wanted with the breeder. I looked back and she was there watching with a look on her face that said "what, are you dumb or what?" then turned her back on the scene. I handed back the gold one and 3 week old Sandy went home with me, over a year later, she still has more attitude and personality than any beardy we have ever had seen and I never thought I could love an animal so much. She topped it off by shedding into a brilliant bright gold with lavender sides, she knew what I wanted, better than me!

Article by Cheri Smith
Copyright Cheri Smith, The Reptile Rooms ©2003
All images Copyright The Reptile Rooms ©2004 Unless otherwise noted.