What do members of RTB.net think of Bearded Dragons??

[Whatsabateater?]

I went to the reptile expo in Overland Park Kansas City this Sunday and was exposed to seeing my first full grown bearded dragons. They were all so tame and it seemed like everyone had one. Personally I don't have any friends that own one. I feel in love with them. They seemed to be extremely docile and tame. I didn't see a squimish one in the whole show. I'm thinking about possible getting one but I wanted to see what you guys had to say about it. I've done some research and i'm not in any hurry by any means but do you guys view them as an easy herp to keep or not. Also do you enjoy them. I'm assuming you all do but I'm looking for people to tell me the negative things about them that I havn't heard from the breeders at the show. Thanks a bunch

Morgan [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[Whatsabateater?]

by being an easy herp to keep i ment time consuming.
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[joerissa]

Well if you saw them at the Overland Park Show you must have met the Vandivers. Beardies are probably the favorite in this house. We keep ours in the living room where we can see them all the time. I swear they watch us as much as we watch them. As far as time consuming, they are a little bit of work but nothing like a dog. LOL I think really they are the best pet lizard you can have. If you want to find more info on them check out the link below. If you are interested in buying some check out the other link. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]

The Vandivers



Beardies For Sale
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[SteveP]

Well, lets see...negative things about my beardy!? He still hasn't learned to fetch me a beer and open the bottle! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Aside from that they are an ideal beginners (and advanced) hobbiest lizard! I think for the health and well-being of beardies they should be outside as much as possible when the weather is nice (i.e., warm). I have an outdoor pen that I put him in thats partly suuny and partly shaded. That's about the only "difficult" issue I deal with for my guy. Otherwise they like a good hot-spot (100 degrees or so) in their enclosure and with the capability of getting upwards of 24 inches long I think a 4 foot long enclosure is about the minimum size one or two should be kept in. Like joerissa, our beardy's enclosure is in our living room, where he likes to watch and see whats going on. They are just about as interactive a reptile as they get and don't take anymore time to care for (feeding, cage cleaning etc.) as any other reptiles I have!!! Though you may find yourself pal-ing around with your beardy often...so that may chew up a little time (in a very good way)! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[SteveJor]

Most docile and easily handled lizard you can buy as well as very easy to care for. Best pet lizard IMO. Here is a pic of my coral x orange/gold male I got from Sundial. He's just over 4 months old.

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	In My Opinon IMO = In My Opinion and IMHO = In My Honest Opinion

[BadKarma]

OK you wanted the bad things about them here are the only ones I can think of.
1) They require UV, not a big deal but I have to complain about something.
2) When you have babies you can't keep all of them.
3) Their poop really stinks.

OK enough bad stuff on to the good. We have had beardeds for awhile. I never got into them cause I was a "snake guy". Then we had some for sale at a show we were at. I kept taking them out to show to people and by the end of the show I was totally hooked. Like the vandiveers say it takes 1 finger to pick them up and 2 hands to put them down. They enjoy being held. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]
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[SteveJor]

They will literally sit on your shoulder for hours at a time.
Mine loves to go outside and will just sit and bask. The only time he'll move is if he wants to re-adjust the angle where the sun is hitting him.
They also LOVE dandelions. Watch out when you put some of those in the food bowl. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Mine will literally fly across the cage to get to them.
They can also be hand fed. They are not shy and have to know what is going on at all times around them. They are constantly in sight in their cage (no hiding) and like elevated perches (they think they are king of the hill up high). And yes, their dumps do STINK.
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[Boaguy]

They make for very unique and tame pets. Almost seem to enjoy handling. Babys do seem to be skittish though.


John
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[Whatsabateater?]

well I think i'm sold. I'm just going to research some more and in the next 2 to 3 months I'm going to have to pick one up. They really are awsome. Plus them being so tame and like to be handled I might be able to get my family to like my herps. No one really likes my snakes. They think thier "icky" and "scary". Now these german giants are they actually larger than the normal ones or is that like a subspecies or something. I saw a sunburst and that was really cool looking and I saw a "blood". Wow they looked awsome. I don't think I'll want to breed them just one would be cool I already have enough Leo and snake stuff going on. Thank you every one who put in your 2 cents and I really didn't hear one bad thing. I've been reading on them today in my spare time on the net and I'm hooked. Thanks again

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[JuliusSqueezer]

I love them. They are the closest thing to puppies there is in the reptile world. My only complaint, if you want to call it that, is that they don't live as long as I would like them to. If I remember right....4 years?
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[joerissa]

Your right Julius a beardies life span or longevity is from 4 to 10 yrs. But with the right husbandry skills you could expect your dragon to live for around 7. Now to answer your question about "German Giants" A morph of the inland bearded dragon. They are slightly different than typical dragons. The head is not as massive and the iris is a silvery gold and the beardie can grow to be quite large. I believe they where first imported and introduced in the trade by Peter Weis. I could be wrong though. LOL Hope this helps. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]
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	Morph A morph is a color or pattern variation that is proven to be genetic. Common morphs include albino, anerythristic, gentically striped, Hypomelanistic, and many others. Morphs also include combinations of simple traits such as "Sunglow" which is Albino and Hypomelanistic. These traits may be recessive traits, co-dominant traits, dominant traits, or created through selective breeding (ie Pastel).

[SteveP]

My wife's cousin Barbara just recently lost her beardy a few months ago. She got him as a sub-adult and he was with her 10 years!!! That was one very old beardy. But JS is right...I wish they lived longer.
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