Frustrated!

[HS18]

Hello All,

I'm completely new to owning a bearded dragon. My son(6yrs) several months ago asked for one I did little research and promised him for his birthday(August) we could get one. I went to a chain pet store and the price was way out of my budget and so began the game of "We'll get it don't worry" One of the ladies said the best time to get one and the whole set up was on Black Friday. After hearing that about the end of Oct. he started to count down to Black Friday.

Well that day came and when we went to get one they were sold out! He cried and cried and it broke my heart, We checked when the next shipments would be in almost every week but I discovered another pet shop in our town (which isn't that big). Which brings us now to Dec. 1st. We go to the pet shop and the guy there was really nice, gave us everything we needed for a price that was pretty good.

My son held a couple then chose the one he wanted, home we go....Tank gets all set up Baby goes in. Son decides he wants to hold him so he does....Milo(what he named him)starts to take off up his arm, he gets him, tries to put him back in his tank but he is holding on to his fingers and didn't want to let go. This freaked him out, me too and now bringing us to today the 3rd of Dec. he wants nothing to do with him. Side note, I already told my kids(2 boys) that I would help with the food and cleaning the tank but they would have to do the other stuff(holding him, bathing him) I mainly got him for my younger son since my older child is more like me and doesn't really take to quickly to animals.

My frustration is that no one wants to hold him, he has the proper lighting, food, they talk to him and will sometimes rub his back but won't dare pick him up. I feel horrible and am quickly realizing this is not going to work out long term for other reasons I didn't take into consideration. I feel like it's best to find a home for him where someone can give him the proper love he deserves. How long can he stay in his tank without being taken out he's about 2-3 months old? he sometimes jumps into the glass like he's trying to get out and it's killing me not being brave enough to hold him! Some kind words of wisdom or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum..
Sorry to hear about all of this.. Milo is such a young one and they can be kinda "flighty" and typically we tell folks to let them chill and get accustomed to their new environments for a week or so before doing much handling.. I know with kids it's hard not to "play" with their new pet, sometimes it's helpful to help them understand that to them we are HUGE and so they can get frightened. Beardies are amazing critters (as I type this 1 of my 2 males is fast asleep on my chest he actually just did what we call a butt wiggle getting comfy) and are very social. So your little one was likely thinking hey no I don't wanna go back in there I wanna stay with you.

It's not a bad thing that for now doing petting while in the tank and talking to him for awhile as that little they are pretty fragile and a fall could really hurt them. They tend to glass surf alot at times you can help things by covering 3 sides so they don't see their reflection..People use aquarium backgrounds or even construction paper.
They really are gentle critters. If you don't mind me asking what are the other considerations are? Maybe we can help.

 

[HS18]

Thank you so much for your advice. The other things I didn't really think about is the time we are home, I work, my kids are in school, after school they have their sports and other activities so we're not home a whole lot, which isn't a huge deal but the time spent even when he gets older wouldn't be that much. He can probably stay in this 20 gallon tank for a few months but will soon, need to get a larger tank and honestly we just don't have the space for a larger tank. Lights, I didn't think about the lights. Having to keep them on for 11-12 hours a day will surely be a cost I know not a great deal I think about 10-30 dollars a month but for me at times that's a lot. I feel like there's more cons then pros for me in this situation. I'm not even a huge animal lover but I don't like to see any neglected, abused or feeling unwanted. I know I'm probably over thinking everything but just want what's best for the little guy!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Thank you so much for your advice. The other things I didn't really think about is the time we are home, I work, my kids are in school, after school they have their sports and other activities so we're not home a whole lot, which isn't a huge deal but the time spent even when he gets older wouldn't be that much. He can probably stay in this 20 gallon tank for a few months but will soon, need to get a larger tank and honestly we just don't have the space for a larger tank. Lights, I didn't think about the lights. Having to keep them on for 11-12 hours a day will surely be a cost I know not a great deal I think about 10-30 dollars a month but for me at times that's a lot. I feel like there's more cons then pros for me in this situation. I'm not even a huge animal lover but I don't like to see any neglected, abused or feeling unwanted. I know I'm probably over thinking everything but just want what's best for the little guy!

I hear where you are coming from..I would look into a rescue or maybe someone that you all know that might be interested, you can I think you might be able to talk to where you got him from.

 

[HS18]

Thanks for your advice and help!