HI I'm interested in getting a Dragon

[Miranda]

Hi I'm Miranda. I've decided that I want to get a Bearded Dragon, and that I need to do a LOT of research first. I've seen a lot of websites with conflicting information, so I decided that a forum might be my best bet for learning about them before I actually get one, which will probably be some time in spring. Mostly all I've ever had for pets are furry pets (which I still have some of), and a few red-eared slider turtles when I was a little kid that my mom made me get rid of due to the smell. cant say I blame her there, sliders are stinky. anyway. I will be browsing around the forum looking into diet, cage size, and lighting recommended. I know the ones at the local petco are fed lettucy looking veggies, some kind of pellet food, and mealworms, I never see any crickets or anything of that type in the cage. I've read that they shouldn't have lettuce, and that mealworms are a treat, so that might explain the dull eyes and lack of energy in the ones there. I will be getting mine from a local lady who has a breeding pair. if I had the setup, I'd be bringing the dragon home already as she has a batch looking for homes right now.
My mom has a Chinese water dragon that I love helping take care of.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum! Dragon's are amazing little creatures, I am glad to hear that your doing research before getting one as they do require certain things in order to grow healthy and happy.
Here are some good links to help you do some research:
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-Health/Habitats-Care/Reptile-Lighting-Information/
http://greathousefarm.com/Greathouse-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

When looking at what size enclosure you need to think long term what they need as adults, they can get up to 24" in length so they need length more than height. A 55gal is good for 1 adult dragon.
Proper lighting is very important for food digestion, vit absorption, proper warmth for overall health.
Food is very important and some insects like mealworms are very hard for them to digest as their shells contain chitlin. They get the majority of their moisture from the insects and greens that they eat. Crickets, dubia roaches, superworms, butterworms, waxworms, silkworms, hornworms are all good, some are treats as they are high in fats...
Making sure your dragon is on safe substrate (some pet stores keep them on sand which can cause impaction issues) repti carpet, paper towels, contact paper, ceramic tile are safe. Any kind of soil, wood, mulch, bark especially cedar which is very toxic are not suitable for dragons due to ingestion, they can cause impaction, skin lesions, respiratory infections, eye irritations.
Vit and supplements are important for growth and bone development. Calcium without d3 daily to insects, multi vit 1-2 times a week dusted.

well that should get you off to a good start always stuff to learn and this is a great forum to browse for research..

 

[Canicke]

welcome !! if you have any specific questions please do not hesitate to ask - someone here will be sure to answer you. please do not ask your pet store for advice. they are addicting little creatures

 

[PatsyB]

Welcome to the forum! Glad to see you doing your research ahead of time. If you have any specific questions ask away. I think Hdrydr31 touched on the most important things already

I don't know what is about chinese water dragons but every time I get near them in the pet store they completely freak out!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum! Glad to see you doing your research ahead of time. If you have any specific questions ask away. I think Hdrydr31 touched on the most important things already

I don't know what is about chinese water dragons but every time I get near them in the pet store they completely freak out!

Ok PatsyB note to self don't buy a chinese water dragon I don't think they like you? lol

 

[Miranda]

thanks for the links I'll be going through them carefully over the next few days.
I never take the pet-store advice, they talked my mom into Coconut bedding, and I'm worried about our water dragon eating it, which he does whenever he catches one of his crickets. He's discolored too, which I think is in part to the lightbulb we got for him not putting out enough UV light. my mom refuses to replace it more then once every 6-8 months if the lizard gets lucky.
we actually have a halfway successful colony of crickets right now, they are breeding and growing quite well.
fortunately starting end of January I will have a steady income again, so I wont have to worry about her helping pay for my lizard, or its care. Seriously looking forward to that. I've wanted a lizard of my own for ages. either that or a tortoise, but I think I would enjoy a lizard more.

 

[Paarthurnax]

Welcome, I also applaud your sequence of learning about Dragons BEFORE getting one. I also did quite a bit of learning before getting one last week. Still a newb but am packed with great info from this forum. Jim the bug eater is doing great because I came here 1st.