Bearded Dragon perhaps?

To anyone who has one or knows about them, what do you think? I did a little research and it looks like feeding them would be a big and expensive job with fruits, veg, and crickets etc. But they are so adorable. Would you recommend them (one) to a new lizard owner? And do the benefits outweigh the cost? Thanks


---Kenny

Hey, I don't know much about them, however there is a girl in my class at school who has a baby one, and she says that it's not as hard as people make out, she says that her little guy is really cute and its worth every penny, So I'm guessing they are what they seem to be : ) And when i go up to Mandy's reptile store her baby one's are really really cute! and they look so, Prehistoric! like dinosaurs!

Hey Kenny!

I've had quite a few over the years and they're by far the most enjoyable and most problematic lizard I've ever kept.

To do things correctly, yes they are quite expensive. Juveniles (roughly the first year/ 18 months of their life) eat massive amounts of crickets. Things tend to level out when they reach adult-hood.

Expect a Juvie to eat anywhere from 50-80 crickets a day.

Then the hardest part as an adult, is that they require a *minimum* of 6-8 sq. foot of floor space, with standard enclosure size being 2' tall by 2' wide by 4' long. Quite a lot more space than a snake takes up.

I'd suggest checking out, registering, and asking questions here:

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/

I'm a member and there's TONS of information and TONS of nice people who are willing to help out. I go back the name of Ice there, currently working on the FAQ to assist new or future dragon owners.

If you want, I can cover most all the basics with you on here, or in a PM, or you can just hop on over to bd.org.

Thanks for the info. They do seem to be WAY out of my budget for the near future. But you never know one day I may come upon a cheap setup. Thanks, I will defiantly check out that website when it is more financially realistic for me to start setting up.

---Kenny

Beardeds are by far one of the best lizards to keep as pets. They are like dogs....they have so much personality. The initial set-up is expensive, however we have in the past kept adults in 75g aqariums and they were perfectly content. They need both UVB and UVA lighting and we usually put driftwood in the enclosure to create basking areas. I believe that out of all the reptiles that we breed and keep the dragons will always be my favorite because they act like they actually like us as apposed to putting up with us.