When I was a kid, I was crazy about animals, and my parents would let me buy whatever I wanted. But my knowledge on how to care for them was very minimal- usually limited to whatever care book I could find on them at the pet store- and then I would disregard most of the more complicated information. I had never bought a UV light or taken my pets to the vet. I look back on it now and I feel sad for those pets that died, relieved for the ones I gave away and thankful now that there is a plethora of information on the internet for this generation of kids to not make the same mistakes I did.
But they still do. It's hard when people treat pet store employees like they are the be all and end all of reptile knowledge and these kids get hardly any training on the actual needs of most reptiles. Once in a while you get a gem of an employee who really knows their stuff, but for the most part, you aren't going to find people like that working at Petco.
I'm starting this blog to document the journey I'm taking to PREPARE for getting a Bearded Dragon. I'm already part of the way through, but I still have quite a way to go before I'm truly ready to buy my first dragon.
I've wanted one for as long as I can remember, but I really started wanting one last year. I was 25 and my baby fever was in full swing. Being unwed and financially incapable for kids, I decided I wanted another pet to baby. I have four cats and two dogs, but I wanted something new. I had been unemployed for a long time, and was hesitant to make the plunge into Beardie parenting because of the cost to feed a baby dragon.
I've been working at my new job for about a month now and I've been compiling all the necessities for my future little one.
I decided I would like to adopt an adult as my first dragon, because a large, relaxed reptile will seem less appealing (and easier to get used to) to my 2 prey-driven cats than a teensy little baby that might possibly dart around. Plus I can take it places during the summer!
Now that I'm more mature, I spend a lot of time obsessing and researching about things before I'm ready to take the plunge into anything. It's worked out well, but it really is all I think about. I spend hours a day, scouring the BeardedDragon.org forum, thinking about what the stand will be for the tank, where the tank will go, should I start a Dubia colony now, etc. etc.
I will go back and make posts about what I've already gotten and some of the interesting (I hope!) experiences I've had already. A couple come to mind.
I hope this blog can be helpful for anyone who is considering the possibility of bringing any reptile into their life. Reptiles are cheap to buy and have extremely expensive setups. But if you do your research first, you'll find cheap DIY options everywhere, that work just as well, if not better than the things you buy at the pet store, with a reptile logo on them. I'm going to share my tips with you, as I try to get everything I need for a Bearded Dragon, while still being an extreme cheapskate.
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