Amber & Sunny
Hatchling Dragon
- Messages
- 31
- Location
- Chicagoland
I just wanted to take a moment to write about my pet store experience with my baby beardie and hopefully a newb will come across this and take heed. I also wanted to vent a bit about the horrible experience I had at the pet store (not knowing then how horrible it was!!)
So when I bought Sunny 2 months ago I hadn't done my research on beardies (I know, shame on me!) since I had a neighbor who owned one when I was younger and I thought I had the basics figured out, I was depending on the pet store to educate me further when I went to purchase Sunny and his necessities..... WRONG! Don't ever listen to those reps! Honestly if I hadn't found this forum I probably would've killed the poor guy by now! Research before walking in and know what you need upfront!
First off, here is what the pet store said I needed:
A tank (no specs on size, I picked up a 15 gallon tank but I knew he would need a 40 gallon in a few months, there was a really great deal on the small tanks, so not their fault) $60
an under the tank heating pad - $15
a perch, I got a large drift wood piece - $12
sand (I knew better and got reptile carpet!) - $8
a basking light and lamp only (didn't even mention uv to me!!) - $18
2 food/water dishes - $3
dry food mix - $8.50
mealworms/crickets - $5 for 50 mealworms
Sunny himself - $45
Now, I told the girl I hate crickets and wanted to know if mealworms were actually ok for his staple food and she said "Oh yes, we feed all of our baby beardies mealworms often." I fed Sunny mealworms for a week straight and he had a horrible backup and ended up with a slight prolapse when he did poo, luckily it went back in on it's own.
($5 wasted on mealworms and in need of a feeder asap, making me pay for rush shipping online to ensure he didn't starve)
She also told me that if I was ever going on vacation to just fill his bowl with the dry pebble food and he will eat that while I'm gone..... WTH?? I tried feeding him dry food every other day like she said and he NEVER touched it. I asked about salads and veggies and she said "Babies don't eat that, I wouldn't start those until he is 6 months old, again, WTH?? Sunny eats a lot of greens in the morning while he waits for live food in the afternoon, ever since I brought him home! ($8.50 wasted on pebble food that I find out now, has zero nutritional value)
I found out the heating pad could burn his belly and immediately ripped it out upon reading here ($15 wasted!)
All of that being said, I had originally paid $186 including tax for him and his entire setup (the setup the petstore told me to have) and thought when I walked out the door I had everything he needed, except the additional $5-$10 a month on food (she had said he eats 5 mealworms a day max) boy was I wrong! Now, I love my beardie and didn't mind forking over AN ADDITIONAL $170 for the appropriate things he needed but when a younger pet owner or one with limited funds finds themselves in this situation what can they do? They are forced to either get rid of their pet they just bought or take care of them with improper housing/husbandry until they can afford the correct things.
So, here is what the pet store left out that I needed:
calcium powder for his food - $7.50
a uvb light and fixture - $50
a bulb and lamp for heat at night since my house gets very cold at night - $30
a hideaway rock so he has privacy - $8
appropriate food (phoenix worms) - $10 a cup per 100, he eats 1 cup a week - $40 monthly
(switched to super worms recently, $17 for 500, $7 for bedding, $10 for living container) - $34 startup, $17 each month after.
spray bottle - $1
pet hammock (didn't need it, but who could sleep on drift wood comfortably??) - FREE used extra reptile carpet and spare suction cups from bathroom, a store-bought one - $10
All in all please do your research and if you're new to this forum stick around and soak up some advice here, it has been very helpful to me and the info I have gained here has practically saved my baby beadie's life!
Expect to spend around $300-$500 on your initial setup and if you don't get a large tank right away expect to spend $100+ on one you can make on your own and even more for a store bought one. I got lucky and found an old cabinet or $7 at a thrift store large enough for Sunny's adult enclosure and will be DIY-ing it into a proper (and pretty!) viv for $70 in the next 2 months.
Thanks for reading and hopefully this has helped you in making your decision on getting a bearded dragon!
So when I bought Sunny 2 months ago I hadn't done my research on beardies (I know, shame on me!) since I had a neighbor who owned one when I was younger and I thought I had the basics figured out, I was depending on the pet store to educate me further when I went to purchase Sunny and his necessities..... WRONG! Don't ever listen to those reps! Honestly if I hadn't found this forum I probably would've killed the poor guy by now! Research before walking in and know what you need upfront!
First off, here is what the pet store said I needed:
A tank (no specs on size, I picked up a 15 gallon tank but I knew he would need a 40 gallon in a few months, there was a really great deal on the small tanks, so not their fault) $60
an under the tank heating pad - $15
a perch, I got a large drift wood piece - $12
sand (I knew better and got reptile carpet!) - $8
a basking light and lamp only (didn't even mention uv to me!!) - $18
2 food/water dishes - $3
dry food mix - $8.50
mealworms/crickets - $5 for 50 mealworms
Sunny himself - $45
Now, I told the girl I hate crickets and wanted to know if mealworms were actually ok for his staple food and she said "Oh yes, we feed all of our baby beardies mealworms often." I fed Sunny mealworms for a week straight and he had a horrible backup and ended up with a slight prolapse when he did poo, luckily it went back in on it's own.
($5 wasted on mealworms and in need of a feeder asap, making me pay for rush shipping online to ensure he didn't starve)
She also told me that if I was ever going on vacation to just fill his bowl with the dry pebble food and he will eat that while I'm gone..... WTH?? I tried feeding him dry food every other day like she said and he NEVER touched it. I asked about salads and veggies and she said "Babies don't eat that, I wouldn't start those until he is 6 months old, again, WTH?? Sunny eats a lot of greens in the morning while he waits for live food in the afternoon, ever since I brought him home! ($8.50 wasted on pebble food that I find out now, has zero nutritional value)
I found out the heating pad could burn his belly and immediately ripped it out upon reading here ($15 wasted!)
All of that being said, I had originally paid $186 including tax for him and his entire setup (the setup the petstore told me to have) and thought when I walked out the door I had everything he needed, except the additional $5-$10 a month on food (she had said he eats 5 mealworms a day max) boy was I wrong! Now, I love my beardie and didn't mind forking over AN ADDITIONAL $170 for the appropriate things he needed but when a younger pet owner or one with limited funds finds themselves in this situation what can they do? They are forced to either get rid of their pet they just bought or take care of them with improper housing/husbandry until they can afford the correct things.
So, here is what the pet store left out that I needed:
calcium powder for his food - $7.50
a uvb light and fixture - $50
a bulb and lamp for heat at night since my house gets very cold at night - $30
a hideaway rock so he has privacy - $8
appropriate food (phoenix worms) - $10 a cup per 100, he eats 1 cup a week - $40 monthly
(switched to super worms recently, $17 for 500, $7 for bedding, $10 for living container) - $34 startup, $17 each month after.
spray bottle - $1
pet hammock (didn't need it, but who could sleep on drift wood comfortably??) - FREE used extra reptile carpet and spare suction cups from bathroom, a store-bought one - $10
All in all please do your research and if you're new to this forum stick around and soak up some advice here, it has been very helpful to me and the info I have gained here has practically saved my baby beadie's life!
Expect to spend around $300-$500 on your initial setup and if you don't get a large tank right away expect to spend $100+ on one you can make on your own and even more for a store bought one. I got lucky and found an old cabinet or $7 at a thrift store large enough for Sunny's adult enclosure and will be DIY-ing it into a proper (and pretty!) viv for $70 in the next 2 months.
Thanks for reading and hopefully this has helped you in making your decision on getting a bearded dragon!
I just found out at Christmas when I saw him and thought I just had to share that the pet stores do NOT always know best! But yes, Sunny has packed on the weight and loves to hang out in my ponytail for naps 
my husband wasn't so keen on spending more (he is not a reptile fan lol) but he wanted to do right by his wife's pet.