New to Dragons. Baby vs Adult

[Javier]

Hello everyone!

My name is Javier, living in Florida. My cousin bought a dragon off Craigslist, I met her this weekend and fell in love with her!

I've been reading everything I can on these guys, and it will be my first reptile.

Now my question is, do you guys recommend a youngster, or an adult lizard? I have seen many of both, and recently found out that there is no guarantee that the hatchling will retain the same colors and patterns.

What are you opinions on buying an older guy. What are the pros and cons for each?

 

[BrookeE]

Javier, welcome, and kudos to you for doing your research before you dive in. There is so much to learn about these guys, but this is a fantastic place to get the answers you're looking for.

To answer your question, in my personal opinion, i think its a good idea for first time owners to start with an adult. They are certainly less maintenance, and by far much cheaper because of their adult diets. There are a ton of adult beardies you can find on craigs list like your cousin did, or through rescue organizations. However, the babies are very adorable and I love to watch them grow up. I think it really depends on your lifestyle. You'll have to be very honest with yourself about how much time and attention you'll be able to give it, and if you can afford the amount of bugs a baby will eat. Most babies can eat 20-30 small dubias or crickets in one sitting, and that needs to happen 2-3 times per day. So you've gotta have the time and money to sustain that until they reach adulthood. If you think you're up for that, it can be very rewarding. Adults on the other hand eat salads daily and only a few large dubias a few times per week. So it becomes inexpensive and not time consuming to feed adults. They maintain their curious and outgoing personalities throughout adulthood, so you'll love whatever age you pick. And yes you're correct, they shed very very often as babies and change colors. Some lose colors, some get more vibrant depending on their genetics. Mine started out with bright orange, purple, and yellow markings, but quickly lost them and only has some orange on her beard now. Good breeders will pretty much be able to tell you what they'll look like as adults.

 

[Javier]

I found a a couple adults. I'll have to wait until this hurricane passes. There are a few babies available too. I'd love to get a baby. I find that with a youngster you have the chance to bond closer. Granted the amount of work.

My thing with an adult is how will I know the temperament or health of the dragon. I'm really going on the word of the owner. All the sragons here are on sand enclosures and I don't want to deal with impaction. Od like for this to be as strss dress as possible. And with temperament, how do I know if I go to pick up the lizard from my shoulder or where and I end up getting bit .

Just a few scenarios playing on my head...

 

[Hdrydr31]

All very good questions!! and I can tell you from experience some info.. All of mine I got from babies from a chain store all have been perfectly healthy, I just got my 3rd and he is 5 weeks old and is a leatherback (smooth scales on his back) ... my friend has 1 for her son and she wanted one for herself she went on craigslist found one she wanted to look at to rescue... we went last night this dragon is an adult, horrible living conditions!! sand, no proper heating no proper lighting..disgusting tank..he said when he tries to put in fresh water he puffs up hisses and charges him.. the only time he tries to handle him it is short lived as it puffs up beards at him and wiggles so he puts it back.. I went right in and picked it up zero problems other than it squirmed and puffed, hissed a bit.. never once tried to bite me.. the guy said I can't believe you just picked him up with no problems!! I said well I can tell you why he's soo grumpy with you..he said why? I told him this dragon is very cold.. they had him for 6-8 months they found him abandoned and thought they could take care of it..

On exam of this VERY VERY dirty dragon I could see some color on it but it was sooooo dirty, I could see that it's upper teeth/jaw area had some issues possible mouth rot, I was sure it had some parasites given the poor husbandry.. I couldn't even for sure tell the sex of it because of how dirty it was.. She wanted to rescue it so brought it to my place and gave it it's first bath it took 4 water changes and scrubbing down with dragon wash to find a stunning dragon appear!!! This dragon has beautiful colors and isn't a normal common dragon..I was able to guess female....Vet appt today : Female, likely had mouth rot previously now looks fine other than some deformity of the jaw line the teeth are fine even though they look like they are falling out.. had some minor MBD previously but seems fine there as well.. the only thing this dragon has is some pinworms and a bit dehydrated and a bit skinny.. We were totally shocked!!!
This dragon has not charged, not puffed up...eats from the hand and snuggled up into my friends neck/chin and fell asleep this evening!! She just needed proper heat, proper lighting and TLC!!

Sooooo you need to be informed on how they should look, what to look for...Do plenty of research.. there are positives on babies yet there are positives about adults.. Rescues can be super tough if your not very knowledgeable on them they can be special needs dragons meaning freq vet visits to maintain...Yet you can get lucky like my friend just did she is a sweet dragon they just had ZERO clue how to care for her (they thought it was a boy)

 

[Javier]

thank you so much for that reply!!

that is a story that i would really like to avoid!

I'm really falling for the idea of a baby. I'd have help around the house to do the feedings when I'm not home, So I don't think that would be an issue. I did the math and 1000 crickets run about 25 dollars. If I fed 25 crickets twice a day I'd need about 350 a week give or take. Granted I wouldn't want to feed him only crickets. Here are some pictures of him and his parrents. I love the dad, the leather back!

https://imgur.com/a/GQC4e

https://imgur.com/Xh0AbGK

https://imgur.com/a9NSwMV

[/IMG]

[/IMG] https://imgur.com/k8w7OJx

https://imgur.com/IEoPe5t

 

[Honeybadger]

I got my girl as an adult from someone who never even wanted a bearded dragon, he was originally just watching her for a friend and that ended up being permanent. He had no clue what he was doing, just followed what the pet store told him, which was sand, regular aquarium lights and a diet of only superworms and lettuce. She was 1 year old and only 150 grams when I got her and a dull sandy colour. Now she is 500 grams, bright orange and yellow and the sweetest cuddlebug you can imagine.

My real point with this story is even if a dragon have been mistreated, they can really blossom and get affectionate with the right care. Don't worry about not getting that bond with an adult, it will come sooner than you can ever imagine.

 

[Javier]

I got my girl as an adult from someone who never even wanted a bearded dragon, he was originally just watching her for a friend and that ended up being permanent. He had no clue what he was doing, just followed what the pet store told him, which was sand, regular aquarium lights and a diet of only superworms and lettuce. She was 1 year old and only 150 grams when I got her and a dull sandy colour. Now she is 500 grams, bright orange and yellow and the sweetest cuddlebug you can imagine.

My real point with this story is even if a dragon have been mistreated, they can really blossom and get affectionate with the right care. Don't worry about not getting that bond with an adult, it will come sooner than you can ever imagine.

thank you so much! What a conflict! lol

 

[Hdrydr31]

Yep my friend that got this dragon they have bonded and Mokou is her name now and she is the sweetest dragon!! She cuddles up into my friends neck and falls asleep.. she just needed love and proper care..
So even a rescue has great potential!!

Those are good looking dragons! my 6 week old is a leatherback they are amazing. but be prepared to pay more $ for them. I got lucky and found mine at Petco in the common/normal tank of other babies.

 

[Javier]

Yep my friend that got this dragon they have bonded and Mokou is her name now and she is the sweetest dragon!! She cuddles up into my friends neck and falls asleep.. she just needed love and proper care..
So even a rescue has great potential!!

Those are good looking dragons! my 6 week old is a leatherback they are amazing. but be prepared to pay more $ for them. I got lucky and found mine at Petco in the common/normal tank of other babies.

The owner is asking for 120 for the little guy. Didn't think it was too bad. The thing with the petstore ones is you don't know what the parents look like

 

[PatsyB]

I got two of my dragons from Petstores as babies. They were a lot of work and I went through about 75 crickets a day! Luckily got them a year apart, so they didn't go through the baby phase at the same time.

My third dragon is a little special though, she was rescued as an adult. She is maybe about 4 years old now. She was abandoned in an apartment when her owners moved out. The landlord brought her to Petco in her tank because he didn't know what else to do. She is missing part of her tail and I suspect that she was used for breeding at one time. Even though she went through whatever she went through, she is the sweetest animal. She does have her little issues, she has something we call concerned eyes. She's always looking at something like she's worried about what is going to happen. When I pet her on her head, she doesn't pull away but she also doesn't relax and close her eyes like the other dragons. She's got a thick tail base but she's never gotten fat pads on top of her head even though she is a whopping 619g. She holds most of her fat in her belly.