Why question

[cybercat]

Why are Beared Draagons considered a good starter lizard when they are high maintance and special need requirments? I own a Brazilan Rainbow Boa that is not considered a beginner snake due to its special needs of high humidity.
Now BD's have the UVB need and the calcium need that is a must for babies. They also have to be feed everyday more than once. Plus needing a salad on top of live animals. This is high maintaince for many people. The special temperture needs alone put it above beginner.
I am going off a good beginner snake being a rat that requires no special needs for most people. House temps are usually fine except maybe in winter. Feeding is easy for it can be live or dead prey and only fed once a week or maybe twice for a baby.
I just can not see why BD's got listed as good beginner lizard pets. Why is this still allowed even. I have been reading around the net on BD's. It kills me to see so many new owners having no clue to proper care due to petshop misinformation. I know that is alot of the reason, they are considered a good beginner is that pet shops, promote them that way since they are desert lizards.
Me thinks it is time for a National Beared Dragon Club to form to help with this problem.

 

[Jp]

I think that it has less to do with the requirements for care & more to do with their docile nature. I personally don't think that dragons are high maintainence, they require an enclosure with correct temps & a healthy diet.

 

[cybercat]

I wonder why there is no such club????????

 

[Germ]

Isn't that what pretty much every forum is?

 

[cybercat]

yes and no. I mean the forum works in one way but.... Not everyone that owns a dragon from a petstore gets here. It would be great if local petstores gave out forum link but I am sure most do not know of it. Then again if petstores gave correct information on how to care for a BD then it would be better. This is where a National Club help out with correct information packets to have members get out to local stores. Ofcourse what good would that do when it still comes down to the almighty dollar for petstores. Sell Sell Sell.

 

[Fliehigh]

and if petstores gave out proper information they would actually loose revenue.

I.E. Coil UVB bulbs, Calci-Sand, Canned food for reptiles............

 

[Germ]

Then again if petstores gave correct information on how to care for a BD then it would be better. This is where a National Club help out with correct information packets to have members get out to local stores.

I still don't see much difference, Club Members, Registered Forum Members. 6 of one - Half a dozen of the other.

 

[cybercat]

OK back to other question that they are high care. My reasoning behind this is that one they need alot of live food. When mom buys for for a kid they get told feed a few crickets every day. Not feed 30 crickets 2x a day for one year. Then when they start getting sick and hopefully get on here and find out they are like, "I can not afford that". For an adult with good money coming in it is nothing but for others it gets costly fast so corners are cut and health sufers. Now if they were told from the get go, that these are not beginner reptiles and are high maintance, they might not have bought them and therefor saved another misfortunate dragon.

I have been reading all over the net. Anywhere there is a forum on BD. I am seeing tons of these posts. Many saying the same thing, "we were told they were easy and did not eat much, now you telling me what"?????? **** My words not theirs.

If all added up the first year you are looking at over thousand dollars. This includes proper cage and lighting and heat plus all the food. For many new reptile owners this is way more than they expect to get into.

This misnamed beginner pet is really not that. A corn snake is a beginner pet. No special requirments and can be feed once a week. BD is more on level of a regular cat or dog much more care needed. Again this is where some kind of National club comes in with publishing facts and changing petstore policies. Yes, it can happen I have seen it personally.

It is just so sad no one in all these years has done something about it. I live in the middle of no where with not even a petstore close to me. Yet for those that do you just let it keep happening. Strange.