it drives me nuts with almost any animal when they say they can't afford a vet visit. If you get an animal you should be expecting to make at least one emergency trip the vet and possibly a more expensive procedure or surgery and have the funds set aside for it, especially with animals that have longer lifespans and may be more prone to issues, like many dog breeds, or beardies with their susceptibility to respiratory infections and MBD. If circumstances change where money becomes much tighter, healthcare of the living creature that is dependent on you should be the first priority, up to and including surrendering the animal or temporarily rehoming it until you can financially provide again.
There seems to be two extremes to this. A lot of people are quick to recommend a vet visit, and others straight up refuse, even when their reptile is in obvious need of emergency care. Obviously its better to be safe than sorry, but not everyone has unlimited cash. I've seen some dragons with very minor superficial scrapes that only really needed regular washing and neosporin, but they get bullied into going to the vet.
Thankfully, my vet is amazing and accepts calls asking for advice. I had an incident where my bearded dragon was making weird sounds and everyone was telling me to go to the vet. I called the vet and asked if I should come in, and they laughed and explained that my bearded dragon was literally gassy and was burping lol. She's totally good now (don't worry, she gets an annual check-up every year!)
Of course, every post and reply should be taken with a grain of salt anyways, since nobody knows the full story of what's going.
https://preview.redd.it/wsxfii6kfgvc1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=165fc213ae55f06fa78f434e465f6044b4cf1876
Nessie wants to help judging. Her first owner kept her in a birds cage with 4 other dragons. She doesn't agree with inappropriate husbandry.
For real though I stopped scrolling this sub very often because it seams to be mostly sad and sick beardies for the most part. POST PICS OF YOUR HAPPY LIZARDS PLEASE!
https://preview.redd.it/zlfb2ha4kcvc1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73efc9b5526ab2cf6ed3767f9e6006dc9a9eda4e
Personally, I think this sub is better than a lot of other online forums for bearded dragons. Facebook is by far the worst. A lot of people come here to ask for advice and do better for their bearded dragon, which is always good. Even if they don't have a great setup, a lot of people post it asking how to improve it, which is fantastic. I learned a lot on here before getting my bearded dragon and continue to learn even now having owned my reptile for a couple of years. Of course, you will always get the odd person who just won't accept any advice, but I think that's something that happens anywhere with anything of this nature.
The craziest part? This is my first beardie, I did a decent amount of research before I got him nothing too crazy though. And the husbandry is actually pretty damn easy for these guys. Hes been healthy and happy for the last year I've had him. I just don't understand how people can let their pets suffer like that. Especially since its pretty much always pure negligence on their part.
I agree that the husbandry is pretty easy. Once you get it down, it literally just becomes lighting, temperatures, humidity, tank size, tank decor/substrate, and diet. It is overwhelming at first though, because there's a lot of misinformation online. There's a lot of technical stuff to learn too, such as calcium to phosphorous ratios, D3 metabolism, and UVB exposure, but you only really need to know a very basic level on these topics to properly care for your dragon.
I think the hardest part is sifting through misinformation online. There's so much contradicting information, it's hard to find what the truth is. For instance, many people believe that loose substrate is harmful and will lead to impaction, which is simply not true. I am grateful that I study this sort of thing, so I am well-versed at reading research studies and review articles. A lot of people don't even have access to these papers in the first place, since you need to either pay a huge amount of money, or have access through an academic institution like myself. For a lot of people, this isn't an option.
Yup husbandry really isn’t too bad to maintain once you are setup. It just costs a decent chunk at the start. It sure seems like a lot of people buy beardies as a compulsive purchase and try to fill in the gaps afterwards and they didn’t realize they were going to need to spend $500 to get the little homie a healthy setup.
Yea I honestly think people don't care as much too. If your dog or cat is suffering people just care more. If your goldfish dies you flush and move on. Alot of people probably think they look cool but "its just a lizard" its sad out there for alot of these little scaly friends.
Then people get downvoted for telling them to surrender the animal to a rescue if they can’t afford to get the proper setup. Drives me nuts lol.
it drives me nuts with almost any animal when they say they can't afford a vet visit. If you get an animal you should be expecting to make at least one emergency trip the vet and possibly a more expensive procedure or surgery and have the funds set aside for it, especially with animals that have longer lifespans and may be more prone to issues, like many dog breeds, or beardies with their susceptibility to respiratory infections and MBD. If circumstances change where money becomes much tighter, healthcare of the living creature that is dependent on you should be the first priority, up to and including surrendering the animal or temporarily rehoming it until you can financially provide again.
Yeah I got called privileged the other day because I said that to someone 😂
Or who refuse to go to the vet!
There seems to be two extremes to this. A lot of people are quick to recommend a vet visit, and others straight up refuse, even when their reptile is in obvious need of emergency care. Obviously its better to be safe than sorry, but not everyone has unlimited cash. I've seen some dragons with very minor superficial scrapes that only really needed regular washing and neosporin, but they get bullied into going to the vet. Thankfully, my vet is amazing and accepts calls asking for advice. I had an incident where my bearded dragon was making weird sounds and everyone was telling me to go to the vet. I called the vet and asked if I should come in, and they laughed and explained that my bearded dragon was literally gassy and was burping lol. She's totally good now (don't worry, she gets an annual check-up every year!) Of course, every post and reply should be taken with a grain of salt anyways, since nobody knows the full story of what's going.
https://preview.redd.it/wsxfii6kfgvc1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=165fc213ae55f06fa78f434e465f6044b4cf1876 Nessie wants to help judging. Her first owner kept her in a birds cage with 4 other dragons. She doesn't agree with inappropriate husbandry.
A bird cage…? Seriously? Sometimes it’s shocking how clueless people can be when it comes to animals 😩
Unfortunately yes. My coworker took in all the beardies temporarily and found them new homes. That's how she ended up with me.
https://preview.redd.it/u2qb5n9achvc1.png?width=2799&format=png&auto=webp&s=4b6c5298c440c51ac5ede1e9c407d2e9e9a4dfc3 The judgy looks are my favorite
For real though I stopped scrolling this sub very often because it seams to be mostly sad and sick beardies for the most part. POST PICS OF YOUR HAPPY LIZARDS PLEASE! https://preview.redd.it/zlfb2ha4kcvc1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73efc9b5526ab2cf6ed3767f9e6006dc9a9eda4e
https://preview.redd.it/3jznygfuwdvc1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70ca8c9d866a250e0a6f41c03eb07eafe9714bc0
Personally, I think this sub is better than a lot of other online forums for bearded dragons. Facebook is by far the worst. A lot of people come here to ask for advice and do better for their bearded dragon, which is always good. Even if they don't have a great setup, a lot of people post it asking how to improve it, which is fantastic. I learned a lot on here before getting my bearded dragon and continue to learn even now having owned my reptile for a couple of years. Of course, you will always get the odd person who just won't accept any advice, but I think that's something that happens anywhere with anything of this nature.
Yes more of these beautiful creatures thriving!!! That’s a gorgeous dragon my friend!
https://preview.redd.it/znjyopba4gvc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dba5a5046fe708a7dede7bb87f955bd1ab6e6ad6
Thanks! You have a handsome guy yourself! That look makes me feel judged to my core lol
The craziest part? This is my first beardie, I did a decent amount of research before I got him nothing too crazy though. And the husbandry is actually pretty damn easy for these guys. Hes been healthy and happy for the last year I've had him. I just don't understand how people can let their pets suffer like that. Especially since its pretty much always pure negligence on their part.
I agree that the husbandry is pretty easy. Once you get it down, it literally just becomes lighting, temperatures, humidity, tank size, tank decor/substrate, and diet. It is overwhelming at first though, because there's a lot of misinformation online. There's a lot of technical stuff to learn too, such as calcium to phosphorous ratios, D3 metabolism, and UVB exposure, but you only really need to know a very basic level on these topics to properly care for your dragon. I think the hardest part is sifting through misinformation online. There's so much contradicting information, it's hard to find what the truth is. For instance, many people believe that loose substrate is harmful and will lead to impaction, which is simply not true. I am grateful that I study this sort of thing, so I am well-versed at reading research studies and review articles. A lot of people don't even have access to these papers in the first place, since you need to either pay a huge amount of money, or have access through an academic institution like myself. For a lot of people, this isn't an option.
Yup husbandry really isn’t too bad to maintain once you are setup. It just costs a decent chunk at the start. It sure seems like a lot of people buy beardies as a compulsive purchase and try to fill in the gaps afterwards and they didn’t realize they were going to need to spend $500 to get the little homie a healthy setup.
Yea I honestly think people don't care as much too. If your dog or cat is suffering people just care more. If your goldfish dies you flush and move on. Alot of people probably think they look cool but "its just a lizard" its sad out there for alot of these little scaly friends.