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My stupid, ugly lizard.
I had my eye on a beautiful female leatherback bearded dragon with great genetics! She was around 200$ and I was so ready to buy her. Contacted the breeder and was told that she had been sold just a few hours earlier. Absolutely crushed.
Then the breeder offered up a defect dragon. It was going to be culled due to a genetic fuck-up that caused it to be born without spikes or scales. They're much much much much much more difficult to care for into adulthood, due to their special needs. 20$ adoption fee + shipping.
He was the opposite of what I had wanted.
So naturally, sucker that I am, I adopted him.
He's turning 5 this November.
I love my stupid, ugly lizard. đź’•
(here is what a standard one looks like:)
omg a beardless beardie
You and your lizard are awesome. He looks like a little alien—I'm glad E.T. found home.
You just made me well up. People can be so good.
He's beautiful. So smooth and cuddly.
wHaT aRe yOu lOokIng aT sMoOth SkIn?
He's so ugly it's cute
He certainly has his charm, that's for sure!
Now I want a lizard
As long as you get one with scales, I'd highly recommend it! They do require at least a 75 gallon habitat, though. Ideally 120 gallons! Also, ideally a front-opening one (they get spooked if you come at them from above).
Also will need a heat lamp and a long UVB fixture that spans at least 1/3 of the habitat.
Oh, and they eat insects & greens. Babies eat 80/20 bugs & greens, but transition to 20/80 bugs & greens as adults. Crickets or dubia roaches are the best insect staples!
My dragon is around the size of my forearm, but they won't get much bigger than your entire arm.
As babies, they are very skittish / energetic, but as adults, they are pretty mellow. If you'd like a smaller, chill cuddle-buddy to just hang out with, a dragon is for you!
I am just considering my options of low maintenance pets. This seems like a fairly decent option.
Definitely adopt an adult! Just be aware of their lighting, space, and food requirements. Many are essentially friendly pet rocks that simply enjoy hanging out & looking cool. (:
Looks a bit like the ghoul from the fallout show, in the best possible sense! You're so kind to take care of him, sometimes I gain hope for humanity ❤️
What are the special needs? Cute lizard.
His skin is the issue, mostly. Bearded dragons shed by rubbing themselves on rough surfaces. Due to having no skin protection from scales, he is prone to cuts and scrapes from such surfaces. Cold-blooded animals are notorious for slow healing, which means open wounds heal extremely slow, leaving the animal very prone to infections and further complications. SO, I've sanded down corners, sharp edges, and other things in his enclosure.
He also requires lotion, aloe, and massages to keep his skin / shed healthy. If this is not done, the shed can become stuck on certain appendages, which can lead to loss of blood flow, with can lead to rot/infection, which can lead to required amputation or death. Common stuck shed amputation parts for scaleless beardies are tail tip, all toes, and even eyelids.
So this dude has a better skincare routine than I do, gets weekly massages, gets humidity checks (too little = dried out skin, too much = respiratory infection), has temperature control, special furniture, etc.
Given me more white hairs worrying about him more than anything else in my life, that's for sure!
You're good people.
What is his name, if you don't mind?
His name is PÄ…czki! Pronounced like "Poonch-key". (native Polish speakers, please do not come for me lol)
That's cute, I like it
My answer is very similar to this. I talk about it a lot, I was around eight years old when I just supposed to "take care" of my pup whose canid species is only semi-legal here, but it turned into full blown pethood. She passed away and I currently have a granddaughter. I wouldn't trade her for anything.
I want to squize those little arms!
đź’Ş