should i get a baby or an adult bearded dragon?

Question

I i want to get a bearded dragon, which is the best for me to get, a baby or adult? i want them to feel comfortable at being handled everyday.

Answer 1

Definitly a baby. That way you can hold it from the get go and get it use to being held so you can continue on holding it. If you get an adult and it's never been handled or not often, you may never be able to get it to let you handle it. And besides you can enjoy them longer too.

Answer 2

From a monetary stand point, an adult off the bat is cheaper. They eat less live feeders (crickets, etc...) and more salad which is much cheaper in the long run then bugs. The problems you run into however are past owners/care. You dont know if the beardie was socialized or not, so it could have aggression issues, that wont always be the case however, it is possible you could find a nice adult dragon. As far as age goes adult dragons usually are more expensive, running maybe $30 or $40 more then a baby.

Baby's are great because you get to see them go through the diffrent stages of their development. When my beardie was young he arm waved constantly, even at his food. Now all he does is head bob his reflection in mirrors aggresively. Food costs for younger dragons however is significantly more, healthy baby dragons can eat 50-100 crickets A DAY. There are several sites out there though where you can order 1000 crickets for around 20 bucks, or you can even try breeding your own.

A baby would be easier to socialize since it hasnt had any real past experiences yet with people. They can run as low as $40 to as high as $120 for a "morph" with lots of coloring to it. You'll need a 40 gallon breeder tank for the minimum space requirement, and this can be a bit dramatic for a small dragon, but sectioning the tank off will take care of that problem.

When I made the choice I went with a baby dragon :D Dont really regret it at all.

Answer 3

although it's not one of your choices you gave us I would get a juvinile or sub adult about 3 to 4 months old its kind of the best of both worlds you know pretty much the health by appearance only of course you can check activity. almost all babies are pretty active but may show defects later in life. also still fairly small around 9 to 11 inches tail included. they are also not too bulked up yet. you have a pretty good chance of getting the sex correct. established diet dont heve to worry about getting the correct size of crickets. sometimes you ask for small and they give you pin heads all our petco has is pins or large. either way you go I have never seen a mean or poor acting beardie. that doesnt mean they are not out there but less likely than some other lizards or dragons. I have 2 males and 1 female its very obvious which male is more dominant he is the only one who bobs his head the other two float their heads back and wave and he is cool with that. we call him benny the bully he never lets any one else headbob.

Answer 4

If I were you, I would start out with a baby.

With reptiles...just as with most animals....the younger that you can get them, the better.

When they are young, they have not quite developed any habbits yet, and still have the ability to be trained by any potential owner.
With the older ones, they have already adapted to certain things, and have become set in their ways as far as how they will behave and act.

i recomend getting a baby. That way then, it can get to know you more, and you can teach it pretty much how you want it to be as its growing up. Besides, it will allow you more time with you new friend! :-)

Answer 5

I'd go young, but not a baby - up to about 6" long, they're very difficult to feed properly (see warnings in the websites below). If this is your first, I'd get one about 7-8" long. It's not an adult yet, and you'll have plenty of time to hand tame him and enjoy his company.

http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html
http://www.dragons4you.net/Caresheet.htm

Answer 6

Then i would get a baby, they are cheaper and you can get them used to being handled... if you get an adult there is no guarantee that anyone held it... Good luck!! Bearded dragons are awesome! My husband had one and we named him Merlin =)

Answer 7

You should adopt one you can get a baby or an adult both will make great pets.

Answer 8

Always go for babies because then your purchase is well worth the cost. Their cheaper then. Your actions directly shape their future interaction.

Answer 9

baby

Answer 10

a baby would be better. they will be easier to tame than an adukt who hasnt been handled often