quote:

Originally posted by Intangible I agree with you. My brother loved him as a baby.. he was more active and such. But as he got older and fatter he does nothing, and the novelty has completely worn off. I feel bad for the thing, it just sits in the basement all day by himself. But some people like low maintenance pets. I have a tortoise. He doesn't do much. I take him out and let him walk around sometimes, but thats about it. I like it. I would LOVE to have a dog, but due to lifestyle/apartment/money I cant... so for now I am happy just to have a pet.

get a 50 gallon tank and fill it with piranhas. those fish are fun.

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Lisa you got seriously ripped off if you paid a grand for lighting! I just re did all the bulbs in my set up (2x 4 feet uva/uvb bulbs and mercury vapour bulb) for under $150.
I had two bearded dragons and one died about 1.5 years ago. since the other one died the older one has gotten a lot more depressed.
Intangible- The reason you feel bad for the one sitting in the basement is because they aren't supposed to sit in your basement all by themselves. They are social creatures that love and need a bright atmosphere. Even if they have lots of UV in the tank, the outside area should be bright as well otherwise they aren't going to be convinced. They need interaction. If I take mine out and let him crawl/run around on the floor or rest on shoulder watching TV then the next 3-4 days you can see the difference in appetite and mood. The eyes are more attentive if they think they have a reason to live. When I've left for a few months and just had someone feed it then I get back and need to give it an hour a day or so of attention (by attention i mean take it out of the tank and be in the same room as it)

As for the crickets, yeah I agree that is the worst part. Try bringing a gf home and her hearing the chirping coming from the blue bin in the corner or from the one F%@king cricket that the dragon didn't catch that is sitting under the rock in the tank all night. In college it drove me nuts sometimes. Now that I'm in a bigger place he is in the other room and since he's old and fat, he doesn't really ever eat crickets anymore anyway. now its just superworms from his dish and mixed veggies once every two or three days.
Really if you want a pet they aren't bad. A dog would be wayyyyyy more work and way more expensive if you had vet bills and meds and even just the cost of food!
My set up cost me a few hundred to get set up but now I probably pay about $60-70 a year in maintenance. good luck finding another pet that will sit on your lap and watch TV for that kind of price.

If you leave a lot on weekends that's fine. I usually just dump a bunch of worms into the bowl and leave a fresh batch of veggies. if we're talking a week or more just get someone to come in a drop more worms and pre cut veggies into the bowls.... a dog would be way more effort for your friend that has to go and walk the thing and pick up its crap.

For the record I love dogs and cats but honestly a bearded dragon isn't really that hard to take care of if you know what you're doing.
any other questions just pm me. I've had beardies for almost 8 years now.

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Dave (aka: Upgrade- live pa)

quote:

Originally posted by Lightshow i wear sunglasses for the same reason everybody wears them in a club. 1: people look cool in sunglasses 2: it gets awefully bright as the night progresses

*nusty does not wear sunglasses at night, they make it hard to see and you could trip

Dragons make great entry-level reptiles!

You need to have at least a 50G tank to allow them room to grow. Ideally, you need to have more than one as they are very social, and you need to handle and play with your dragon frequently.

I know a breeder who has babies going for about $20 (if you're in Toronto), I can put you in touch with him if you're still interested.

Reptilia is a great place for information and just cool to walk around.

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I have 2 full-grown piranhas in an 80G tank, they are amazing pets!!

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"Hey look, I can make a heart-shape with my hands!!!" So Fucking what? Stop it. You're a douche.

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quote:

Originally posted by Dr. DAS I have 2 full-grown piranhas in an 80G tank, they are amazing pets!!

yeah im thinking about settig up another piranha tank. i havent owned fish in over a decade.

big al's ftw

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quote:

Originally posted by Dr. DAS Dragons make great entry-level reptiles! You need to have at least a 50G tank to allow them room to grow. Ideally, you need to have more than one as they are very social, and you need to handle and play with your dragon frequently.

It's recommended to grow the size of the tank as the beardies grow.

I started with a 35 gallon tank for my two as babies until they were about 6-7 months old. If you get them too big a tank to start they can get lost and not find their heat spot light or food supplies as easily. You def want to give them plenty of room but I personally would not put two babies in a 50G tank and two adults would need at least a 65G at full size anyway so the 50 wouldn't be your only purchase... from a $ point as well it just makes sense that if you know you will need two tanks, then buy a cheaper smaller one to start and then the end all full sized one when they are ready for it. Just make sure the tanks are big enough to have two different temperatures. you want one end for basking and one end for cooling phases of thermo regulation.

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Dave (aka: Upgrade- live pa)

quote:

Originally posted by Lightshow i wear sunglasses for the same reason everybody wears them in a club. 1: people look cool in sunglasses 2: it gets awefully bright as the night progresses

*nusty does not wear sunglasses at night, they make it hard to see and you could trip

quote:

Originally posted by chinamon yeah im thinking about settig up another piranha tank. i havent owned fish in over a decade. big al's ftw

FTW!

I started with 5 of them in a 30G tank, each the size of a toonie. They killed one, leaving 4 to transfer to an 80G tank when they were about the size of a fist.
Two have died of age (they're pushing 5 years!!!) and now there's two of them, fully grown and with spectacular colour - each about 7" long and 1.5" in girth (across the belly). The alpha is a little bigger and a little brighter in colour.

I feed them live goldfish from quarantine, with bloodworm and krill as supplements. The bloodworm does wonders for thier colour. I have also fed them nightcrawlers, live fuzzy mice and any tropical fish I wanted to clear out of my other tank.

Great fish to keep, great fish to watch. They hunt in teams like wolves. You can see them watching you and you just know they're trying to figure you out.

A little bit specific about water conditions, but as long as you do some basic maintenance, they are hardy and easy to keep fish.

Here's my boys:

The Alpha
http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=600944&id=502719037#/photo.php?pid=600955&id=502719037

The terrible twosome
http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=600944&id=502719037#/photo.php?pid=600951&id=502719037

___________________
If you can't be good, be careful.

"Hey look, I can make a heart-shape with my hands!!!" So Fucking what? Stop it. You're a douche.

When life gives you lemons, squirt the juice in the eyes of your enemies.

Last edited by Dr. DAS on Sep-25-2008 at 20:05

quote:

Originally posted by *~LiSa-LoO~* They're boring as hell and useless as pets. A lot of money to waste (and continue to waste as you feed and take care of it) for something you look at while it sits.

hahah

pff no pics?... cya

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www.djaleksandra.com

quote:

Originally posted by nusty Lisa you got seriously ripped off if you paid a grand for lighting! I just re did all the bulbs in my set up (2x 4 feet uva/uvb bulbs and mercury vapour bulb) for under $150.

I didn't actually pay that much...sorry I should have clarified. When I had my iguana he got sick at one point and a lump formed on his head that he had to get removed. The vet told me it was b/c the lighting and heating wasn't sufficient enough and told us what we had to get. We had a decent size tank and had to get a black light and a white light. We went to Pet Smart and those types of places and the lights were $100 or something, but we had to change them both every month or so. So in the long run it would have cost a ton of money to keep replacing them. We got the bulbs, but then after a little while my iguana was starting to get sick again with the same problem, b/c the we needed more or new lights (can't remember) and we hadn't had the others for very long. So rather than pay all the money, we gave him to this tropical garden place near Windsor that houses these types of animals b/c they could provide him with better care.

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I gave in and got one today. A friend took care of all the work and is on the way here to drop it off. Thanks for all the insight guys. 50 gal tank by the way.

quote:

Originally posted by chinamon yeah im thinking about settig up another piranha tank. i havent owned fish in over a decade. big al's ftw

I used to have them too for a number of years. Fed goldfish in the winter, and worms and other shit in the summer. They eat anything that wiggles in the water.

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Short time TA, Long time Guver, Good time giver.