cat ate beardie..

thank you to everyone who helped. i don't know how the cats got the metal clips from petco off the top of the cage but apparently either i have to find a new method to lock the top on or keep her in a seperate room. (which i would really prefer to not to have to do.) is there a better locking method for the screen hoods than the bent metal clips? i'm assuming the cats got on the cage and batted them off. or is the only real solution to keep it in a separate room

I would suggest building a better enclosure. Try looking up the 'crossfire' enclosure. It's very popular with bearded dragon owners. I used that design as a base for the four enclosures I built for my beardies. I went with plywood to make it lighter/easier to work with.

I second Virus's suggestion. A front opening enclosure with a lock would be essentially kitty proof and large enough the last the dragon his or her whole life.

Just a thought, but have you considered adopting an adult? A cat would have a hard time eating a full grown beardie, and there are lots of them out there looking for snuggles and love. It totally depends on how far you are willing to go, etc, but there is a store in Acton, MA that has many adult beardies up for adoption for little or nothing. A lot of humane societies and shelters have them too.

I would go with locking professional caging, like with a real lock, one you need to have thumbs to open. Make sure the security of the animal you're getting is up to par before you bring another animal into the house.

Accidents can happen but it's up to the owners to keep their animals all safe from each other.

Professional caging: dragons4you is the manufacturer of the cage that i have.

Or get rid of the cat...can't stand them...

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Originally Posted by womsterr

Or get rid of the cat...can't stand them...

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That's kind of harsh. You can't fault the cat for doing cat things when presented with an opportunity. If you have a multi-animal household you figure out how to keep everyone safe or re-home someone. It's not the cats fault it's a cat and they left a smaller very active lizard where it can see, hear and smell it.

This is coming from someone with 3 cats (one of them a kitten) and (a previous) bearded dragon owner. My dragon was donated to a city program in DC (where 3rd and 4th grade kids learn about reptiles and build them naturalistic environments to live in, it was really nice) because i felt that was a better fit than having him with me.

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Originally Posted by womsterr

Or get rid of the cat...can't stand them...

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I wouldn't expect such comments from snake owners, then again nothing surprises me anymore.