This might be seen as ignorant, and it will more than likely be moved to the appropriate section not long from now, but I'm looking to get any advice and tips from any Bearded Dragon owners. I'm submitting this in the Ball Python section because it is the most often visited section, and I don't own a computer. My boyfriend and I are probably going to make the decision to take the old guy in quite soon.

A friend of mine decided he no longer has the time for his male Beardie, Spike (Hahah, original, right?), and he's offering him to us, everything included, for a decent price. He's not young, I know that - 5 years old, I think. He has a calcium deficiency, so he never got very big.

I have already read through the caresheet for Beardies very thoroughly and have written down everything I'll need to remember. "No wild caught bugs, avoid citrus, no loose substrate", and a lot more. I'd just love to hear any tips or immediate concerns there might be from BD owners. I take a lot of care and consideration into my animals, so I want to know EVERYthing before even thinking of picking him up.

So far as I know, my friend has already committed several big BD no-no's. He has very fine sand for substrate, plus a couple heat rocks (which I will throw away, if I do take him in). He does, however, have a florescent UV bulb, and a 100 watt infrared heat bulb. The tank is custom made, but at least 4 feet long, I remember that. There is no screen top to go with it, and that's how he's always had it. He says Spike will crawl to the top of the tank and sit at the edge, but won't go anywhere. This worries me, since he will be in a new home and might do something unexpected, like fall off the edge and get lost.


Sorry for such a looooong post, and I hope this won't be moved too quickly before I can get some viable advice. Thank you so much, everybody, for any input!