"I don't consider myself to be an expert but I have successfully bred bearded dragons and raised them this way for at least 4 years. I've actually never had this problem before."



Is there a chance you've been lucky or have had not as healthy but only "getting by" dragons?



"This breeder has been working with reptiles since he was 16 and has a Masters degree in Herpetology. I think he's 45 which would give him over 20 years experiance."



Those are some awesome credentials. Has he had much experience with bearded dragons in particular? A lot of herpetologists wouldn't know the specifics of all reptiles.



"This baby does not have a problem with digestion. If he eats in the morning, he poops it out within 8-10 hours."



Is there a chance the poop is about as nutritious as what it was when it went in? Maybe he's processing the food but at about 50%.



"He climbs, basks on his own...eats vegetables and has been taken to the vet...I'm convinced he's healthy."



Reptiles may seem healthy but part of their defense against natural predators is to mask illness or injury. Most of the time the signs will not show up until the problems have progressed to a high level.



"Clearly I wouldn't believe ever word on this forum to be solid gold since we apparently have people posting that they keep tokays with leopard geckos and frogs in the same 30 gal tank."



Point taken. That's why you spend some time reading the posts and responses and form an opinion on who you should listen to and who you shouldn't. Unfortunately you may not have much time to do that now so you need to take the majority.



"I'm no expert but I highly doubt everyone here has a degree in herpetology. I'll trust someone with 8 years of professional schooling and more than 20 years of experiance over a post ona forum any day."



No offense to those with the education but all of have issues. Is there a chance your friend may be a bit insecure and wants to look like a genius?



"I wonder why people are so hostile in these forums...it makes me kinda edgey...I thought these things were for fun not to vent on other people with decent questions...maybe I was wrong."



People are not trying to be hostile, they simply care about these animals. To have someone ask for help and receive good, proven advice then argue about it or ignore it is going to make people a little edgy.



I'm guessing you will probably not get many more responses to your problem here since everything everyone has already said is basically right on. On that note good luck with your beardie and I truly hope it does not take much more experience to realize you really are not doing the best thing for your beardie.
-----
Rob

[ Show Entire Thread ]