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My stupid, ugly lizard.
I had my eye on a beautiful female leatherback bearded dragon with great genetics! She was around 200$ and I was so ready to buy her. Contacted the breeder and was told that she had been sold just a few hours earlier. Absolutely crushed.
Then the breeder offered up a defect dragon. It was going to be culled due to a genetic fuck-up that caused it to be born without spikes or scales. They're much much much much much more difficult to care for into adulthood, due to their special needs. 20$ adoption fee + shipping.
He was the opposite of what I had wanted.
So naturally, sucker that I am, I adopted him.
He's turning 5 this November.
I love my stupid, ugly lizard. ๐
(here is what a standard one looks like:)
What are the special needs? Cute lizard.
His skin is the issue, mostly. Bearded dragons shed by rubbing themselves on rough surfaces. Due to having no skin protection from scales, he is prone to cuts and scrapes from such surfaces. Cold-blooded animals are notorious for slow healing, which means open wounds heal extremely slow, leaving the animal very prone to infections and further complications. SO, I've sanded down corners, sharp edges, and other things in his enclosure.
He also requires lotion, aloe, and massages to keep his skin / shed healthy. If this is not done, the shed can become stuck on certain appendages, which can lead to loss of blood flow, with can lead to rot/infection, which can lead to required amputation or death. Common stuck shed amputation parts for scaleless beardies are tail tip, all toes, and even eyelids.
So this dude has a better skincare routine than I do, gets weekly massages, gets humidity checks (too little = dried out skin, too much = respiratory infection), has temperature control, special furniture, etc.
Given me more white hairs worrying about him more than anything else in my life, that's for sure!
You're good people.