[Mom2BabyNatalie]

Hi Amie,

We have a female Beardie... she's been a great friend to my 11 year old son!!

We're lucky, in that when we got her, she had already been very well socialized as a baby and loved to be handled! Some of them can have pretty nasty temperaments and don't like being touched at all....

I would suggest a very well socialized dragon... 8 months or older.... to start with a young child.... this, vs. a young baby (like you'd get at PetSmart for example) will give you a more successful start, (especially if you'd never had dragons before) since keeping those little ones alive can be difficult.... the habitat and diet need to be PERFECT when they're tiny - - and I've been told that it can be very tough with them.

Our Beardie is really easy to care for... we have her in a 60 gallon aquarium with a managerie of the required lights, accessories, heat rocks, water trough, thermometers, misting tubes, etc.

She is very content in her environment as Bearded Dragons as a rule, are "loners" and don't care to socialize with others - even their own kind...

They do, however (well most) thrive on human contact and our girl just loves watching everything we do.... rides on our shoulders... walks on a leash, etc. She's very sweet.

The biggest thing to remember with dragons is that they carry Salmonella so hand-washing rituals after caring for, cleaning or handling your dragon is essential.

Here are some links for some great dragon info to help you decide if this type of little creature is right for your family!

Here are a few photos of our girl as well... she is about 2 years old and is 14" long...

Good luck!

Bearded Dragon . org

Frequently Asked Questions - Dachiu

Beautiful Dragons