How to Pick the Best Bearded Dragon

You can either get a bearded dragon from a local pet store or from a breeder. It's not uncommon for breeders to have the healthiest dragons because their bearded dragons have been raised in the same environment around the same dragons. This means there is a less of a chance of their dragons being stressed, sick, or injured from rival dragons.

However, you can still get very healthy bearded dragons from local pet stores as well. Just follow the steps below to make sure the bearded dragon is healthy before you buy it.

There are a couple of easy ways you can tell how healthy a dragon is before you buy it. The first way is to see how alert and active it is. A healthy dragon will not be lethargic and will keep it's head lifted and most dragons will be alert enough to notice you approaching them.

You should also look at their body for the following things:

• Make sure they don't have any visible injuries (scars, burns, etc.)
• If you do see an injury, make sure it appears to be healing and is not infected
• Make sure their eyes are not runny and there is no signs of puss or inflammation on their face

It is important that you make sure the bearded dragon is not missing any body parts. Bearded dragons do not regrow their tails, toes, or limbs. So if your bearded dragon is missing something, it will not grow back. With this being said it is not unusual for a beardie to be missing a few toes or the very end of it's tail (many times bearded dragons will fight over females and minor injuries like this occur).

So, should you get a younger or a more mature bearded dragon? Well, if this is your first bearded dragon, then you will probably want to get a fully grown (or close to fully grown bearded dragon) to start.

This is because younger dragons are very fragile and can easily get sick, injured, or worse if you are not experienced with handling them. A good way to tell the maturity level of a bearded dragon is how long they are. If they are over 10 inches in length, they are mature, if they are smaller than 10 inches in length then they are juveniles.