Welcoming Marmaduke, an 8-week old male tangerine bearded dragon, to his new home! As mentioned at the start of the video, we got him from Atomic Lizard Ranch: https://atomiclizardranch.net/
Thanks everyone for the useful tips & feedback in the comments!
I'd also like to address some of the complaints:
1. What's with the "terrible" packaging? -- This way of shipping baby bearded dragons is actually industry standard and has a high survival rate. The way Atomic Lizard Ranch packed him was quite thoughtful: the bag was made of breathable cloth, it was loosely packed with cushioning paper, the styrofoam box had holes poked in it, and he was only in the box for 16 hours. This packaging is a compromise between giving enough room to breathe, but snug enough so that he wouldn't be jostled around too much during shipping. Also, FedEx has an agreement with sellers who use this "LIVE Reptiles2You" packaging to transport them with care. Here's a website with more details on that: http://www.reptiles2you.com/Shipping-Guidelines.aspx
I can almost guarantee that the reptiles sold in pet stores (which obviously had to be shipped from somewhere!!!) were NOT packaged or shipped as carefully as Marmaduke was. Before purchasing Marmaduke, I went to 4 different pet stores in town, including 2 locally owned reptile shops, but NOT ONE of them could tell me anything about the breeders, how far away the dragons came from, what day they were born on, etc. The enclosures were dirty and over-crowded. The staff also had minimal knowledge of proper bearded dragon care. I would much rather directly support an ethical breeder like Atomic Lizard Ranch -- one who can tell me how the parents and babies were raised -- than pay an uninformed pet store for simply being the middle man.
The comments complaining about the packaging are getting REALLY old, people!! I might start deleting any new ones ....
2. Why did you take soooOoOOoOoooOoo long to get him out of the bag? -- Imagine that you had just been shipped in a box through the mail. You're healthy and intact, but probably disoriented and in a bit of shock. Wouldn't you prefer to be handled gently? The little dude was scared, burrowing into the corner of the bag with his claws stuck in to the fabric, didn't want to come out yet. Rather than just yanking him out for the sake of impatient YouTube viewers, I gave him a few minutes to get used to my voice and come around to the idea of me getting him out. And he turned out just fine!!! He was handled sparingly for the first 2 weeks (as is the standard recommendation for newly relocated reptiles) and has turned out to be a perfectly well-adjusted, inquisitive, cuddly, friendly, and adventurous beardie. Watch some of the other videos if you wanna check him out!
Thanks for watching!!!!! 😁
P.S. In case you're concerned, the live plants in the terrarium have been carefully selected as non-toxic to bearded dragons and should be safe if he decides to take a nibble 😃
