Cher the Bearded Dragon

So last week a coworker of mine asked me if I could take her pet bearded dragon, because between work, school, and her other pets she did not have time for it anymore. After consulting with the wife, I agreed, because I've wanted a bearded dragon for a long time.

We took her home on Thursday. She's a bit small for a beardie, probably fifteen or so inches, but she's a voracious eater and completely tame. Ziyal, my old green iguana, kind of put my wife off lizards a bit since she was always very hostile to anyone not-me, but Cher, as my wife named her, calmly allows herself to be held, carried, petted, etc, as well as hand fed.

She lives in a well appointed forty gallon (36"x18"). Ideally eventually I'd like to upgrade to at least a 125 gallon (72"x18") and get her a tank mate, but that will have to wait until we can afford it. For now she seems quite happy, and she loves the crickets, superworms, pinkie mice, escarole, dandelion greens, yam, strawberries, rose petals, and other odds and ends from the garden we've been feeding her.

I'm considering ordering some silkworms, tomato hornworms, and butterworms online to feed her with. The butterworms would make a healthy supplement that keeps well in the fridge, whereas the silkworms and tomato hornworms are both super healthy but difficult to culture. I doubt I will really want to maintain a silkworm or hornworm population in the house, but ordering them on occasion for a treat is more doable. Although it is tempting to try to see how difficult it is to raise silkworms for silk, I doubt it can be at all profitable without a mulberry orchard to harvest from.