My Favourite Pet
By Cameron Wycherley

They have sharp claws; they have rough, scaly skin, and have spines all over their body, yet they are still so cute! Pogona Henrylawsoni or otherwise commonly known as the pygmy bearded dragon are one of the smaller species of the native Australian bearded dragons, commonly attaining lengths of only 10 inches. These little dragons were first formally described in 1985, but had been known to herpetologists for many years before hand. But enough about the boring stuff; you all want to hear why they would have to be my favorite pet.

Reptiles have been an ongoing hobby in my family; with my Dad breeding snakes since before I was born. I was in love with his snakes all through my childhood, but I had never had any interaction with dragons or any other type of lizard for that matter apart from those we found around our yard. Then one dark and stormy evening, this all changed… well, maybe it wasn’t very dark and scary. In fact as I remember, it was a beautiful day, but more to the point things did change. We were visiting one of Dad’s mates, another keen reptile enthusiast, for a family BBQ.

For the first time there I had seen my first dragon, a large inland bearded dragon. Just one of many that were all living in this big,
beautiful aviary. It had a small running pond, plants, and a variety of lizards living in one big community. I was hooked from that moment, and in desperate need for my own dragon. Then on my 11th birthday my Dad finally bought me a large female inland bearded dragon. From there, my interest grew further, leading me to get more lizards, all of different types, including water dragons, blue tongue lizards, and other bardies. Then over 5 years later from my first dragon, I purchased two tiny, 3 week old pygmy bearded dragons.

They are so interesting to watch, whether it be watching them at feeding time running, jumping and performing defying acrobatics in order to catch crickets, or to just simply watch them sit there quietly and mind their own business.

Out of all my pets, these two little dragons are the only ones that I can physically interact with meaning that I can connect to them more. My two snakes bite, my tarantulas will bite, my scorpion will sting me, and my centipedes… I don’t even want to think what those guys will do, so that makes it more difficult to have a relationship with them. Yet these two are happy to just sit in your hands, or happy to sit on your shoulder, or happy to just sit on your lap, watching on as you sit at your computer typing up as to why these little dragons are your favourite pet.