Struggling with a Mischievous Pet Lizard: A Dilemma of Friendship

A 28-year-old woman agreed to watch her friend’s bearded dragon, Rex, for a weekend, and it sounded harmless. Spoiler: Rex immediately treated the apartment like a personal theme park, with escape attempts, knocked-over stuff, scratched furniture, and those tiny “surprises” that no one asked for.

The real mess is the friendship part. OP is living with Sarah, 27, who’s been having a rough time, so OP didn’t want to make things harder. But once Sarah left, OP spent hours chasing Rex, cleaning up, and scrambling to keep the chaos from getting worse, then called Sarah to explain it was no longer just “playful.”

Now Sarah wants to extend her trip, and OP is stuck wondering if refusing to keep babysitting Rex will blow up everything.

Original Post

So I'm (28F) living in a cozy apartment with my close friend, Sarah (27F), and her adventurous pet bearded dragon, Rex. For context, Sarah has been going through a tough time lately, so she recently asked me to look after Rex for a weekend while she goes on a much-needed getaway.

I agreed, thinking it would be a fun experience. However, as soon as Sarah left, Rex turned into a little troublemaker.

He escaped from his tank multiple times, knocking things over, scratching furniture, and even leaving tiny surprises around the apartment. I spent hours chasing Rex, cleaning up after his escapades, and trying to prevent more chaos.

After a particularly exhausting day, I called Sarah to express my concerns about Rex's behavior and how it was impacting my peace at home. I suggested alternatives like finding a pet sitter or adjusting his tank setup.

Sarah got defensive, insisting I was overreacting and that Rex was just being playful. Now, Sarah wants to extend her trip, leaving me alone with Rex for an additional week.

I feel overwhelmed and frustrated by the situation. I value our friendship but can't handle the stress of dealing with Rex's antics while also managing work and personal life.

So, given the circumstances, WIBTA if I refused to continue babysitting Rex and asked Sarah to make other arrangements?

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This is similar to a partner’s misbehaving lizard babysitting meltdown while he’s away.

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When OP found Rex out of his tank again and again, it stopped feeling like a weekend favor and started feeling like a full-time cleanup shift.

That’s when OP called Sarah to say the “playful” behavior was wrecking her peace, and Sarah got defensive instead of listening.

After Rex’s latest escape and OP trying to adjust the tank setup, Sarah’s plan to stay gone another week lands like a slap.

With OP balancing work and life while Rex keeps testing every boundary in the apartment, the real question becomes whether Sarah has any other option besides OP.

What do you think about this situation? Let us know in the comments.

Rex might be cute, but OP shouldn’t have to pay in stress for Sarah’s extended getaway.

Not sure you can handle Rex’s tank escapes? See how someone faced a snake-pet-sitting refusal.