Martin Geary and Lesley Donnelly, of Bridgwater, banned from keeping exotic animals

Calls were made to the RSPCA to investigate after bearded dragons advertised on animal selling sites by Martin Geary, 31, and Lesley Donnelly, 25, caused concern.

The couple, of Poplar Road, Bridgwater, were sentenced at North Somerset Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to animal welfare offences, following a prosecution by the RSPCA.

Concerns were raised after bearded dragons being sold by the couple caught the attention of an exotic animal rescuer, who contacted the animal charity voicing animal welfare fears.

Inspector Jo Daniel, who investigated the case, visited the couple’s home, where she discovered three bearded dragons.

She said: “I was shocked when Donnelly moved a bookcase that was leaning on what I thought was a disused tank on the floor to see that this was where the bearded dragons were being housed.

“The vivarium was dirty with a smashed area of glass in the bottom right corner.

"I could see a lizard’s leg protruding through this hole. There were three bearded dragons in the vivarium. All appeared very quiet and subdued.

"The largest was the one with its foot protruding, who I was advised was called Chubby.

"It was immediately apparent that he was emaciated and he also had grossly swollen eyes, in particular the right.

"The second was a juvenile female and was the smallest of the three with smaller darker spines.

"This bearded dragon was also emaciated with the spine and pelvis prominent and a damaged tail.

"The last bearded dragon, a juvenile male, was slightly bigger and had white spines and was also emaciated with spine and pelvis prominent and a tail injury.

"An exotic animal vet who examined the bearded dragons concluded that they were kept in inappropriate conditions resulting in stress, suffering, and illness.

"The broken glazing put them at risk of injury. The inappropriate feeding resulted in malnutrition, stress and illness, and the poor sanitary conditions resulted in parasitic disease which in turn resulted in illness."

Chubby had to be put down due to the severity of his condition caused by the couple’s neglect.

The other two bearded dragons were taken to an RSPCA animal rescue centre, where they were housed in a vivarium with appropriate heat and UV light, food and water and their condition began to improve. They have since been rehomed with experienced owners.

Alongside the ban, which cannot be appealed for five years, Geary and Donnelly were given a six-month curfew order, being ordered to stay at home between 8pm and 7am daily.

There were each also ordered to pay £600 costs and a £90 victim surcharge.