Grimdog,



I agree with you partially. Bearded Dragons can definitely be bred before 18 months. But I also agree with the idea of giving the advice to wait until 18 months of age. The breeding age for dragons is similar to other "age" rules we have in our society. You are not supposed to drink until your 21. You can't drive a car until you are 16. You are not an adult until you are 18. Now, there are a lot of 17 year olds that think they know everything there is to know, or at least enough to be considered an adult. I remember being 17 and I felt that I had things pretty together. But hindsight is 20/20. Now that I'm older I realize I still had a lot to learn. The point is, there are a lot of keepers out there that look at the research they have done and the skills they have learned and think: I know enough about Bearded Dragons to tell if this dragon is ready to breed. I've only kept dragons for a year now and I would say I feel that way. But I have a feeling if I wait another year and look back at how knowledgeable I was at this moment, I'm going to realize that I had a lot to learn. So basically giving the advice that you can breed dragons at earlier ages if you are an experienced handler does not hold weight in a lot of situations. People may believe they are ready to make that assumption now and then realize they should have waited. There is no harm in waiting. It's like a parent advising their kids about sex. Are there people who had sex at 14 in loving relationships and ended up with a positive life and outlook about sexuality...sure. But there are also people who felt they were ready, went ahead and did something irreversible and later realized they should have waited longer. I'm rambling but I think you see my point.



Anyway, this message is not here to shut you up and I hope you don't feel that way. Your opinions and advice are valuable and I hope you don't leave this forum just because some people disagree with what you say. We all have a lot more to learn than we believe.



Peter

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