Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i asked a while ago but didnt get to many responces so i will ask again, is any one keeping males and females together in the same enclosure?
Thorn is about 10 mounths and Liela is about 8, there is a size difference but so far i have not had any domination issues
are there triggers for sexual activity that i can avoid or will he just get the urge, I do hope to breed them later on when they are older and im better equiped to handle babies till i find them homes but i dont want it to happen to soon, i also dont want my female, Liela getting to much stress
what are your thoughts?
thanks
Tony

Please don't. You may not be able to see the effects, or the acts, of his dominance, but she will definately feel it. The only time they should be kept together is in 'harems', so that the males dominance is spread out over several females, but many people question the quality of this breeding technique, and a HUUUGE enclosure with SEVERAL basking/hides/logs etc needed.

It's much simpler, cheaper, and better on the female to keep separate.

I'll slightly disagree with what some people will tell you, and say that you can keep male and female together successfully, but only in a large enclosure, where there are plenty of hiding spaces, and only if you can monitor them to make sure both are getting the right food, the right basking spots, etc. etc. etc. It's typically just easier to keep them seperated though.

The main thing you have to realize is that they are going to breed. If you don't want them to breed, you can't keep them together. That's the simplest way to put it.

Your dragons may breed even at this early age. Especially if they were raised seperate. And you dont want them breeding at that young of an age. I wouyld house them seperate untill you are ready to breed them.

peace,
nate

That's true....allowing them to breed at such a young age can have a terrible toll on them....mostly the female, who will not be of sufficient size/weight yet to reproduce well.

giving the age of your dragons, i deffinitely suggest separating them. at 10 months of age your male dragon is pretty much sexually mature and capable of inpregnating your female. females can be fertile at 8 months as well, though it's very unhealthy for them to breed at this young age. as both are in the same enclosure, there really isn't any room for the female to stay away from the male if he decides to mate with her. she may know she's not ready but her body is capable of producing fertile eggs, usually with a heavy toil on her body and often affecting her ability to grow and maintain eggs at the same time. many healthy problems are associated with females bred to early. increased chance of egg binding, slowing down or stunting her growth, fewer eggs and weaker offspring, as well as the associated stress of having a randy male chasing her all the time.

males too can have health problems if they breed too early. prolapses, injuries either from the female, not feeding properly or at all because he is too busy trying to breed etc.

since you have already indicated you do not feel ready to take care of eggs and hatchlings, it would be in your best interest and that of your dragons, to separate them now and keep them separated for about another year. the female should be at least 15 months old, with 18 plus better. even then, especially with just a single female, it is still better to keep them separated except for a couple days or less for mating purposes.

i am sure the majority of the people here would recommend keeping the sexes separated, especially now that both are over 6 months old. most will also recommend keeping the dragons separated even as adults, only introducing them for breeding then putting them back into their separate cages. this ensures both have plenty of time to eat and regain strength. males often won't eat during the times they are with a female to mate. females usually don't have time to eat if they are almost constantly being chased around by a male, often stressing her so much she may develop problems with parasites. females need to eat alot to maintain eggs, to have extra calcium etc to form the shells on the eggs etc. being at peace in their cage allows them to be as stress free as possible.
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PHLdyPayne

well that settles it then i will set up a second cage for her probly this weekend
better safe than sorry i guess
thanks for your replies
Tony

i think its really up to the behavior of the dragons. Some dragons are just plain mean. If you have two easy going dragons, they will do fine together. I have three dragons, 2 females and one male. One of my females is the sweetest most docile little (actually she is fat) thing. the other two will pester her to death if they could. So i keep all three seperate. I do all the breeding outside of the cage.

I have seen many people keep even multiple males together! So long as your dragons don't have an attitude problem, i say don't worry. Of course you don't really want them breeding right now. LOL...was just thinking....i bet that breeding would destroy their relationship...LOL.....why haven't you called me? LMAO
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon