Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have some concerns about the breeding of bearded dragons for designer colors and features.

(On the other hand, since bearded dragons are a captive species, the only breeding that can happen is selective!)

One of my concerns is what happens to the lizards that dont come out with the features or colors the breeder is trying to achieve?

Do they starve them, freeze them, flush them?

How can the breeder be sure that they are not breeding siblings or otherwise closely related lizards?

This happens with pit bulls; sisters and brothers that have good fighting qualities get bred together to have pups with these characteristics, and they do -

What do they do with all of those lizards? I have a female that laid almost 80 eggs this season and am overwhelmed and done with raising hatchlings even though it was rewarding. I find it a daunting task to find qualified homes for all of those lizards.

What if you have 10 females doing this in a season - there could be 1000 hatchlings. Are there really that much demand for these lizards especially if they aren't designer'y?
my lizards

I believe that most breeders that selective breed sell the babies that don't show the traits. They might wholesale them, but I'm not sure. Responsible breeders try to keep their lines as diversified as possible to keep from inbreeding as much. Hope this helped a little.

I have seen a statistic that there are about 500,000 bearded dragons bred every year. This number may be higher now. The funny thing is there is still good demand for these animals. You just have to find it.

It is estimated that 3% of americans own a reptile pet. This may sound like a small number but 3% of 300,000,000 is 9,000,000 people. That's a lot of reptile owners and that is just the United States.

Most breeders have a ready outlet for their dragon's such as reptile expo's or through internet sales. They will usually sell the less colored or normal colored dragons at cheaper prices. There is nothing wrong with these dragons and they make great pets.

Breeding bearded dragons without an outlet to find them homes is a hard task. They grow quickly, eat a lot of food and require quite a bit of space, time and money. It is a very daunting task indeed.

Also, most breeders will also diversify their breeding lines to keep them strong while trying to get the best colors, size and demeanor.

I hope this helps.
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Eric Nelson
http://www.beardeddragonresource.com/