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omg I'm crazy..another baby comin

keith_ecko May 30, 2007 03:20 PM

Well I loved my baby so much from the dachiu's that I called Vicki up today and had her hold another female for me...She's a RedHypoRed/Orange German Giant X Red/RedYellow - 7 Inch Female. I wanted another girl so I could keep 2 together in a enclosure and keep "KIRRA" w/ another dragon. She'll be named "SIERRA"!...

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kill 'em with kindness

Replies (10)

BDlvr May 30, 2007 04:05 PM

You should really ask Vickie for a suitable male to go with the girls. If you don't you'll probably wish you had in the end.

keith_ecko May 30, 2007 05:00 PM

Oh man don't get me even thinking about that...Actually I wanted a male to begin with because I didn't want to worry about the whole eggs thing but then I remembered with my other dragon how bad I really wanted to keep 2 dragons in a nice sized enclosure so that pretty much leaves me with females. Plus with a male I'm assuming you are thinking of breeding but ya know I really don't have the time, money or patience to deal with that end of keeping dragons so I'll leave out the male for now. Maybe sometime later I'll rethink it but I'm really happy for now with what I have.
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kill 'em with kindness

BDlvr May 30, 2007 08:18 PM

Trust me 2 females without a male is not as great as it sounds. They will have eggs anyway and they will be infertile which has a greater egg binding risk. There's also some false breeding issues etc. If they grow up together 2 females and 1 male will be great. Ask Vickie or Rob if you doubt me.

If you don't want to breed just get siblings. I never breed mine even though I could.

PHLdyPayne May 30, 2007 08:25 PM

I hope you mean sibling sisters, not sisters and brothers, as males and females housed together will still breed, whether they are related or not.

Not all females will lay infertile eggs. Though there are some greater risks for egg binding with infertile eggs, there are ways to help prevent that, by ensuring proper diet, plenty of calcium etc and watching for signs of your dragon being gravid, then providing proper egg laying containers. This doesn't mean the risk is reduced to null but often it is due to people not realizing their dragons can still produce eggs without a male so don't see the signs till it is too late.

Housing a single male with a single female all the time, will mean more stress on that female, as the male will be constantly trying to breed her and she will be laying eggs all the time, which puts alot of stress on her. IF breeding isn't something that isn't wanted, then two females or a single female or male is the way to go. Yes she may lay eggs anyway but she may not and more times than not, they lay infertile eggs later in life than they would with a male around (either in the same cage or nearby). I do have female gargoyle geckos that are dropping infertile eggs regularly and so far had no complications, but i keep a moist egg laying box in with them as well as feed extra calcium. Their eggs look better than many of my fertile eggs from my crested geckos. Of course geckos lay only two egg clutches nearly all the time, so there is a big difference between the numerous eggs a dragon can lay, but proper care can greatly reduce egg binding risks for infertile eggs.
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PHLdyPayne

BDlvr May 30, 2007 08:48 PM

What's the difference? Brother/sister or not if you freeze the eggs as I do. But, it pretty much ensures close sizing to prevent fights etc.

Bad husbandry aside. The reason the risk is higher for infetile eggs has nothing to do with diet, containers, etc. Most infertile eggs are like deflated grapes and it is difficult for the dragon to push out something that is squishy and not firm.

One male with one female can cause what you suggest at first especially if you put them together in the spring. But, eventually he becomes used to her and often won't even breed her at all anymore.

Happened to talk to Vickie Dachiu today regarding if she thought that females housed with males would have more clutches than females that had been with males but housed separate. Her opinion was there is no difference.

keith_ecko May 30, 2007 09:18 PM

The dragon I had Dachiu's hold for me is a female so yes I am going to house them together and they are both the same age/size right now so I should be good so long as one female doesn't decide to be a alpha female which I'm sure at one point I could expect. I already have a buddy (a engineer) coming up with a design for a cage that will be big enough for both but I'd like to hear from people in here who have a multiple dragon enclosure with females. I was thinking a cage that is about 60" long, 24" deep and around 18"-20" tall. I want it to open from the front whether it have sliding glass doors or a hinged door that opens upward from the front. I am trying to figure out if a enclosure like that should have a screened top or not. I'm hoping that the dimensions are sufficient unless otherwise advised from an experienced keeper who's done this before. As far as the eggs are concerned i guess I will keep a eye on that when I get to that crossroad. I'd have to worry about eggs either way from one female regardless if I buy another, right? By the way when is it in a female beardies life that I should expect egg production.
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kill 'em with kindness

BDlvr May 31, 2007 05:34 AM

I think you've seen my new cages already but I'll post another pic anyway.

I would not put a screen top. You should probably make it taller so that you can mount the lights inside the cage. This preserves heat and saves electric.

As far as egg production it really depends on Brumation more than anything else. Not all Dragons brumate. Last year every dragon I had (5) brumated for some period of time. One a solid 4 months. A month or so after they wake you can expect eggs.

BDlvr May 31, 2007 05:42 AM

Forgot the pic.
Image

BDlvr May 31, 2007 05:43 AM

Here's another.
Image

B22 Jun 01, 2007 12:29 AM

Hi
goodluck and much joy with youre babie beardie .
watch out they r very adictive :P
THATS A WARNING
byeeeeeee
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