Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I will be getting a female beardie (about 1.5 years old) this saturday. She is going to be going with my boy (as long as everything works out). Does anyone have some tips o help make the transition easier? such as letting them meet for the first time in a cage other than his? Or does that even matter. Both of them are currently in burmation...

Thanks for any help!
Emily

Tough question. I've never done this but have read that you can put the female in with him while he is brumating and and it will ease the transition. In my opinion and experience it can be difficult to put 2 strangers together ESPECIALLY if they have both lived alone their entire life. I put the female in the cage with the male and then watch them very closely. With some time and patience it usually works out for me but my cages are very large and are designed for multiple dragons without competition for resources.

You need to have a feel for what is courting behavior and what is fighting behavior. Do you?

In general attacks from the front are bad. Going around in a circle is OK. Him biting the back of her head is fine.

If your plan is to just mate them then I just put them both on the floor and nature usually takes over from there. Sometimes it takes a few attempts assuming she's willing.

well...no, I don't really no much about the behavior thing, I've only ever had one beardie. I don't plan on breeding them, but I know that it will happen anyway. I'm just putting them together for companionship. I've heard of plenty of behavioral things...head bobbing, and arm waving and such, but I've never actually seen it.
Do you know of a website that could help in that area?

Thanks for your help!

No I really don't. Believe me it's a little scary at first. The mating is he will race around behind her and bite her on the back of the head and push her down. She will flail her arms like he's absolutely killing her. Then he will mate with her. Be prepared for this. Like I said if he goes at her from behind that's fine.

Even if he doesn't mate her he will do this to show her who's boss. Best for her if she gives in but it doesn't always happen that way. I had difficulty with a very dominant female last year and her mate was 100 grams heavier. This year her new mate I'm hoping will only be 100 grams lighter. Right now he is 200 grams lighter and I'm trying to fatten him up while she's brumating.

You really should always have an extra enclosure available. It can be difficult having them always together during egg laying season. I always give my females a few days alone after they lay a clutch. Allows me to rehydrate them and lets them eat without worrying about getting him started.

I'm not trying to butt in...but here's a website that you may find useful. I've seen many of the videos prior to purchasing my dragon..the name of the video is kinda off and some of the commentary(lol) but I thought it was excellent at showing how they display:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxVjqIERuHw
best of luck to you with your new addition!!!

You're never butting in. The forum is about everyone sharing their experiences and information.

The female was pretty accepting. I've never seen it where the female didn't flail her arms when the male bites her on the back of the head. lol.

Thanks for your help!
Just one last thing, could someone please give me a list of things that are bad. Like behaviors that, if I see them, mean I should separate the dragons?

Thanks so much(again)!
Emily

About the only thing I can think of is biting. Males biting on the back of the head is fine. Biting any other body part is bad. Keep in mind they may race up and bump into the other dragon with their nose which is not particularly good. It is an aggressive behavior and not courting. I would just introduce them on the floor so that one can run away if they want to.

I woke up one of my females today for her 5 week check and stuck her 2008 mate in with her. He's only 297 and she's 482 but it seemed OK. They fussed a little bit and then they both settled down. I'm still hoping to get him closer to 400 before she wakes up for good though. Her mate from last year was not at all happy and he couldn't even see them. lol.