Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a snow female that is 18" and about 500grams. I thought about trying to breed her, but I would like to ask a lot of probably dumb questions first. Thank you for any help in advance and if there is a web site that will answer all of these maybe you could provide a link. Thanks BrianD

1. What is gravid, can a female become gravid and lay eggs without ever seeing another male?

2. If so, should I provide a spot for her to lay the infertal eggs?

3. Do all BD's ?brumate?. Do I need to do something different during winter?

4. How can I tell if she is gravid? because she has been scratching all over trying to dig for a couple months.

5. If she is should I try to get a male in there quick to fertalize the eggs.

Once again thanks for any help and any other info that you may think would help is much appreciated. I do have an incubator and hatchling cages, so I am prepared if she were to have babies, but I need a good male first of course. What would be my next steps?

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Beautiful dragon you have there! Here's some things that may be of help to you:

>1. What is gravid, can a female become gravid and lay eggs without ever seeing another male?

Gravid is another word for pregnant. Yes, they can lay eggs (infertile ones) w/o ever seeing a male!

>2. If so, should I provide a spot for her to lay the infertal eggs?

Yes, she needs a moist mixture of sand & soil (no pesticides in soil). You can use a large Rubbermaid (or similar brand) tub; your medium (the sand/soil mix) should be about 1 foot deep. It should be moist enough so that the tunnel she digs won't cave in on her, but not so moist as to drip when squeezed w/ your hands. Some ppl. use Perlite &/or vermiculite as their laying medium, as well. Make sure to provide a source of heat for her while she's in the laying box.

>3. Do all BD's ?brumate?. Do I need to do something different during winter?

No, not all BDs brumate, & some may one year & not the next. Some may only "semi-brumate," too. Just keep an eye on them & if they occassionally wake long enough to eat, provide heat for proper digestion. Most ppl. adjust the timing of their lights to come on & go off around the same times as the sun rises & sets.

>4. How can I tell if she is gravid? because she has been scratching all over trying to dig for a couple months.

It's can be hard to see or feel infertile eggs. Look for other signs, such as weight gain, loss of appetite, &/or digging. Sometimes, the only absolutely sure way to tell is to have an x-ray done by your vet.

>5. If she is should I try to get a male in there quick to fertalize the eggs.

I don't think that will work, but someone else here may have more knowledge in that area. I wouldn't put a male in w/ her unless you wanted to incubate the eggs & care for the hatchlings. Females store sperm & can have more than one clutch from a single mating.

>Once again thanks for any help and any other info that you may think would help is much appreciated. I do have an incubator and hatchling cages, so I am prepared if she were to have babies, but I need a good male first of course. What would be my next steps?

Once you get a male you wish to mate her with, he should be quarantined for at least 30, preferably 90, days, & be checked by a vet. After that, let them get to know each other & let nature take it's course. I put mine together on the floor for about half an hr./day, everyday until they did their deed. That way, they were each on neutral ground & not stressed by "new territory."

If you think of any other ?s, just ask, as many here are happy to help!

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God Bless, Beardie Dreams, & Peace!
Pogoniacs

Well how do I know when to put in the dirt box? Should I keep it in there year round. Her cage is 3'x2' and about 18" high so there isn't really a lot of room for a foot deep dirt box. Thanks for all the help so far. BrianD

If she is gravid, putting a male in now is not the wise thing to do. IT would not fertilize eggs she has now if she does. You would have to find an adult male that you really now nothing about and you need to get to know them first and make sure they have traits you would want to pass on to offspring.

This is a lovely girl you have there, she should have very nice babies and it just is not worth the risk to her health to mate her with an unknown male or one not quaratined for 90 days (this is the time it takes known virus and fungal infection to usually show up, plus a fecal check. Anything he may have ( and believe me, there are people out there dumping nice looking adults that they know are infected) he will pass to her and she in turn to her offspring.

Also, it is late in the breeding season, statistically, later season hatchling do not thrive as well as spring/summer one(not all, but many). Let her have the winter to prepare and have a male in quarantine and start with the season, with animals you are sure are peak health and ready.

It will show in the offspring and is worth the wait.

Not to attack or offend, but are you sure your ready to have a bunch of beardies around? Do you have an incubator? Place to keep them when they hatch? I'm sorry if I have offended but I know someone who had a bunch of baby ball pythons and couldn't find enough people who wanted them and really got himself in trouble. I too have needed to hear the "are you ready" question. But if your ready good luck!

You must not have read the bottom of my post. I have a big incubator for snakes. I also have enough cages that I had planned to use for hatchling snakes that could easily be changes to beardie cages. I'm not sure if I want to have babies yet, which is why I'm asking all the questions.

p

Before you potentially attack, or offend, or otherwise answer, why don't you try reading his entire post. If you had, you would know he has an incubator and cages to raise hatchlings.
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Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
Email Me

If you look down the forum a bit there is a post pic of my normal and reason for all 9. In that I have pics of my female in her laying bin before she laid her infertile eggs. Infertile eggs can be tricky but what tonia said is what I experienced. Loss of appetite for like 2 weeks before she laid them. She was pacing the cage and scratching non stop. Here is a tip. I could only feel the infertile eggs while in a warm bath. I could not feel them any other time. This is what is so tricky about them. I soaked her and I guess they relax a bit or something but rub you fingers lightly on her tummy. Doing this I felt 4 marble sized bumps. Very hard to feel, and at no other time was I able to feel them. She laid 11 infertiles two days after I put her in her bin.
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Mystical Dragons

Wow, I tell you what BD's are a lot of work. Taking care of my 11 snakes is easier than the one BD. I love her and everything, but sometimes I think she would be better with someone who has other beardies. It would have to be a really good home though. I'm not trying to use this as a selling spot. I do have a classifieds account. Why would I have to quarenteen a new male for that long?? I got her from Kevin at DRG DEN and he said he has a nice adult male snow for me. would I really need to do that if I got one from him? I have mixed feelings on keeping her or not. It just seems like a lot of work breeding and everything.

Regardless of the breeder you obtain one through, you would need to quarantine for that long for the reason that CheriS stated--in essence, it can take awhile for any bacterial or viral illnesses to appear. Bacteria & viruses can invade a host no matter how clean & reputable the breeder may be. Quarantining every new animal is not only the best habit to practice, it's ABSOLUTELY VITAL in maintaining & improving the health & quality of the species!

It IS alot of work breeding them! I only have 16 hatchlings & keep them in 2 groups of 8. From the time the eggs were laid, I've been CONSTANTLY checking & adjusting their temps & humidity. I put finely chopped greens into each tank every morning. Twice each afternoon, I give them crix; I feed 4 hatchlings at a time in a separate tub so I can better monitor how each one is eating. I watch to make sure there's no bully-ing, mist 4x/day, soak 2x/wk., & handle them individually in between all that & cleaning poo so they'll grow accustomed to handling. I'm loving every minute of it, but I'm glad I only had the one clutch to deal with for my first breeding attempt. I'm also lucky to have a retired hubby taking care of our other 6 dragons, 2 igs, 2 dogs, & 2 butterfly agamas.

Good luck with your decisions; we're all glad to help however we can. Keep us posted!
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God Bless, Beardie Dreams, & Peace!
Pogoniacs