Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm sure opinions vary but what is the minimum size (grams) and age a female Beardie should be before she is put with a male for breeding purposes?

Yes, yes,, I know I have tons of research to do before deciding to breed them... if I ever do - I will. I do know basically that they need to have their parasites under control & I will need to prepare a separate cage with proper heat, humidity & substrate for her to lay the eggs in then get her out and back into her normal cage. Also, special dietary needs before & after laying eggs.

Thanks!

Certain lines will max out at 300g and never get bigger regardless of how long you wait. Other lines will reach 300g by 4 months of age... so unfortunately there is no single answer.

On average, I thnk most would agree at the bare minimum 350g's and 1 year of age... a lot would say 18 months, or older.

We pretty much let the dragons dictate to us when they are ready to breed. We always wait until the females have gone through their second big growth spurt and have not grown much in a few months. We believe it's very important while the dragon is still developing and putting on a lot of weight and length that there is increased risk to breeding her at that time.

Regardless of how her growth rate has been or if it's stop, we do not breed any dragons under 1 year old and most of our lines do not mature enough to breed until around the 18 month mark. Some sooner some later.. but again it really depends on how the dragons growth rate is doing.

Just my opinion. Good luck.

brandon
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Dragons by Nature

well Brandon, you must be doing something right cause the female red x snow I have from you is a bit over a year old and over 500g (has been for a while now). I am planning on breeding her next season. I personally like to wait for BDs to be over 400g and 18" just because I am looking to hold a bloodline of good size animals but that's my choice. If they are not that size at 18 months I would considder selling them as pets or putting them into a different line if they were close.

When advising beginners, I always tell them 18 months and 350g and 17" to allow for a margin of error. some people are not so patient. I had someone offer me a proven breeder male that was in perfect condition at 12"!!!
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Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

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Signature edited for TOS violation.

Edited on August 23, 2004 at 00:08:54 by phwyvern.

I agree with you. I prefer the larger dragons myself.. and that's something we have worked into our lines... i agree completely about being 400, 450, or more for breeding.. that's the kinda dragons we are interested in keeping as well.

many of our dragons reach 500g by 12 months some 600g.. it's cool to work with bigger dragons. I'm glad yours is working out well for you and getting to be a decent size.

Some of your breeders you've posted have been incredible.. great size, awesome color too. You don't see that a lot... normally it's either size, or color... but getting size and color is awesome.. that's what we focus on.

I was just saying 350g for some bc many dragons will never reach more then 300 to 350 bc of their bloodline... and it's just a shame.. bc the larger draogons are very cool i think.

When people ask us about breeding dragons I usually go with about the same as you do depending on the history and line of their dragons.

brandon
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Dragons by Nature

I think if dragons are under 350g even at full growth shouldn't be bred at all. Going for big size and good colour is the way to go. The larger dragons, from what I have read are more robust, less prone to failing fast due to illness or parastes, look better and healthy than small ones. I am glad to hear several breeders are aiming for colour and size, not just one or the other.

Too many people seem too keen on breeding dragons with little or no thought about the parent's health, age, weight or size. Most often this is done due ot lack of knowledge, improper information received etc. All who think about breeding their dragons should think twice, even three times before doing it about what they will truly contribute to the entire breed. If it's just for fun or to make a fast buck, then don't do it. Bearded dragons are not like dogs or cats that are easy to find homes and unlike cats or dogs they don't just have one litter per breeding, they can have as much as 5 clutches.

I agree with everyone here that it's important to wait till they have their full growth, and that varies from dragon to dragon. My first two female dragons are clutchmates. One sister laid eggs when she was 15 months old (unfertile, of course, as she hadn't been with a male). I took her to the vet, as I was concerned for her health as she was so young. The vet said that she was obviously healthy and full-grown (she was 16 inches long, and has only put on another inch in the two years since), and she'd be fine with ordinary extra-care after laying. Her sister didn't catch up size-wise till she was two years old, and I didn't breed either one till they were over 2 years old.
But I'm a bit of a fanatic about them, as they're beloved pets, and only let them breed every other year (hoping that will help them stay in excellent health).