Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am not new to herps, but new to bearded dragons and Leopard Geckos.
As I peruse the ads here in Kingsnake, and other sites, I am noticing the vast majority of high end dragons and geckos are males.
What is the reason for this? Is it because the breeders keep the prime females? Or do the males bring more to the breeding genetically? Such as...using a blood male to breed with brings a better chance of producing bloods.
Or is it just because there are more males?
I have been looking for a high end female, and they just dont seem to exist, or are few and far in between.
Can anyone shed some light on this for me?
Thanks...Bob

I think for the most part, its the breeders keeping the females. Its not that hard to get a good quality female though if you get your dragons fairly young (under four months old). The only problem is that sexing the dragons at a young age is difficult.

What type of dragon morph female are you looking for? I breed, but no morphs so I'm not trying to sell you anything, just curious.

Looking for, or trying to produce a deep rich blood red dragon.
I have been keeping herps for a number of years now, and have just successfully bred my leopard geckos. Now I want to try my hand at bearded dragons, and possibly frilleds.
I've had good luck with large snakes. So after all this time, I am keep bearded and leos.
I just cant seem to find good solid breeding stock.
And the problem is just as you stated... difficult to sex young dragons.

If your new to bearded dragons and want to get into them, before you start breeding them get a young pair or single, raise it up, and see how you like them. This will give you a chance to see if you enjoy them as much as your other reptiles.

Breeding bearded dragons is easier then breeding most large snakes, however raising the hatchlings is much harder then raising most hatchling snakes. A tremendous amount of time, energy, and money will be invested to do it right even with a single pair. It's a lot of fun and I def say go for it, just my advice would be to ease into it some.

As far as finding "high end" females... you will have much better success calling breeders or emailing them directly and inquiring about high end dragons. Most breeders do not post there best dragons on the classifieds for a variety of reasons. From time to time however there are some nice ones available, but they tend to sell much quicker then males due to the fact that everyone wants to breed them.

Goodluck with the dragons. They are great pets and a lot of fun if you have the time.

brandon
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Dragons by Nature

I enjoy the beardies. I frequently keep on on my shoulder while working in the herp room.
This would be Snap...who did'nt mind falling into a tub of superworms. He thought he was in heaven.I make sure he stays on my shoulder now!
I have seen some problems with beardies, although having a few males does not make me an expert. It just makes me aware that it's not always easy.
I am also a dog breeder ( Brittanies ). 30 years of experience breeding dogs, has taught me, that it does'nt always go the way you expect it to, or the way you want it to.
I just enjoy the beardies. I also own frilleds and leos.
But prefer the beardies.
However, like producing pups, my goal is to produce something special, the very best so to speak.
Pet shops and shows are filled with "normals".
I want to be able to produce top animals consistently.
That is why I was asking about the breeders selling the high end animals. I guess what would be called...holdbacks.
I will continue my search. I am not 100% set up to manage a large group of beardies. After this coming weekend, I should be.
And would'nt you know it...there is a show next weekend!
Maybe I'll get lucky, and find something there.
Thanks for all the advice folks!

Bob

Out of the incubator (I leave them in 24 hours beyond hatching), its not actually that hard, some can look close to both but you can still tell them apart. The easiest so far have been from Nemo and Snuggles hatchlings, they are huge at hatching time, usually twice the size of non GG hatchlings. Weve had some lemonheads, reds, a female hypo orange GG pastel (like her father), normal beardies, sandfire crosses, etc etc etc. Right now we have a decent collection between the 2 of us of adult beardies to breed from, the problem is the guy who sells them cant sell them fast enough. I dont make any money from them, its a hobby to me, a few bucks towards crickets on occaision and Im happy.