Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My female is starting to look pregnant again.

Last year she was about 2 and the male around 1.5 yrs old and I got 3 clutches of eggs but they all rotted. I was told that the male probably hadn't hit sexual maturity yet...but this winter he brumated.

Does anyone know what the heck to do if I wind up with 20 baby beardeds? I have some friends that would probably want a few...if i put an add in the paper (I live in the KC suburbs so there a plenty of people around) can I expect to get rid of them easily?

I'm probably being overly cautious...but I'd like to have some idea that I won't be litterally crawling in lizards that I can't get rid of.

Thanks for any input.

I know people are going to be upset, but here I go. The time to worry about "getting rid" of the babies was before you made a conscious decision to breed.

I know this was an uncalled for comment and someone will find offense in it, but most of you don't really seem to care about the well-being of these animals. Just buy 'em, breed 'em, and flush 'em down the toilet. (Oh, I'm sorry I'm sure someone will Rescue them.)

If you don't think you can find good homes for them....then DON'T breed. And please...don't place any "Free to a good home" ads in the paper...that just opens up a whole new can of worms. Try to be a little more responsible.
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These stand for me
Name your god and bleed the freak
I like to see
How you all would bleed for me
-Alice In Chains-
1.1 Bearded Dragons: Gordo & Chiquita
2.2 Cats: Zeus, Remi, Kiki & Delilah

Communication by internet is always difficult and after writing that I figured I might get flamed with those types of responses. However, I thought I'd get the courtesy of answering my question while you were at it.

I've never seen an add for Beardeds in the paper in my area so judging how they might sell is hard to do. Any sales or freebies will include advice on set up etc. so they don't kill them.

I can definitely deal with a load of baby beardeds if I have to...but it will be a fair amount of work. There are several of my co-workers that are interested (for their kids) and I've offered to help them with a set-up and everything.

Frankly, I suspect such angry responses come from people that are trying to make a buck selling Dragons and don't want others flooding the market...I've never heard of Bearded rescue like is the case for burms, iguanas, retics etc that get out of hand.

So, yeah...I'm going to try to raise some babies and I will just have to find out how hard it is to place the extras. I intend to keep some so I don't have to buy more in the future when my first pair get old. If I have trouble finding good homes...I'll have to separate them in the future....or maybe I'll just let them loose on the freeway like the monster I am. (sarcasm)

What pissed me off with you is that you specifically used the term "get rid of"...like it's a nuissance? Like it wasn't your doing? If that is not the way you feel, try phrasing it differently next time.
Actually, I've never bred bearded dragons before, so the least of my concerns is you "flooding the market". Maybe I actually care about animals? And maybe I've worked with rescued reptiles before..and MAYBE there are more neglected beardie rescues than you think! It is NOT always easy to find homes for them! That's it.
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These stand for me
Name your god and bleed the freak
I like to see
How you all would bleed for me
-Alice In Chains-
1.1 Bearded Dragons: Gordo & Chiquita
2.2 Cats: Zeus, Remi, Kiki & Delilah

Very few breeders make alot of money selling babies. Most barely break even when first starting. It is a lot of work, initial setups take a care bit of pocket change and food for babies can be costly. Considering bearded dragons can lay multiple clutches from a single mating, you will have to make sure you have cages, uvb bulbs, basking spots suppliments and food for anything from 10-30 eggs per clutch. The cost for crickets then becomes the next expense as you can easily go through a thousand crickets a day or every few days. You will need to keep these babies for 5-6 weeks till they are old enough and eating well to ensure they don't stress out when sent to a new home and stop eating. As clutches are laid abut 2-4 weeks apart, you will wind up with several groups of different ages, eating different sizes of crickets (pin heads to 1/4 inch, maybe even half inch, if they are fast growers). Each bearded dragon baby can eat 20 crickets per sitting (they need to be fed 2-3 days and at 20 crickets per feeding you can be feeding 60 crickets per dragon per day. Even at $10 for 1000 crickets, it adds up fast.

Finding homes isn't easy unless you have a bout 20-60 people wanting bearded dragons. You could to wholesalers if any are in your area and are willing to take your dragons. (not sure what dragons you have to determine color etc).

I would deffinitely suggest you keep your dragons separated. If you really do not want to have a whole bunch of babies, freeze the eggs as soon as they are laid for about 12 hours to make sure you kill them, then throw them out. (the freezing is to ensure the eggs don't hatch in the landfill and leave the hatchlings exposed to a slow lingering death).
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PHLdyPayne

A sincere thanks for your excellent advice.

These are the first reptiles that I've ever had and I have absolutely ZERO intention of winding up with damaged/mistreated lizards. I'm very happy that I've managed to keep the beardeds I have healthy from a young age. (The female was maybe a month old when we first got her.)