Once the winter photoperiod is over, your bearded dragons will wake up and most likely show an interest in breeding. The male beardie will show impressive beard displays and bob his head. His beard will be almost coal black. The female bearded dragon will also bob her head, but more slowly. She may also wave her front hands and arms more often than usual. These behaviors will happen even if you have your bearded dragons separated. In fact, your bearded dragon female can lay eggs, infertile of course, without any input by a male! It is essential that you pre-condition your dragon with a well balanced diet if you plan on breeding. In any case, it is imperative to begin feeding your bearded dragon a varied and nutritious diet as soon as they finish brumating (sleeping).
Keep in mind that:
- sickly dragon parents will produce sickly off-spring
- it is a good idea to keep bearded dragon males and females separated
- dragons are sexually mature between 8-9 months
- bearded dragon females should not be bred in their first year
- bearded dragon females can lay several batches of fertile eggs from one mating
- beardie clutches range in size from 13-30 eggs
- provide a digging box or digging area for your gravid female dragon
- have the incubator set up and running several days before your gravid female lays
PLEASE NOTE:Keeping bearded dragons is fun. Breeding bearded dragons can also be fun, but a great deal of thought needs to go into the idea to see if it is right for you. It takes time and money to care for and feed all the stock. Your dragon collection needs to be cleaned and fed and watered every day. A cute clutch of babies soon turns into 20 or 30 juvenile dragons that need food, attention and a great deal of your time. Breeding bearded dragons isn't for everyone, but it is a blast for some people. Please consider these facts BEFORE incubating dragon eggs. It is better to freeze a clutch of eggs than let them hatch and not be able to feed them or find suitable homes.
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