Having males and females in the same house is very dangerous

[Floof]

And because of that, I need someone to talk me out of breeding!!!

So, I have 3 beardies. They were all rescues, unknown age, when they came to me. I've had Man Ray, my precious little male, since January '09, and the two girls, Blossom and Buttercup, just since September '10. They're all fully grown, presumably fully developed, adults. They're all in good health, doing well, and parasite free (pending their next fecals in June; everyone just finished a round of Panacur). I've been working on finding a home for Buttercup that will appreciate her more... I feel as though I just don't give her the time and attention the big, sweet girl deserves.

Oh, right, back to the main point: I am deeply in love with the idea of breeding Man Ray and Blossom. And, you know, so are they (not that male beardies aren't already sex-craved fiends, lol!)... There have been two incidents when, while having the beardies out for a bask, I naively turned my back, just for Man Ray to make the 10-15 ft dash from his "spot" to the girls and mount Blossom. Nothing happened the first time, and I figured, I'd rather have to deal with slugs than find out what it's like to deal with a gaggle of baby beardies. Yes, I still REALLY wanted to breed them, and was sooo tempted to let go of Man Ray's tail and just let him hook up (little snot latched on to her neck flap!), but I didn't.

Then, the second time, something actually might have happened! I had all three outside basking, and had the ferret out, too, to romp around in the grass a bit. My brother was sitting by the beardies when the ferret decided it was time to go inside, so I went in to put her away... And my brother followed, not getting the hint that he was supposed to be dragon-sitting! (My fault, I know, but the "big sister" in me still wants to blame him, lol.) It took me a few minutes of talking and making lunch to realize I'd left the sex-crazed "teenager" unsupervised with two hot girls, and by the time I got back, sure enough, Man Ray had mounted Blossom (think he has a thing for blondes!). I don't know if he hooked up and released when I ran up, or if just he has really bad aim, because they weren't hooked when I separated them but there was definite spillage. Hoo boy.

So, the smart half of my brain says, LEAVE IT ALONE, if he managed to do the job, OK, incubate what's there... And if not, no harm done. But the "Oooh, my baby's babies!!!"/"Oooh, PIPPIES!" half of my brain says, the deed has already been done, you may as well toss them together for one more "session" so nothing goes to waste if/when she lays eggs! (Hello, my name is Taylor, and I'm a pippy-holic. . .)

I have the materials to take care for the baby beardies. I don't have an incubator, but, heck, I'm planning to get one, anyway, right (intend to breed Russian tortoises)? But, at the same time, I have NEVER cared for a baby beardie before. I've always started with adults. Is it really responsible for me to breed my beardies (one time thing) when I've never had a baby beardie, let alone a whole clutch worth, before? And on the flip side of THAT argument, I want my next beardie/first baby beardie to be the offspring of my two favorite dragons in the world... (Not to mention the comfort of knowing exactly how my next beardie was started, something that has become increasingly more important to me since delving into the world of tortoises and learning just how vital the first few weeks/months really can be for a critter...)

So, as you can see, my mind just refuses to come up with a decision, so I'm taking it to all of you: What should I do? Let this run its course and leave the breeding idea alone for one more year? Put Man Ray and Blossom together for one more go-around and reap the rewards of fantastic baby beardies? Some completely different option I haven't yet thought of???

(In case it weighs on anyone's opinion, by all appearances, Man Ray is a "normal" genetically, and Blossom appears to be 100% homozygous Hypo... So we'd be looking at some nicely (I think, anyway) colored het hypo babies. )

Regards,
Dreaming of Beardie Juniors

P.S. How could I possibly post this without pics? Here are the potential parents. All pics are current as of earlier this month.

Blossom:

(Convinced I'm a predator...)

And I can't resist this one, taken in March:

Man Ray:

And his "breeding mood" face:

 

[jharris08]

no one can really make the decision to breed or not for you... I would just say if you want to breed, make sure have read everything from trusted breeders and esp credited biological sites! being prepared is the key to successful breeding (informational & financial). if you are prepared, then breeding is a very rewarding process for a beardie owner.
if you dont want to breed, then just stop letting the dragons see eachother and that will stop the action.

 

[Floof]

Okay, so I've come to the conclusion that this post was made out of a sheer moment of weakness... Sure felt completely serious, and I sure was gung-ho about the idea upon posting yesterday, but I've since come to my senses and realized a few things: First and foremost, I'm just not ready for the commitment of so many wee baby dragons. There's no getting around that. Beardie breeding is a whole different ball park from what I'm used to (snake breeding) and even from what I've been studying (tortoise breeding). Second, there's just no reason my desire for a haphazard breeding is a good enough reason to put Blossom through the immense strain of laying so many clutches.

If something comes out of the accident last week, so be it, but I'm leaving this whole "breeding" idea alone until further notice (and hereby learning my lesson about having the male out with the females, ha!).