I wanna try!!

[ixismimeixi]

alright guys i got a 5 month old desert red X Firetiger and when the time comes me and a friend want to breed them, just for the expierence, so i wanna know what you guys know.:
Times to breed
ages
what i need to do
do i only put them together when they r ready?
how long does it take to produce a clutch, how long are they eggs
temps for breeding
temps in incubator
all the goods, anything of input helps.
another thing to add is the female is a year and a half now and she is a monster at 18inches she is just huge! does he need to be bigger than the female?
ive read some books about it but i still dont really get it.
i figure it cant be all that hard since i hear beardies are the easiest to breed.

here is Blaze (Desert red X Firetiger)
alright guys i got a 5 month old desert red X Firetiger and when the time comes me and a friend want to breed them, just for the expierence, so i wanna know what you guys know.:
Times to breed
ages
what i need to do
do i only put them together when they r ready?
how long does it take to produce a clutch, how long are they eggs
temps for breeding
temps in incubator
all the goods, anything of input helps.
another thing to add is the female is a year and a half now and she is a monster at 18inches she is just huge! does he need to be bigger than the female?
ive read some books about it but i still dont really get it.
i figure it cant be all that hard since i hear beardies are the easiest to breed.

here is Blaze (Desert red X Firetiger)
[img]alright guys i got a 5 month old desert red X Firetiger and when the time comes me and a friend want to breed them, just for the expierence, so i wanna know what you guys know.:
Times to breed
ages
what i need to do
do i only put them together when they r ready?
how long does it take to produce a clutch, how long are they eggs
temps for breeding
temps in incubator
all the goods, anything of input helps.
another thing to add is the female is a year and a half now and she is a monster at 18inches she is just huge! does he need to be bigger than the female?
ive read some books about it but i still dont really get it.
i figure it cant be all that hard since i hear beardies are the easiest to breed.

here is Blaze (Desert red X Firetiger)
[img]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y267/ixismimeixi/IMG00114-20090824-1606.jpg

And here is the femal (Pastel)

 

[Poisoned1]

You do know it's very expensive to breed correct? You must have 50-100 crickets for each beardie for each day. One succesful breeding can give you about 60-90 eggs. Meaning
3000 - 9000 crickets a day for all the dragons.
Are you sure you want to do this? It's not an easy task.

 

[ixismimeixi]

umm i work for a pet shop which equals me getting as many cri as i want when i want.
I Think im good.

 

[EclpsPrinc]

They'd really let you have 3,000 - 9,000 crix a day for free?

 

[spyder79]

You do know it's very expensive to breed correct? You must have 50-100 crickets for each beardie for each day. One succesful breeding can give you about 60-90 eggs. Meaning
3000 - 9000 crickets a day for all the dragons.
Are you sure you want to do this? It's not an easy task.

i take it there would have to be a deal made where you give them a significant part of your clutch cause there is no way to sneak out with 12000 crix a week or more. I personally dont suggest breeding but if you have it in your head to do it nothing i say would change your mind. Just note that it is very violent and there is a possibility of 1 if not both of your beardies ending up injured. That male needs to at least be the same size and weight as the female if not a bit bigger cause he will have to dominate her and he wouldnt have a chance at this point. Note that 1 breeding can give you up to 200 eggs as females retain sperm and can lay as many as 8 clutches (most ive seen anyway). Also you can only keep about 5 babies per bin and even then you may have dominance issues. You will also have to soak them daily and they need to be fed 2-3 times a day. You will have to provide each bin with proper UV and heat. You will want to have a deal with a herp vet for assistance in case anything goes wrong.

 

[Ruby2uesday]

And in these economic times, you have to think, what if you can't sell all of your babies? are you going to be able to properly care for ALL of them? which from what it sounds like, could be in the hundreds!

To me, breeding beardies is like breeding dogs cats or any other animal. you have to ask yourself the HARD question, WHY do you want to breed. For the experience? Because you think your beardie needs one shot at "fun", (usually the case for dog owners) FOR THE MONEY????. All of those reasons are very poor. The only reason I BELIEVE (note my opinion) that people should breed their animals is for the BETTERMENT of that specific breed. Taking the GOOD genes and traits and attempting to pass those on to the next generation. Which entails spending a LOT of money at the vets office to ensure they are not sick and will not pass on disease and recessive traits. Not just picking two animals because they look good and thinking you're going to get some cute beardies, puppies, kittens, etc....

Getting off my soapbox now.

 

[ixismimeixi]

alright so no one is gonna give me info on how to breed, just tell me how much you all think im gonna spend?
thanks guys

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Well it all depends what type of incubator you get, how many baby's she has, how many lights you use a day and also what supplements you use!!! Also if you have a few sick baby's then the vet bill!! So it all depends. You tell us what you want to spend then we can help you out and get the best deals for you!! Im just gonna say that its not an easy task! It is very time consuming! And you should have everything set up at least 2 weeks before the hatching!! :?

 

[crickest]

Cost estimate (based on a reply of Lance's from another thread)

Seven clutches = 200 - 220 eggs = three incubators = $400 X 3 = $1200
10 Gallon tanks (only five babies per tank) = 40 tanks = $16 X 40 = $640
40 18" Repti-Sun 10.0 + fixture (ordering Repti-sun from Pet mountain and getting fixtures from Lowe's) = $32 X 40 = $1280
40 dome lights with basking bulb (dome light from Lowe's with incandescent lightbulb) = 40 X $8 = $320
20,000 crickets per day (Ghanns pricing for 2000 crickets =$20 - although you might be able to get a better deal elsewhere - assuming 100 crickets per day per dragon) = $200 per day X six weeks = $1200
40 digital probe thermometers = $12 X 40 = $480

Total cost = $5200 for one breeding. This doesn't include any vet costs or supplements/vitamins/greens/bedding/tank accessories/or unforseen items.

Does this sound close, Lance?

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Sounds about right!! If they do it rite!! Most of us had some extra tanks, lights and extra bedding laying around so it was a little cheaper but not much! One way to be a little cheaper is to get rubber maid containers for the housing. But you summed it up all in all!! :wink:

 

[crickest]

I guess getting rubber maid containers might save you $6 a piece or $240 over all. So basically, the cost would be $5000.

I toyed with the idea (bred my boxer once and ended up getting sued by the guy who owns the male and now have all three of her puppies, plus her, in a condo. You'd think I'd learn) but that was before I learned you can have 220 baby beardies. There is no way I would try to breed at this point. Unless I decided to make this my life's work, with two exceptional beardies with impeccable lineage, and a defined method of selling them, there is no way I would go there.

I'll just breed vicariously through pics of Lance's poopers.

 

[citrusdragon]

lol, the costs aren't that far off to say nothing of the electric bill. After 220 hatchlings we had around 3k in expenses over 6 months not counting cost of breeders, cages, and baby racks in our initial investment. It really is difficult to see us getting much out of the red in the future of California Citrus Dragons. We love beardies, enough said. Pet stores generally look to "rescue" your babies from you, so any price you get will be low wholesale 10-15 bucks each. The real pressure, as stated above, is when you have 4 clutches hatched out and there's still only a few big enough to sell. They go through crickets at a blistering pace. It can be overwhelming.

As for the facts you seek, I can say with confidence all the answers can be found in this forum and on the internet. It will take some time, but you have time before your male can breed.

I spent countless hours lurking on forums, reading books, and talking to other breeders on the phone and at shows to determine what was going to be my standard operating procedure. There are some things you'll need to learn through trial and error.

Good luck, and Google is your friend :study:

Jeff

 

[Omnomnami]

It was a big wake up call when I realized what I was getting in to with my breeding program. I had already spent near $2,000 on my little critters and I was already in the hole.

I found the easiest way to provide your beardies food is to grow and breed the food yourself. It was easy for me to do since my house is set on 7 acres of farm land in Oregon so I could make a garden and grow all of the greens they need organically and pick it fresh, daily. My garden provides 80% of my adult dragons diets and all together saves me hundreds of dollars. I also had to think about my babies...if they're healthy, they'll eat like pigs and grow at an amazing rate...

So I bought dubia roaches. They're some of the easiest feeders to breed and they breed fast. The mothers produce live birthed babies, no eggs, so it's very convenient for my baby dragons. It might take a while to get the great amount of roaches that you'll need daily so if you decide to breed dragons, start your colony of roaches as soon as you can, even if you won't breed for another year. Visit http://www.theroachguy.com for great prices and high quality dubia roaches if this is what you decide. He's the guy I call on for my roaches. I bought 1 batch of 330 mixed sizes and I won't have to buy any more with how fast they're breeding.

On the lighting topic, you'll just have to find the right store with the right prices. The lights usually go for less online, the pet stores now days are sometimes a rip off(not meaning to bash on any stores, I know many of them that are great).

Look in classifieds and online for cheap tanks around you, maybe someone will cut you a great deal. If that seems too costly, take these guys' information and buy Rubbermaid totes.

We don't mean to discourage you from breeding but it's the awful truth these days with the economy so steep.

I hope my information has helped a bit. Please give this lots of thought. Cya!

(Phew, this post took a lot of thought and time, haha!)