Male just chases female, Never actually breeds

[DragonWaffle]

So, My bearded dragons, Eragon and Athena have an enclosure right next to my bed. I am trying to breed them (Athena has laid once before with help of Eragon) but all that happens with them is Eragon bobs his head violently (Usual Male Beardy) and Athena does her gentle wave and head bob at him. He chases her around the cage and bites behind her neck like normal but I havent seen any sign of breeding between them what so ever, Only the bobs, waves, and bites. This has been going on for months. In the last month or so she has been digging slightly but not much like she did with her first clutch, but only about 3-5 times now... Am I doing something wrong? Why wont they actually breed with eachother?

So because of this I am like this:

 

[Kalyn876]

It could be you've never seen them breed but my guess is they have...many many times. Do they share an enclosure 24/7? There have been reports of males breeding females to death. It is a very stressful situaiton for a female beardie because a male beardie never gives up lol He will mate any chance he can get as long as he fancy's the female.

I would seperate her to lay her eggs, incubate them and see what happens, my bet is you will have little veiny eggs in no time.

I am not a vet and could be competely wrong as i have never seen them, this is just my take on the situation

Kalyn

 

[DragonWaffle]

the only times I dont see them is on weekdays from 7-3:00 and my mother would usually tell me if shes seen them doing anything but who knows. They could be sneaky. Yeah they live together 24/7 and he normally does it for only 2 minutes and stops... Is he just lazy or...? That's the problem... If he gives up so early then why does he even bother >.< plus she submits and allows him and doesn't run away so its very confusing.

 

[DragonWaffle]

Not too active here?

 

[DragonWaffle]

So unhelpful...

 

[smkdzzl420]

I have 2 females and they have only bred once a year. I have had them both for 2 1/2 years. You might have to wait til next winter for them to breed again.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Separate them for at least 6 to 8 months. Then re introduce them. Right now they are just used to being there together, and you will see non stop dominace displays.

 

[Jessicaleshea]

I am experiencing the same issue. My male and female mated two times on November 30. Since then the courting, biting, head bobbing, arm waving is all that happens. I have never put them together in a tank. I put them in my living room floor and watch them for about half an hour to an hour. After the mate took place my female started doing these slow push-up moves. She goes all the way flat to the ground then raises her head and chest as high up as she can go and the male leaves her alone. I'm guessing that's her "back-off" signal. I know that from one mating she can lay eggs all year. The mate happened in less than 6 minutes and that includes the time he spent circling her. It was crazy how fast it happened. I put them down and they just went! I video taped all of their encounters so that once I get my website/business going anyone can see how it works. It is so fascinating to me. I am in love with my babies and watching them is nothing short of major excitement in my household! This is my first time breeding. Before I started I did months of research to ensure I did the right thing and kept my babies health and stress levels top priority. You really should separate them. The males can get so out of hand and excited that they can hurt the female, stress her out, and she will not produce healthy eggs. I didn't feel comfortable for one second with the idea of just putting them in a tank together and letting things happen. I want to be able to jump in if need be to separate them. It took all the will power I had to leave them alone when they mated. It looked so terrible for my female. Afterward I held her wrapped up in her favorite blankie for hours soothing her and making sure she felt safe again. I felt like I let her down by letting him violate her. BUT from all the research I've done it appears that all mating between beardies can best be described as a "forced" thing. It pains me to watch. Anyway, good luck and be watching for gravid signs. My beardie mated 4 weeks ago yesterday. She hasn't been eating for weeks, she digs like crazy, and she glass dances and is so restless in her cage. Her belly appears to be growing and sometimes I think I feel little bumps but it could be my imagination. I'm so anxious for her to lay!!! It's really a guessing game until you can actually see and feel those bumps that inevitably are eggs. Based on her behavior and going from over indulgence to an anorexic, I'm thinking she's preggers!

 

[RandyMarsh]

sounds like they need to be separated.

 

[terracolson]

my experience is I put my male in with the female and they mating with in 2 mins.
just that one time produced eggs in 17 days and 3 clutches. she was 3 years old.

I agree with separating them. you dont want them to be "friends"

 

[diamc]

I have to agree with all the others, they need to be separated. If your female gets stressed out by him constantly biting her neck and chasing her, she could have ill or deformed babies, we're sure you don't want that to happen. Please separate them for at least 6 to 8 months as Tom recommended as he knows what he's talking about. Then re-introduce them but after breeding in a day or so, return them to their OWN tanks.