Mating time!

[zippo]

I'm not sure what to do at this moment since I purchased 4( 1 week old) bearded dragons just two years ago. Coming this April, they will be two years old. 2 males ( 1 silk, 1 dunner) and 2 females (1 hypo orange, 1 leather back). The male is showing signs of mating gesture and one of the female is accepting the gesture by bobbing her head( leatherback). It kinda of freaked me out last night when my dunner male leap to bite the side of my leatherback as she is waving her hand. Yes, my male dunner Is housed together in a 40 gallon tank with two females. As for my silk male, I gave him to a friend since he needed a lot of TC since I'm new to the hobby and silkies needs a lot of attention. One things for sure, I love them all but I may keep both female and let go the male or let go the females and keep the male? Or just let nature take its course since? For those of you out there whom has bread these awesome dragons, can you share the good or the bad things that I should be aware of? I have the utmost appreciation for this site and how it has helped me to care for these guys in the passing years. So, thank you all...

 

[AHBD]

Hi Zippo, it's always fun and interesting to observe new behaviors in beardies. I will start off by saying that a 40 gal. is way too small for 3 adult dragons. They will be stressed, sometimes it's obvious, sometimes not. When I had my first breeding trio I had them in a large display case that was about the size of a 120 gal. tank. The male was not an aggressive breeder, but the females both became gravid and I actually rarely saw breeding take place.

However, some males are very aggressive and you run the risk of them fighting though, esp. in such a small space. It can happen out of the blue with no prior warning. Best to have them all in their own tanks.

Next, raising babies is VERY expensive. At one point my cricket bill was the highest bill I had every month. You have to keep baby beardies fed 2-3X a day on live food....if you skimp they WILL go after the tails and toes of their clutchmates. Then factor in all the separate bins you need to raise them [ and they grow fast ] plus looking for homes for them will be difficult because the market is flooded. I would seriously advise against letting them breed. That's just my opinion.

 

[JessPets]

3 adults in a 40 gallon?!!! I'm sorry to say, but that is insane. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE separate them!! We honestly do NOT need more beardies flooding the already full market!

 

[zippo]

Hi Zippo, it's always fun and interesting to observe new behaviors in beardies. I will start off by saying that a 40 gal. is way too small for 3 adult dragons. They will be stressed, sometimes it's obvious, sometimes not. When I had my first breeding trio I had them in a large display case that was about the size of a 120 gal. tank. The male was not an aggressive breeder, but the females both became gravid and I actually rarely saw breeding take place.

However, some males are very aggressive and you run the risk of them fighting though, esp. in such a small space. It can happen out of the blue with no prior warning. Best to have them all in their own tanks.

Next, raising babies is VERY expensive. At one point my cricket bill was the highest bill I had every month. You have to keep baby beardies fed 2-3X a day on live food....if you skimp they WILL go after the tails and toes of their clutchmates. Then factor in all the separate bins you need to raise them [ and they grow fast ] plus looking for homes for them will be difficult because the market is flooded. I would seriously advise against letting them breed. That's just my opinion.

You know, having these 4 guys(-1 silkie) have been a one amazing journey and I definitely don't regret it. Now that they are becoming adults and pooping everyday, it's been a chore cleaning after them and i will definitely have to decide which one to give up to a good home. My intention is to keep one and rehome the others and breeding is out of the question. It will definitely take the fun out of the hobby if I had to incubate, feeding, etc. Not to mention the amount of money needed to house, raised, feed and maintaining the lights and tanks. Well, thanks for all your help, info and suggestions!!

 

[Varalidaine]

You've made a very reasonable and responsible decision.

As for who to keep, that's totally up to you. I would advise though if you do decide to rehome the girls, to rehome them separately or to someone who will separate them. I don't recommend housing even females together as it can get dangerous very quickly without warning. The safest option is always to house everyone in their own tank.

 

[JessPets]

Thank you of doing the right thing Sometimes it's not easy, but it always works out

 

[kingofnobbys]

IF you are unable to find good homes for the ones who are leaving, a cheap option is stacked 87gal tanks (with front access) , 90 gal each is a good size.

(0.324 cubic m approx. = 4ft L x 2ft W x 1.5ft T) tanks (87 US GAL , OR 324 L each).

Here in Australia , this is the recommended MINIMUM tank size per individual adult bearded dragon.

I know of keepers who have setups that are staxks of 4 enclosures , and will soon be building a 3 stacked enclosure system for my 2 girls and boy (beardies). Great if you have limited floor or shelf or bench space.

Alternatively you could set up identical tanks side by side , using 2 shared long T5 10 - 14% UVB tubes or 2 shared MVBs (between two side by side tanks (saving in setup costs and electricity bills, I know breeders who do this with their multiple clutches of hatchings, no reason why you can't do similar for multiple adult beardies (4 tanks = 2 UVB tube shared or 2 MVBs shared).

There is no reason for your beardies to mate. You can observed / enjoy the courtship behaviours while never letting them actually spend time together as mating pairs. If a female becomes gravid , there is no reason why you HAVE to incubate the eggs (like said, the market is flooded with hatchings in your country and do you really want to hand the hatchlings over to a pet shop ? if you can't personally find homes for them.

 

[zippo]

IF you are unable to find good homes for the ones who are leaving, a cheap option is stacked 87gal tanks (with front access) , 90 gal each is a good size.

(0.324 cubic m approx. = 4ft L x 2ft W x 1.5ft T) tanks (87 US GAL , OR 324 L each).

Here in Australia , this is the recommended MINIMUM tank size per individual adult bearded dragon.

I know of keepers who have setups that are staxks of 4 enclosures , and will soon be building a 3 stacked enclosure system for my 2 girls and boy (beardies). Great if you have limited floor or shelf or bench space.

Alternatively you could set up identical tanks side by side , using 2 shared long T5 10 - 14% UVB tubes or 2 shared MVBs (between two side by side tanks (saving in setup costs and electricity bills, I know breeders who do this with their multiple clutches of hatchings, no reason why you can't do similar for multiple adult beardies (4 tanks = 2 UVB tube shared or 2 MVBs shared).

There is no reason for your beardies to mate. You can observed / enjoy the courtship behaviours while never letting them actually spend time together as mating pairs. If a female becomes gravid , there is no reason why you HAVE to incubate the eggs (like said, the market is flooded with hatchings in your country and do you really want to hand the hatchlings over to a pet shop ? if you can't personally find homes for them.

Thanks for the info Kingofnobbys! You know, it will be hard to let go these guys but atleast, I know they will be going to a good if not better home. Each of these three that I have has their unique characteristics that have develope over the years. The male dunner(Spike) is very laid back and will let the ladies push him around in the tank if the ladies wants a spot. Heck, he is usually the one at the bottom while all the ladies stack on him for the heating spot. He loves to be stroke over his head and loves a soothing bath with the ladies. He is just very chill even on my bed! The female leather back(Qeenie) is the queen of the batch and very temperamental at times. There are times that she likes to be stroke and there are times that she like to be alone. She will definitely let you know as she will try to run from you or claw you!! When given a bath, she will try to get away while your trying to wash her and pouts!! She is a feisty one but very tamed when she's around Spike. After each baths, I put them on my pillow at the edge of my bed and those two will always cozy up with each other! Now, for the last ladie, hypo orange(Sandie), she is the Smaller of the group. Very colorful, vibrant and mischievous. Mischievous in what ways? Well let's just say she likes to jump!! Yep, She's an escape artist. One day from work, I caught her on top of my 40gal tank just perched and hanging on for dear life. How long she was there, I had no clue but I recalled having to pry her off the lid as she clings So tightly. The heating spot was just 5-6 inches tall and this was in a 40 gal tank. Not to mentioned, she did it multiple times and each time she did, she just laid out on top of the tank tank. Heck, I even stayed in the room to see how this little thing jumped from the heating spot to the top of the tank. She is very energetic and always trying to figure out things as you can see it in her eyes as she is looking around. The others are contempt to staying put. So, when I leave for work or home, I place the screen on! In addition, she loves to snuggle. Yep, like a little kid, she loves to burrow her head into my neck while she sleeps!! Who would figure this little reptile wanting to snuggle on you while your reading or watching TV?? Out of the three, she is definitely the spoiled one and almost the only one that I feel comfortable riding in a car with me or going to places with me. So, yes it will be hard but I think it's best to let two go...Thanks for all the help guys!!

 

[AHBD]

Aw, they all sound very sweet. They do all have different personalities and yours sound like some little characters. I'm sure it'll be hard to decide which one to keep.