Thinking of breeding??

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Livey

Extreme Poster
no no its not just you,
i get angry althugh never breeding them myself, as i just dont ave the money,
but people should realise what they are doing, they breed them not knowing what they are getting them selfs in 4!
 

sara24354

Sub-Adult Member
Tom,
It's not just you. I have read lately about people wanting to breed these beautiful animals. I personally don't think I ever would. My nephew in law asked me a while back "Sis(family nickname) you have a beautiful male and female dragon,are you gonna breed them? I told him no that I couldn't afford to breed them for one thing and for another,I just didn't want to. He said that I could make bunches of money selling them and I just laughed. I asked him if he was ready to pay off my house and buy me a bigger one,buy all the extra tanks I would need and to help with buying food etc..........He hushed up then.I explained about each beardie needing it's own tank rather soon as I would want to seperate them to keep them from fighting and nipping at each other,then how much babies eat and how I didn't want to breed because of maybe causing problems with Alf getting calcium deficient or something. I told him he would have to buy me a proven breeder pair etc..............Not gonna take a chnace with my girl(hubby would disown me if something happened to Alf,that's his dragon)Sorry to ramble.
 

pudden318

Sub-Adult Member
tom i will gladly stand on that soap box with you, people just dont know all that is envolved. i know what i spend on feeders for all of mine and i breed most of my feeders, but do have to replensish atleast once a month. and not just the money but the time also there is no way to properly care for a bunch of babies and the parents especially mom after she lays and work a full time job without help. also are people prepared for 3-5 clutches cause they dont just lay once and thats it. and a incubator can only whole 5 deli cups do you have the money to purchase more than one incubator. ok i think i vented enough anyone else want to chime in
 

Twobeardieguy

BD.org Sicko
Tom I am right there with you! Truth be told it is a lot of work!!!!!!! So yes plan before you do anything! I am not going to rant and rave or vent, but I will say people please ask one of us breeders if you need help because we can give you everything we know from experience! And also another note this is not to bash anyone out there, there are some people that will give you some information because they have bread before but we have been doing it for a few years and know the proper ways of doing things! So just ask and research first! Also there is something that has been bothering me, YOU CANNOT just gut load feeders and give it to a prego female!! She needs to be supplemented! Even without being all dragons should be supplemented! Great post Tom!!!!!!!!!!!
 

DeweysMom

Sub-Adult Member
Tom - No, it's definitely not just you. I thank you very much for posting this because I've had very similar thoughts myself, but I've hesitated in posting it for fear of getting a backlash. You'll probably remember that I sent you a PM shortly after I joined with some questions about breeding. Not because I was seriously intending on it, but more or less out of curiousity to see who the whole process works. I will admit that breeding beardies is very fascinating to me, but I would never just take the plunge without doing TONS of research and having a plan.

Personally, I feel that if you don't know something as basic as to what to expect during the mating process alone then you shouldn't be breeding in the first place. Clearly if you don't know the ins and outs on how to breed a pair then chances are good you won't know how to handle/care for the eggs, the hatchlings, or even what to do in the case of an emergency! Granted I know that even the most experienced breeders had to start somewhere, but research and planning are key factors on raising a healthy clutch and of course for caring for the parents before and after breeding. Anyway, sorry for rambling, but yes I do agree. It's very disheartening when people just jump in before doing their homework. :(
 

lacy_black

Gray-bearded Member
I agree with all the rest wholeheartedly. I was someone who wanted to breed, even got a loan of $500 to get all the supplies. I didn't get a big enough loan :lol: I kept redoing the math of feeders, extra bins, extra bulbs (household for heat and repti-sun 10.0), money for Nemo if she had gotten egg bound, and it just didn't seem like a smart idea to go any farther without alot more money and room.

I applaud the proper breeders who can do it, has the room, finances and time to devote to breeding but I feel most people just shouldn't breed. Alot mention the money and supplies and all that when talking about breeding but I think the 1 thing most new breeders don't consider is the TIME. Time to watch the breeding to make sure no one gets hurt, time waiting for the eggs to be laid, time for the eggs to hatch, time and energy to feed, handle, bath and socialize all the babies. To me the socializing seemed overwhelming when you really break down time per baby per day especially if you do hatch 60+ babies all within weeks or months of each other.

I still have a never used, and never will be used hovabator and 2 brand new 48 inch long reptisun10 bulbs, I regret buying them because I should have waited and thought harder before I spent money.
 

sweetiepie9

BD.org Sicko
Retired Moderator
Thanks Tom for putting this thread up; I hope people will take notice & not breed their dragons unless they know what's in store for them. We have 6 beardies, 3 males & 3 females, 2 adopted & 4 rescues; I know Sweetie (she who lays infertile eggs almost monthly) and Rubio, our biggest male, would make beautiful babies; it's only from info on this site that I realized we just wouldn't be able to raise the babies; just the cost of feeders would put us in the poorhouse, plus we wouldn't have the time. I work full-time, my husband is home (he's retired) but is disabled, so just taking care of the 6 we have takes up all our time. My husband is well known at the pet shop where we buy our feeders, they are always looking for good breeders to get stock so he asked me one day if we'd be willing to breed. When I tallied up the cost & told him he'd have to feed them 3-5 time/day, then bathe them all, then he'd have to clean all the tanks, he said never mind. Even if we had the $ and I was home full-time, it would be quite the job. We decided we had enough to do with the 6 we have & that was the end of the breeding subject.

I hope more people realize what is in store when breeding, it's a full-time job & I have alot of admiration for serious breeders who take care of their babies and make sure they are healthy and socialized before selling them. We have 2 babies we rescued from a pet shop, they were badly injured, Issy had 1/2 her tail bitten off & Rubio had fingers and toes missing from hungry tankmates. Again this site was there for me to ask questions and today they are healthy & beautiful, even with parts missing. That really opened up our eyes to what some breeders sell, as they were only about 3-4 wks old when sold to the pet shop, who really didn't know what they were doing.

So thanks for bringing up the subject, hopefully it will open up the eyes of potential breeders to what they will need to do when the eggs are laid.


Deb & my full house of dragons :mrgreen:
 

TheWolfmanTom

Extreme Poster
Original Poster
Let me say Thank You for the replys. I didnt know how this thread would be recieved. I just want to stress that this thread is in no way a discouragement to anyone.
What this thread is about is to get people thinking 10 steps down the road. Breeding any animal isnt just a matter of putting male and female together. It is also about knowing basic husbandry, 1st aid, basic vet care, knowing your areas market, knowing your supply chains, basic genetics, and just using the mind that God gave you to add up 2 + 2 = 4. I have always been the person to question why. The day I stop looking for the why of things is the day im dead. Im good with that philosophy in my life...lol. Breeding an animal should never be about the money. If you end up making money god bless you, and more power to you, but the bottom line of this post is ask the why's and the how's before you put 2 animals in a potentially life threatening situation. Please if you have something to add to this thread keep it rolling. Keep it clean, and keep it honest.
Aloha
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sara24354

Sub-Adult Member
I wanted to add a few things to what I wrote yesterday. THANK YOU to all the wonderful breeders out there who properly take care of and breed beardies(otherwise I wouldn't have my 2 gorgeous dragons!!! I couldn't imagine taking on breeding dragons,even after researching 6 months before getting my first dragon,I was still scared to death and didn't think I was ready(I knew some things and was confident only because I knew I had pepople to turn to with questions)I now have 2 dragons that I cherish dearly and could begin to think of mating them because of all that is involved. I guess I'm just saying I hope anyone who wants to breed will sit down and figure out everything and make sure they can do it and take care of all beardies before they decide to breed. To the breeders on here,Thanks again for all you do I enjoy seeing your babies.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello Tom,

Very good thread, indeed.
To the rest of you, Thank You all for keeping it a CLEAN thread, we appreciate it. :D


Tracie
 

vickson420

BD.org Addict
Retired Moderator
Ditti to Tracies post,Absolutely!
Thanks for posting this hopefully someone who MAY breed will decide not to it because of it.
 

MeatHead

Hatchling Member
I also agree with every one on here as well. Its sad enough to see all the poor little ones in the pet stores that people just toss out so to speak after they are just 2 - 3 weeks old. Those are not people whom should be caring for an animal let alone breed them. I saw one at petsmart today when picking up wax worms that was barely 2 inches long. Poor little guy was holding his head up as high as he could to get that light. Sadly enough it was only a heat bulb and not uv. :( I really really can not state enough my appreciation to all the breeders on here whom make that their FULL TIME JOB and take proper care of these amazing animals.

We have 3 amazing beardies, my boss stopped by one day and asked why I didn't breed them. I just looked at her and asked her if she wanted my 2 weeks notice. ? I tried to explain to her how that would be a full time job and I wouldn't be able to work for her anymore. Let alone the cost. I personally couldn't see us breeding any of ours anyway. I really don't want to take any risks health wise. Just like a human pregnancy, you never know what could happen. I really hope a LOT of people read this and think twice about breeding before they do so. Its not something you can just do on a whim. It is serious work. Just breeding feeders can be a part time job depending on what you are breeding.
 

fresnowitte

BD.org Sicko
No Tom I've been seeing it too...it's rather sad if you ask me. I think that before anyone even considers breeding any type of creature you should learn more about them first...not just get one think it would be cool so go out get another. There's a ton of things that one should learn when it comes to caring for beardies long before one should even consider the breeding end. I personally believe that if one hasn't spent a few years just owning and caring for beardies they shouldn't consider this yet. I get upset when I read about new owners that do not even know the signs of a healthy or unhealthy beardie before wanting to breed them. Then there's those that do not take into consideration the cost to feed these little eating machines. Plus the time that it will take out of ones day to give them the proper care. Feeding, cleaning, bathing, etc....

Why is it that people think this is a get rich sceme...God knows it's not...unless your able to sell your beardies for hundreds even thousands of dollars...which I'd never even want to do as it would take away from the real reason I do this. Just like many others I just like to offer a nice health baby to the community that I live in and to my online friends that's the true pay off for me. :mrgreen: Giving someone an option to the pet store beardie. Which btw people that just jump into breeding without learning first and doing all their homework are the ones that end up giving or selling all those babies they could not feed to the pet stores for a ridiculously low price. :banghead: Henseforth backyard breeders....JMO

There as hard as it was I kept it nice. :wink:
 
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