this may sound rude or hypocritical but......

[spyder79]

is it just me or does it seem like everyone and their mother that buys a beardie decides they need to breed as well. it seems like i am constantly reading posts of questions on breeding (when someone already has purposely gotten a female gravid). normally these questions are things that should have been researched and understood long before even setting yourself up to breed. such as i have explained to an ungodly amount of people what a laybox is because they thought the female would just drop the eggs willy nilly throughout the cage. or the posts of people who leave the male and female together indeffinately (allowing him to breed her even after you can visibly see the eggs inside her). or how about people not understanding the importance of lighting and calcium for their adults (especially for a gravid female).

It just erks me that people are jumping into something that is such a huge undertaking without researching the first thing as to what they should do or how it is done. they dont think to ask questions until after they have already conducted the initial part of the breeding or until after they have eggs. then they are like oh crap what do i do now.

i can understand if it is accidental or if you adopted an adult female who just happened to be gravid. then you have a excuse for not knowing. but to conciously jump into something such as breeding dragons without having the first clue as to what you are doing is just terrible and it really angers me. sorry i had to rant. administrators feel free to move or delete this thread if you feel the need.

brian
cryptic dragons

 

[citrusdragon]

Sometimes I get the same feelings, but I also understand that people are fascinated by the reproduction of all things. Take dogs as an example. I try to be as helpful as possible, but it is more work than people realize when you hatch 5 clutches, and you need to feed and house them all safely. I think it is the fact that instead of making any "money," they eventually give most of them away to friends and pet stores that they become discouraged and move on. I think it takes 2 years or so to make anything near a profit, if you are good at cutting costs. We're still no where near that point. We mostly enjoy the collecting.

So what if everyone is a "breeder." It makes those committed to good bloodlines, proper husbandry, and customer service stand above the rest. When I sell a female I say to myself, "If he/she has the time and money to raise and breed this girl, good luck."

As for the overall population of dragons, I have no qualms as long as they are healthy bloodlines.

Look at the bright side... it's the new "breeders" that need to buy the most dragons :headbang:

Jeff

 

[shinedown]

I agree. People should take the time to learn as much as possible BEFORE breeding. I'm slowly learning everything I need to know. I've had my Gargamel for over 2 years and during that time I've done A LOT of research, but still feel like there is so much more to know. The other thing that can bother me is when people breed just to breed. It is my heart felt opinion that breeding should only be done to IMPROVE a bloodline. What's the point in putting your dragon through all the stress only to produce something that is done over and over again in nature? If you can't make an improvement in the captive bred bearded dragon population, then you need to reconsider your motives.

On the other hand, it really is a free country. If you want to breed your 9 month female dragon that was missing a leg at birth, it is your choice. What ever happens to it is on your head.

Just my opinion. I hope I didn't offend too many out there.

 

[sunkist]

I completely agree which is why I purposely have purchased all males. No oopsies here!

 

[rin0425]

I both agree and dont agree...
I myself had an oopsie a fw months ago and was on here looking for help. Everyone was very understanding and helpful. It was totally my error and I definately accepted that. After that, I lost the eggs and over the past 6 months Ive been doing the research and buying the equipment and making my girl a very healthy and happy momma, and now shes expecting a new clutch in a few days...
I honestly wouldnt have decided to try again without the encouragement and advice of people on here.
That being said...
Anyone who does the before mentioned and blindly think they can have these babies just because are doing a huge disservice to their pet and any potential offspring. Im a vet tech and I see this with dogs cats birds snakes and reptiles...people feel that thy have the right to breed just because their animal can naturally do it. They dont think of the cost time and effort that goes into any reproduction, not to mention finding homes for the babies.
Its also so physically taxing on the mother...i see so many sick, mal-nourished and dying mothers....how ultimately selfish. I also ask that anyone who feels the need to breed would only do so after long and hard consideration...you can always buy 1 baby dragon if thats what youre really looking for...having 30 is much more expensive.
Im glad someone said something.
Aaron

 

[GoFast]

one advantage to more people breeding is that is it keeps the prices in check. supply and demand

 

[midnight_962002]

one advantage to more people breeding is that is it keeps the prices in check. supply and demand

Yes and No. Its kinda funny because I am in Graduate Economics class as I type.

The price believe it or not is set by the market. Just because someone can pay doesn't mean they are going to pay. Most prudent buyers won't purchase from just anyone. And most people that purchase are prudent.

Personally, I typically don't by from big breeders. I have in the past and I get so-so animals. But, go to someone like Anthony, Jeff, or myself and you are going to get a awesome animal that has our personal time involved. I won't sell an animal that I don't think is going to thrive. That being said I also won't buy from someone that I can't talk to and find out lots of information on. It typically takes me a 6 months to decide on where I am going to get a dragon from after I decide the type of dragon. There are other breeders on this board which you can get a great animal from that I have not mentioned. I mentioned the above based on who posts actively in the "Breeder" section.

Most of the breeders started out small and grew from there. But, its the ones that are dedicated to the animal that are going to make it. And Jeff is right...Its going to be years before you get a return on your investment. I know that I haven't seen it yet.

Ernie

 

[spyder79]

yes we do it for the love of the animal (at least i do) monetary gain is not really my goal if it was i would have purchased super high color animals instead of slightly lower color but extremely hardy and large beardies.