by Lisa McGee

Created on: June 27, 2008

When deciding to breed your bearded dragon, the first thing you need to do is figure out if you have the proper sexes to do the job. If you do not know the sex of your dragons, now is the time to find out. If you are unsure of how to do this, your vet might be a good resource.

When sexing your dragon, point face the dragon away from you and lift it's tail up. Be very careful not to hurt your animal. It might be best to have someone hold the dragon, to keep it from moving, while you inspect it. Directly above the vent (this is the opening which serves to excrete waste and also acts as the reproductive tract) you will see either one or two bulges. If your dragon has one bulge, it is a female, two and it is a male.

There is another way to sex a bearded dragon that is dangerous and not recommended. That is to push on these bulges until they come out of the vent in order to identify them as male or female. Do not attempt to do this, it could result in a serious injury to your animal.

Once you are sure you have one of each sex, you can prepare to mate them. First of all, the female must be at least 1 and a half years old. You should also increase her intake of calcium and feed her an equal mix of greens and insects.

The male dragon is ready to breed when his beard turns black. You will also notice an increase in his attention to the female with foot stamping and chasing. Once this occurs, he is ready. Some breeders insist that they should be kept in separate cages unless they are breeding. Others think it is fine for them to room together as long as the cage is large enough for them and they get along well. Another issue is if you want babies or not. If you don't want to breed them, best to keep them apart.

Once they are ready to breed, they need to be housed together, if they are not normally. This is a dangerous period for two dragons who do not know each other. Be careful to monitor the situation to assure that one of them is not injured. Some males get very aggressive during mating. Keep an eye on your female for injuries.

Another area of debate is whether or not the dragons need an period of brumation or not. Brumation is a period of time when you bring on a winter like period of reduced temperature and light. Most believe it is not necessary unless the male seems unwilling to mate. In that case, brumation might help jump start his interest.

Once the pair have mated, the gestation period is twenty to thirty days. During this time the female will increase in weight

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