by Charles Klein

Created on: June 30, 2008

Breeding and egg care of my personal favorite lizard the Bearded Dragon! The Bearded dragon is a unique lizard ingenious to Australia. This is a beautiful and magnificent reptile. Some species of Beardies and can grow to only a mere eight inches while others can grow to around two feet.

Do your research before taking one of these beauties home. They need some room and grow quick. Their are many different colors to choose from if you go to a Beardie breeder. Most pet stores only carry the normal color which is still gorgeous. The Bearded dragon is fairly easy to care for as long as the temperature and lighting is provided. I recommend doing your research before breeding any animal. If you want to just breed to breed forget it. Every breeding should produce a better quality animal than the last generation.

If you would like to get into the hobby of herps, or reptiles there is no reptile to start with like the Bearded Dragon. The best way to get started is to purchase a male and female breeding pair of Beardies from a breeder . Most breeders have a choice of color phases to pick from such as the Red or sunfire yellow. Also choose which species of Beardie you would like. The three main species are the dwarf, regular and the German giant.

Once you have obtained the colors and species you prefer. Get a roomy enclosure and put them in the same tank. The tank should be large enough for sexual activity. Let the Dragon's get acquainted with one another. If they don't copulate don't worry.

At the beginning of the winter months a "brumation" period should occur for the beardies. Brumation is similar to hibernation but can still be a little active. If a natural brumation does not happen. There is a technique to help a brumation.

For start of the winter months slowly over a couple of weeks turn the heat down to around 78 to 80 degrees day temps. Allow the lighting or photo period to decrease down to only eight hours of daylight. This should trigger brumation. Make sure the beardie has a cool,dark and quiet place to rest during brumation. Brumation should last a couple months. There are some things needed for a safe brumation. One is to make sure the dragon has gone defecated and is healthy condition. You don't want your dragon to start brumation with food in it's belly. The food will sit and rot in the stomach. If the dragon gets active during this time it is ok to put a little food in the cage. Again make sure he or she defecates again.

Toward the end of brumation start to slowly turn the heat up to normal temps and increase the day light hours back to 12. The dragons will be hungry and ready to mate. Let them mate naturally watching for copulation.

Make sure to put a good place for the female to lay her eggs at least a foot deep. A moist soil will be good for this. After the eggs are laid carefully remove them to a plastic shoe box or incubator. Keep the temperature at 82 to 84 degrees. The best materials to incubate the eggs in is vermiculite or perlite. When removing the eggs from cage to incubator make a small dot on the side of the egg that is on top and keep the dot in the same position while moving and in the incubator. Bury the eggs a few inches into the material and keep it moist. Gestation should last between 65 and 75 days. Keep the hatchlings in the incubator for about twelve hours to let the yolk sack dry. You can try to feed babies within twenty four hours after hatching using appropriate sized insects. Also remember baby beardies like the temps higher than adults at around one hundred degrees in the hottest spot.

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