Ok I‘ve had my dragon for a year now and decided I wanted a mate for him, it‘s about time and I‘m ready for another one, they are so great huh hehe?! Ok so anyway I‘m starting to worry alot and might not get it cause I‘m afraid of the female laying eggs, people make it sound so hard and scary. What would I do with the eggs, would I let her lay them in dirt or take her out, do I leave the eggs where she lays them, will they hatch that way, oh my so many questions. I don‘t want to read it all from a site cause those people make it sounds hard and crazy to do, so have any of you guys hatched any eggs?
VERY brief summary: When the female is ready to lay, put a lay box in for her (I use a smaller rubbermaid tub filled with sterile soil) and she should lay her eggs in there. From there, the eggs need to be moved into an incubation container filled with moistened vermiculite or perlite, being careful to NOT turn the eggs whatsoever from the position they are laid in. Cover the container, and transfer to an incubator. Some things to keep in mindfemale dragons, once bred, will lay several clutches of eggs in a season, often consisting of 20 or more eggs per clutch. Even if you only incubate one clutch, Beardies are NOT always easy to find homes for, as wonderful as they are. Babies must be kept in small groups to avoid tail nips and bullying, which means several enclosures all set up with proper heating and UV lighting. One clutch of babies will go through a couple thousand 1/8 crickets a week when properly fed. Babies cannot eat mealworms. Also, breeding and laying can be very hard on the female's body, depleting her calcium and fat stores. Retained eggs and clocal prolapse is always a concern. Breeding can be a wonderful experience, but it can also be a heartbreaking and expensive one, especially if you encounter problems.
I haven't hatched any eggs (we were going to mate, but our female we bought ended up being a male). From what I've read though you will definitely need an incubator. Lay a pan of vermiculite in the cage with her when the eggs start showing through her belly, and she starts digging around in her cage. When you remove the eggs to put them in the incubator do not turn them or roll them, because that can kill the babies, and make sure that whatever incubator you get doesn't automatically roll the eggs. I would do some more reading first though. Be really carefully when they're mating too. I've heard that it can get pretty aggressive, but like I said I've never mated beardies, I've just done some reading. I would definitely study up first though, and be ready for a bunch of babies, I've heard they can sometimes have up to two dozen eggs. Good luck though. I would think it's a lot of work, but well worth it.
It is easy breeding. The job gets harder when raising the young as they hatch. You want to make sure they are the healthiest and well fed little dragons so they have a good start in life. They are little eating and pooping machines. LOL You will need to make sure your female gets the extra calcium and nutrients she needs to produce healthy offspring. Be prepared to separate your male because he could harass her. When the female lays you will need to make some kind of lay box. There are many ways to do this. You will need to purchase an incubator to hatch the eggs. Feeding and caring for the little dragons does take time and money.
