Feeding Your Bearded Dragon

Good Source of Information Re Feeding Your Bearded Dragon

 Source: http://www.5min.com/Video/Caring-for-a-Bearded-Dragon---Feeding-145450086

Bearded Dragon Attacks Grape

License:  Standard YouTube license

Kitten and Bearded Dragon Love

License:  Standard YouTube license

Pictures of Dragons

MORE GREAT PHOTOS OF BEARDED DRAGONS


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 © K. W. Tosney


 © K. W. Tosney





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 Bearded dragon, photo courtesy of Matt Ramos Photography

 

Trouble Shooting Tips

Troubleshooting Problems with your Bearded Dragon

Source:http://www.5min.com/Video/Caring-for-a-Bearded-Dragon-Tips-145450104

Selecting a Bearded Dragon

Source:  http://www.5min.com/Video/Deciding-if-a-Bearded-Dragon-is-the-Pet-for-You-145449892

Cricket Breeding

Some Great Information About Crickets and Cricket Breeding

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Bearded Dragon Source

Crickets make for a solid staple in your dragon’s diet, and as we know the chore of obtaining crickets by the dozen perhaps even multiple times a week can become tedious but necessary for your dragons well being.  If you have even just one dragon the concept of keeping a small stash of crickets and perhaps even breeding them can make complete and logical sense.  Even merely keeping them can save you in the trips you would make otherwise not to mention the potential for discounts with bulk purchases.  Breeding is really just another step or two, and the video included narrated by the nice young man quite well describes a lot of good information about breeding crickets, how to sex them and uses an overall method quite similar to the one I use myself.
My method is slightly different, and would essentially cost more to set up but operates pretty efficiently, especially when you have quite a few dragons.  I employ 4- 55 gallon aquariums I’ve acquired over the years.  I basically turn over each tank fresh every 4-5 months, or about the time it takes for them to become adults.  By spacing each fresh start about 5-6 weeks apart, I have a constant supply of small, medium and adult crickets.  Naturally as they grow bigger and demand more space, they have already been thinned out as I feed the smaller ones to babies and juveniles and save the big ones for adults.
Again, the way used by the narrator works perfectly for smaller scale and will offer you a constant supply of crickets in which you can hand pick out the necessary size you want.  I simply prefer knowing that I can open a lid (I use the tape trick and a simple screened flip lid) and every cricket in there should be about the same size.
I start these colonies by taking about 50 (what I assume are about 30 female and 20 male) adult crickets and make sure I maintain a temperature of at least 85 degrees, though I personally prefer 90+/- a couple.  The heat increases the likelihood of them mating and within 1-2 weeks they will have already begun laying eggs.  These Eggs hatch quickly and within a month those 50 crickets could be hundreds if not more.  Be sure to feed them, I use the same mix of dried cat and dog food ground really fine as well as some greens usually left over from my beardies.
How ever you choose to set up your cricket colony, there is plenty of great information in this video.  Check it out.

More Bearded Dragon Diet Information

Bearded Dragon Vegetable Diet Information

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Bearded Dragon Source

The video above outlines some of the most important details to consider when preparing veggies for your bearded dragon.
You should be feeding your dragons about a 70/30% split of live food to veggies. Ideally you can offer a little bit of both on a near daily basis. If this is not possible, try feeding your adult dragon about 2-4 dozen crickets two times weekly and then feed them veggies on the other five days.

Ideal Veggies
Romaine Lettuce
Collard Greens
Dandelion Greens
Mustard Greens
Kale
Arugula
Endive
Bok Choy
Raddish & Carrot Tops
Diced Carrots
Peas
Corn
Alfalfa Sprouts
Tomatoes

Fruits
Strawberries
Grapes
Blue Berries
Raspberries
Cantaloupe
Musk Melon
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Consider these sources below when seeking the best live food options.

Live Protein Based Food Sources
Crickets
Dubia Roaches
Mealworms
Superworms
Butterworms
Waxworms
Pinky Mice (baby mice)
Foods to Avoid:

Locally Caught Wild Insects
Fire Flies
Iceberg Lettuce
Live Adolescent or Adult Mouse
Fish
Other Lizards
Processed Meats

Bearded Dragon Breeding and Behaviors

Bearded Dragon Breeding & Behaviors

When you introduce your male to your female you will notice right away whether or not the male is interested in breeding. Typically males will begin aggressive head bobbing up and down rather quickly and sometimes stamp their foot. Their beards will turn black and your male will begin to run around. The female will begin a series of slow head bobs and arm waving showing submissive behavior if she is “ready.” The male may run circles around her trying to get into position. He will then run up behind the female and grab onto the back of her neck and bite it. Once mating has occurred, males will typically lose interest in the female and move off. It’s always a good idea to remove the male and repeat the process in a few days to increase your chances of successful mating.

Bearded Dragon. Determining Egg Fertility.

Healthy looking eggs immediately after laying should have a nice white tinge to them and a soft firmness when touched. Dark yellow or soggy eggs are most likely infertile and will not develop. If the eggs have a brownish tint to them in spots don’t worry, it is most likely just dirty from being in the soil. As long as the eggs have that firm soft feel to them, you should be fine (unless they are obviously yellow.

Egg Laying Bearded Dragon

A couple of days before the female is ready to lay her eggs she will begin roaming around her cage restlessly digging up her substrate and decorations. Our dragons run to the corners of their cages and dig relentlessly. Once you start noticing this, you should provide an egg laying box of some type or transferring them to another container to lay their eggs.

Bearded Dragon. Incubating the Eggs & Tips

Once they eggs have been laid and uncovered, they will need to be transferred to an egg container and placed inside your incubator. We recommend purchasing small plastic shoe boxes that you can get at any Wal*Mart for $1 and filling the inside with about 2″ of vermiculite. Make sure to add enough water to the vermiculite to make it damp and moist, but not soggy. You should be able to squeeze together a ball of vermiculite and have it stick together without dripping a lot of water.

Bearded Dragon. Hatchling Care

Hatchlings will require much more attention and care then sub-adult or adult dragons. They are much more sensitive to their environment and their needs must be attended to properly. Hatchlings will need to be fed 1/4″ crickets 2 to 3 times a day supplemented with a calcium supplement such as RepCal daily. In addition, they will need to be misted 3 or more times a day. You can also soak them in warm water several times a week to help with hydration. Make sure you put only a small amount of water in the container and you keep a close eye on your hatchlings. It is very easy for them to drown if they are weak or pushed down by other dragons standing on top of them.

Bearded Dragon. Egg Hatching

Several days before your eggs begin to hatch you may notice some of them start to sweat. This is normal near the end of incubation and not a sign to worry or decrease the humidity this late into development. Once the dragon begins to break through the egg, you will notice a considerable dent or “collapse of the egg.” It will then proceed to pop his head through the egg and take his first breaths outside the egg. Once his head has emerged, the dragon will slowly begin to remove the rest of his body from the egg. The time this will take will vary from dragon to dragon. It is normal for a dragon to do this from as little as a couple ours or up to 24 hours or more.

Pre-Breeding Conditions Bearded Dragon

Dragons typically will need a cool down period to help induce breeding. Although this is not always necessary, especially with yearling dragons, it is a good idea to help regulate their natal instincts. It will also help increase the fertility of your eggs and keep your dragons on a normal schedule. Many times dragons under a year old when paired together will breed right away without any type of cool down process. For older dragons, it’s a good idea to brumate them. 

Bearded Dragon Care

For a complete guide on how to properly care for your dragon we recommend purchasing “The Bearded Dragon Manual” by Philppe de Vosjoli published by Advanced Vivarium Systems.

She’s Gravid Now What?

Once your female has mated we strongly recommend separating her from all other dragons and giving her a cage of her own while she is gravid. It’s extremely important that she has access to high calcium foods and given plenty of space to bask and rest. Make sure you supplement her diet with calcium powder or even cuttlebones. You will notice a large increase in her appetite within a few days of successful mating. You will also notice a plumpness beginning to develop in her body. By the time she is ready to lay eggs she should be much rounder and plump then normal.

Source: June 01st 2007 Posted to Bearded Dragon

Shedding

Shedding

Bearded Dragons shed throughout their lives.  Whether it is because they literally outgrow their skin or just because their skin is getting old, they will shed and have new scales underneath.  With every shed, your Bearded Dragons colors will change, sometimes subtly and sometimes very obviously.  Young Bearded Dragons can be in shed almost constantly, old ones usually shed only a few times a year.  You will notice that your Bearded Dragon is getting ready to shed when the scales become ashy gray.  Shortly after, your Bearded Dragon will start rubbing and the scales will come off in patches and bits. Your Bearded Dragon may become moody and go off of his food when shedding, and this is perfectly normal.  Shedding can last anywhere from days to weeks.  Make sure you do NOT try to help them shed by tearing off any of their skin, this can damage the new skin and hurt your pet.  What you can do is give them extra baths and mistings to help them stay hydrated and relieve their itching.  This will also help the shedding process go faster.  Bearded Dragons may eat their skin after they have shed it.  This is perfectly normal, and actually is thought to be healthy.  It is nothing to worry about.  

Source: http://beardeddragoncaresheet.weebly.com/general-info.html

Bearded Dragons Seized in Raid in Brooklyn

This does not make sense because most of these reptiles can be purchased at pet stores and the alligator is a hatchling.  I think the problem is really with the 3 pit bulls in 1 apartment, come on!  Another example of media sensationalism.  Any comments?

Alligators, Bearded Dragons Among Wild Animals Seized in Brooklyn Raid Updated September 8, 2012 5:56pm

September 8, 2012 5:56pm | By Jess Wisloski, Jesse Lent

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CROWN HEIGHTS — Police seized 13 exotic animals, including alligators, bearded dragons, and a tarantula in the raid of a public housing unit Friday, police said.

On Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., Animal Care and Control officers removed five pythons and a boa constrictor, as well as two alligators, two bearded dragons, a gecko, a scorpion, and a tarantula, from the fifth-floor apartment of a Crown Heights public housing complex called the Weeksville Houses, police said, as part of an ongoing investigation.
Neighbors at the 1625 Dean Street building, said the city's findings were shocking. They also said the wild animals were not the only beasts living in the unit.

"They've got some big dogs," said Jeff Hayes, 43, a private contractor. "They've got some pit bulls up there. They need to do something," he said, speaking about the city-contracted animal protection agency, AC&C.
"That tarantula scares me more than anything because the poison is deadly," added Hayes.
Lumber yard worker Klein Poe, 30, whose family lives below the unit, said he knew of three pit bulls living in the unit. "I hear them running back and forth over my head all the time. I hear it all night," he said.

The large pit bulls already scared him as it was, he said, when he would take his 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter out. He also said the owners weren't responsible cleaning up after the dogs.
"There's urine and feces in the hallway and nine times out of ten, it was them," he said. "In these types of apartments who would want three dogs?"

He said the tenants upstairs often had water leaks directly into their unit. "It's straight weird," he said. "I've had little problems with them."
In the past, he said, when NYCHA, which runs the public housing complex, wanted to get into the fifth-floor unit to check on the leaks, he said the tenants would bar city workers from entering. "They didn't want to let them in," he said. "Now it all makes sense."

Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120908/crown-heights/alligators-bearded-dragons-among-wild-animals-seized-brooklyn-raid#ixzz26JfbDWXv

Reptilian Charm.......

Inland Bearded Dragon

(Pogona vitticeps)

The inland bearded dragon has a certain reptilian charm, so much so, in fact, that it is becoming an increasingly popular pet. According to owners, the lizard -- often affectionately called a "beardie" -- has a distinctive personality. Much like a dog or cat, they say, it recognizes its owner. It knows its name. It begs for treats.

Some Interesting Facts:

• The beardie can lock its legs so that it can sleep while standing up.
• It often loses front teeth when grasping and tearing prey, but the teeth grow back quickly.
• If distressed or aggressive, the inland bearded dragon can quickly change its normally soft and rubbery scales into prickly spines.
• Inland bearded dragons establish a social hierarchy, with the dominant male assuming a premier basking spot as if it were a throne. 

• Senses: The inland bearded dragon has acute vision, with full color, but poor depth perception. It also has a photosensitive organ, or third "eye," on the top of its head, which can sense light and shadows. It has ears -- holes on the side of its head -- that provide excellent hearing. On the roof of its mouth, it has a Jacobsen's Organ, which provides for keen smell and taste. Lying against the ground, it has a sense of touch that can feel vibrations transmitted through the soil.
•  
•  Communication:   The inland bearded dragon communicates, not only by bobbing its head, but also, for instance, by waving its forelegs, changing its color and inflating its beard. It may vocalize with a soft hiss, when threatened.
  Young males and the females often raise a foreleg and wave, indicating subservience to a larger, dominant inland bearded dragon or perhaps signaling recognition of another of the species. The female may wave to a potential mate during the mating season to signal her availability.
  
  Threatened by an aggressive male or by a potential predator, the inland bearded dragon summons a host of responses. It may bob its head vigorously, flatten its body, change its color, flare its throat and beard, open its pink mouth, and hiss.
  If it comes to combat, said the Woodland Park Zoo, "two inland bearded dragons will circle one another, mouths open, hissing and trying to bite the other's tail..."
  
  In the face of a possible predatory attack, said Loyal D. Rue, By the Grace of Guile: The Role of Deception in Natural History and Human Affairs, the bearded lizard changes its color from "olive brown to bright yellow-orange..." It puffs up its head to "double its normal size." Of course, "Threatening displays of this sort are mere bluff, but they very often defeat the designs of predators by making them think twice about attacking."

What to Consider Before Breeding Your Beardie

Source:  http://www.adambouskila.com/2007/06/02/things-to-consider-before-breeding-your-bearded-dragon/June 2, 2007

Things to Consider Before Breeding Your Bearded Dragon

Breeding can be very stressful and difficult on your dragons especially for your female. It is critical that you select strong, healthy adult females before even considering breeding your dragon. If your female is young, weak, or not sufficiently maintained during breeding, your eggs (and female) will suffer tremendously. Over-breeding will also decrease the life span of your female dragons and cause later clutches to be weaker and genetically more prone to diseases and shorter life spans.
Another important aspect to consider before breeding is cost. Properly caring for hatchlings is a very time consuming and costly adventure. It can be very rewarding and a lot of fun to watch your babies hatch and grow up, but it’s not for everyone. If you do not already own the supplies you will need to breed your dragon, you’re looking at somewhat of a small investment to get everything together. Check below for a list of supplies at minimum you will need.

List of Items You Will Need to Breed Your Dragon

• Incubator: Many people use the chicken incubator model Hovabator. I have never personally used this incubator because I have heard from others that it is unreliable and at best acceptable. It is also rather small for the amount of eggs we produce here. We use a homemade incubator made out of an old freezer and a Helix Control Unit.
• Vermiculite & Egg Boxes: Vermiculite is used as a substrate to place your eggs in inside the incubator once they have been laid. You will need some kind of egg box to fill with vermiculite to place the eggs inside. We use plastic $1 shoe boxes you can find at Wal*Mart.
• Digital Thermometer: Digital thermometers are extremely important to help monitor the temperature inside the incubator. Overheating or exposure to low temperatures can cause the eggs to die and not hatch.
• Cages for Hatchlings: You will need some type of housing system to house all of your new hatchlings. They cannot be kept with their parents or larger dragons. Many people use 10 gallon aquariums to accomplish this. We recommend either building your own rack system or using large Rubbermaid containers built into a shelving system. You will need a lot of cages – the more hatchlings per cage the more likely nips will occur.
• Heat Bulbs: Some type of heating bulbs will be needed. You must provide a basking spot of around 115 degrees F on the warm end, and around 85 degrees F on the cool side. We use regular 75 watt house bulbs for our rack system and they work great.
• UVB Bulbs: It is very important that you have proper UVB lighting for your hatchlings. At this young age, they need as much access to UVB as possible due to their tremendous growth rate.
• Calcium & Vitamin Supplementation: Every day your hatchlings will need their crickets dusted with a high quality calcium supplementation. We use RepCal. You will also need to use a vitamin supplementation product once a week. We use Herptivite.
• Food: You will need a ton of crickets. Healthy hatchlings can eat 50 or more crickets a day each. You should also provide them with fresh greens and pellets at all times even though it may take several weeks for them to start eating them.
• Spray Bottle: It’s extremely important that you mist your hatchlings at least 3 times a day to keep them hydrated. Gently spray room temperature water on then in a fine mist. They will drink the water from their face and off of rocks, sticks, and cage walls.

Packaged Salad Mix

Packaged salad mix for beardies

Here is some great info I found on ensuring that the vegetable content of your beardie's diet is easily available.   And, better yet, you both might be eating more healthily.  Try it out and let me know in the comment section if your beardie enjoyed the salad mix.  I am trying it on my beardie 'Savannah'.

Opinions on the internet vary widely about the benefits and risks of feeding different sorts of veggies to your beardie. There seem to be a few reasons for this, as far as I can tell. Mainly, everyone’s in agreement that you should try to get really high-calcium veggies into your beardie’s diet, with the main exception of spinach. According to more than one site (1, 2), spinach (and, according to another site, also kale)will bind with calcium so, even though it nutritionally contains a lot of calcium, it’s not really all that great for getting calcium into your beardie–in fact it seems to do somewhat the reverse.
There’s an equal number of warnings about iceberg lettuce, for good reason. If you look at a piece of iceberg, you’ll know where they got the name: it’s mostly water. Now, it may seem that something high in water might help your beardie to remain hydrated, but in fact it may make them dehydrated by giving them diarrhea. Also, as mentioned, it’s mostly water, so it contains very little calcium.

The other main point of agreement seems to be that you should try to mix up the greens your beardie eats. One of the easiest ways I’ve found to do this is to use a packaged salad mix. There are definitely bearded dragon owners out there who will no doubt attack this statement, claiming that packaged salad is less fresh and contains more bacteria. To that I would say that I’ll take my chances with a packaged product over the ‘fresh’ greens we often get in my desolate corner of this country, and after all, people can only feel up the un-packaged vegetables and get their grubby bacteria all over them while looking for the ‘best’ one. If you’re a DIY sort of person, though, and you have access to good veggies, you could also try this recipe.

The salad mix I’ve been feeding  recently is Dole Spring Mix. It doesn’t contain any iceberg lettuce, and the company describes it as a mix of ‘baby lettuces, endive and mustard greens,’ decent staple veggies for beardies, according to the most popular care sheet on the web.

Even better, you can make yourself salads with it, and it’s tasty, so that way you’ll be back at the store in two days buying a fresh bag, instead of trying to use an entire bunch of collard greens before they wilt.

Source:   http://neverblog.net/packaged-salad-mix-for-beardies/

Bearded Dragon's Senses

A Bearded Dragon's Senses and Anatomy 

Vision

© Clicksy at Flickr

Bearded Dragons rely largely on their eyes to sense what is around them.  They have good vision, with full color too. Since their eyes are on the sides of their heads, they have a larger field of vision than we do but their depth perception is downright bad.  This is why they often time their leaps wrong and bonk into things. 

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Hearing

© Jamie Duke

At first glance, someone unfamiliar with lizards may think that lizards are missing ears.  This is not true though, their ears are actually the holes on the side of their head.  They simply don't have lobes around them.  Their hearing is excellent.

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Touch

When pressed against the ground, a Bearded Dragon can sense vibrations. 
A Bearded Dragon's scales are rough and bumpy for a reason.  When it rains, the bumpy spots help collect water between them.  A Bearded Dragon will then bend downward, and all of the water will flow between the bumps to its mouth, where it can be licked up. 
When the Bearded Dragon becomes distressed or aggressive, their normally soft and rubbery spikes can abruptly become prickly.  They have a lot of control over their spikes, and they know to use it to hurt others who have senses of touch.  They also have exceptional control over their limbs, they can lock them in place so that they can sleep standing up and other such feats. 

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Taste and Smell

© Jamie Duke

One sense they have developed quite  a bit more than humans is their sense of taste.  Their tongue in particular is unique.  The tip is adhesive, so that they can draw in their food easily with the stickiness of it.  They also actually taste their surroundings with their tongue to 'see' what is going on, in a watered down method of how snakes do the same thing.  What is actually going on is that they have a Jacobson Organ on the roof of their mouth that allow them to smell/taste really really well with it.  Many lizards are known for having a strong jaw and sharp teeth.  Bearded Dragons have unusual teeth.  Their front teeth fall out and grow back regularly.  These teeth are used, "for grasping and tearing live prey" (Grenard, Steve).  Their side teeth are permanent, and are fused to their jaws.  The side teeth are used for chewing vegetable matter.  They use their mouth, in addition to tasting, eating, and breathing, as a cooling device.  When they are hot, they open their mouth wide in what is known as 'gaping'.  This is just to cool themselves off, similar to how dogs pant and humans sweat. 

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© Jamie Duke  The Parietal/Third Eye

Another unique sense that they have has to do with the parietal/third eye.  I don't mean anything psychic here, of course.  The parietal eye is located at the top of their heads, and you can see this as an oddly colored scale in the center of the top of their heads.  What this does is sense heat and shadows, and possibly light.  In the wild, this serves as a warning if one of their main predators, birds, are swooping down at them.  It is also possible it helps them to bask.  

Source: http://beardeddragoncaresheet.weebly.com/general-info.html

Salmonella

Salmonella

More than 3/4 of reptiles carry Salmonella.  Salmonella in reptiles is contained in the digestive tract, and exits their body with their feces.  Touching a reptile's feces, even trace amounts, and then ingesting it can pass the Salmonella on to humans.  While usually an unpleasant but not serious illness, the old, the young, and the immune deficient can die from Salmonella.  However, there are ways to prevent infection. 

First, always wash your hands with an antibacterial soap after touching the lizard and/or his enclosure.  Secondly, keep the reptile away from kitchens and dining rooms where food is prepared or eaten.  

Thirdly, dispose of lizard feces in the toilet or trash can, not the sink or bathtub.  Also, do not bathe the lizard in the same place where you will bathe an infant or young child. 

With care, transmission of Salmonella from reptile to human can be avoided.

Source:  http://beardeddragoncaresheet.weebly.com/general-info.html

Beardie Calendars

Beardie Stuff by BeardedDragon.org

Breeding Beardies

Although it is too late in the season for this, I thought I would run the article now to give everyone something to think about for the Spring.  And, I will run this article again in February. Remember, females should be kept in a lowered temperature environment for at least two to four weeks before trying to breed.   Meanwhile read and research all you can about breeding beardies if you are interested.  There is lots of information on the internet and for the most part, they do not disagree with one another.  This article mainly deals with preparing your beardies to breed, creating the correct habitat and behavioral changes to observe.  For information on caring and hatching the eggs, I will give in the follow up article in February.

First, make sure you have a male and female, and, always quarantine new beardies-  have them checked by a vet before introducing a new potential mate to your established pet.  To successfully breed, it is best to place the female with a male of equal size or weight. It is recommended that females not be bred until they are at least 18 months old or more than 350 grams. So, you will need two suitable habitats for your beardies, not just one.

For optimum fertility, provide a period of decreased temperature and daylight hours, called brummation, for two to three months or a minimum of two to four weeks. Although many beardies successfully breed without a brummation period, you can expect decreased fertility if the rest period is not provided before breeding season.

After the brumation period, it is very important to ensure that the habitat is correct for the species. There should be a temperature gradient of 77 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit with a focal basking spot of 105 degrees. The beardies should be on a balanced diet with adequate calcium. The lizards must be in optimum condition -- especially the female -- because breeding, developing eggs and then laying eggs (called oviposition) takes a lot of metabolic energy and will take calcium from the female much as it does with humans.  Remember, full-spectrum lighting, including UVB, is necessary for proper calcium metabolism. Either natural sunlight (not filtered through glass or plastic) or an electric bulb that produces UVB is a necessity!

 Once a sexually mature male is ready to breed, its beard darkens. He will bob his head and stamp his front feet to gain the attention of a female. He may begin chasing her around the enclosure, and he may bite the base of the female’s neck while attempting to position himself for breeding. The male then everts a hemipenis and inserts it into the female’s cloaca. During this period it is crucial to observe the pairs to ensure that the male does not harm the female.  Remove the male if she is exhibiting fearful behaviours such as hiding, burrowing, excessive hand waving etc.

There should be enough room for two adult beardies to comfortably cohabitate, branches for each for climbing and a cave or nontoxic plant (or two) to allow one to retreat and hide from the other if necessary. Keep in mind that keeping your bearded dragons together is temporary. You will need two separate habitats in the long term as well as a separate suitable habitat for the hatchlings when the time comes.  I have seen some comments where owners think that the female cares for the hatchlings but that is not true and she may even see them as a food source.

Allow the pair to remain together for one week and then remove her for a week. Return her to the male’s cage again for another week, and remove her again for another week. Finally, put her with the male for one more week. At this time (if you have witnessed successful copulations), separate the pair and place the female in her own cage with a lay box.
A lay box is a plastic box filled with moist topsoil, or potting soil, placed in the cage at a slant. This box allows her to dig and oviposit her eggs. A female ready to lay will dig and pace to the corners of her cage.

A female usually lays her eggs four to six weeks after a successful mating. While developing her eggs inside the shell gland, she will appear fuller in the abdomen, and she may eat less and less. Eventually, she may stop eating altogether, though some don’t.

I am not going to go into removing the eggs, incubating the eggs, hatching out neonates and caring for the hatchlings. I just wanted you to show you that a whole lot more is involved in breeding beardies than simply putting a male and female together. Breeding requires dedication, preparation, planning and knowledge of the reproductive habits of these amazing agamid lizards.

I recommend you purchase a good text on bearded dragons or spend some time visiting some of the excellent bearded dragon websites out there. They will explain in greater detail what is involved in successfully breeding beardies and hatching the eggs.

Amazing Color Variations

Here are some amazing color variations I found on this site.  ENJOY

 Dachiu Bearded Dragon Pictures - Photo Gallery 1

Welcome to our Bearded Dragon Photo Gallery 1. All of the pictures below were taken before 2000.

** All the pictures below were taken by Robert Dachiu Jr. unless otherwise noted. The pictures may be used freely, but please do not represent them as your animals or pictures. Please place credit to Rob. It would also be appreciated if you post them publicly, if you would just drop us a link. Thank you and enjoy.


HypoX Red Dragon

Yellow Red Desert
Flamintiger
 Redflame
 HypoPastel
 Yellow and Lavender
 Yellow Tangerine
 Sandfire Sunburst
  Orange Red Sandfire

Mixed Batch

Go to their site to see other color variations.  http://www.dachiu.com/availabledragons.html?

These dragons are from their initial breeding stock and have all been retired but go to their site to see even greater color variations and very reasonable prices.  (No, I am not working on commission, I just really thought these beardies were beautiful and reasonably prices vs the store variety.)

More Dragon LOVE

How to Get Your Dragon to Eat Variety.

Your Bearded Dragon is an omnivore, meaning that he needs a balanced diet of meat and vegetable matter. A hatchling dragon will eat mostly small insects. As your dragon grows, he will start to eat more vegetable matter. The diet of a juvenile dragon (2-4 months of age) will consist of approximately 80% insects and 20% greens. Young dragons should be fed 2-3 times daily. If insufficient food is fed, young dragons may nip at the tails and toes of their cage mate

How to Entice Variety
Pay attention to color and smell, time of day and heat of cage.  Make sure your beardie is sufficiently heated in the morning before offering food.  And after feeding, ensure there is approximately 8 hours of to assist with digestion. 

Slice portions thinly so that they can be wiggled and look like a worm but pinch them before offering so that the moisture and scent is released.

Offer food at a variety of times during the day to determine when your beardie is most hungry or interested in food.

Leave food items in a shallow dish so that they can be easily reached and consummed.  Don't leave them in overnight but remove and replace the next day with fresh items.

Keep notes of what your beardie does eat so that you can build a repertoire of accepted food choices.  Mix preferred foods in with new items to encourage accidental eating and new experiences.  Remember to always try a variety of foods, fruits/veg/meat items.


How Often to Feed
Some people suggest feeding in 'threes'.  Day 1 feed meat sources, day 2 feed a salad and day 3 give a rest.  I have found that my beardie likes a mix of meat and salad items and will voluntarily take a day off food after two or three days of eating.  I maintain the same amount of heat whether she has eaten that day or not.

How Much to Feed
 For a Bearded Dragon more than a year old, there should be roughly 70% salad and 30% insects. At this age a Bearded Dragon should get 50 crickets OR 30 worms a week.  For a Bearded Dragon less than a year old, there should be 70% insects and 30% salad in their diet. A young Bearded Dragon should get between 30-80 appropriately sized crickets (smaller than the space between the Bearded Dragon's eyes) a day. Before the age of 2 to 3 months, young Bearded Dragons should be fed 3-5 times a day. Between 3 and eight months, they should be fed twice a day. After eight months, they can be fed once a day.


Meat Food Sources
Be sure the size of food you feed is proportional to your dragon's size. Malnourishment, seizures, and intestinal blockages can occur if hatchlings and juveniles are fed insects too large for them to capture or digest.  As a rule of thumb, feed nothing bigger than the space between your beardie's eyes in order to avoid intestinal blockages.  Feeder insects should also be "gut-loaded," which means the insects are fed nutritious and vitamin-rich foods before they are given to the dragon. Feed your feeder insects food such as: ground legumes, corn meal, carrots, sweet potatoes, collard greens, mustard greens, broccoli, spinach, apples, oranges, cereals, and rolled oats. Several commercial products, formulated to be rich in calcium and vitamins, may also be used to gut-load feeder insects.

Plant Food Sources Plant matter should make up approximately 20% of your dragon's diet and should consist mainly of green leafy vegetables. You may also include other vegetables. Fruit should make up the smallest portion of the diet. Shred or tear vegetables and fruits into small pieces and mix them together to encourage your dragon to eat all that is offered, and not just pick out his favorite foods. Following is a list of some popular plant-based dragon foods. Greens Vegetables Fruit escarole kale collards parsley clover dandelion greens turnip greens mustard greens beet greens-only occasionally spinach-only occasionally NEVER iceberg lettuce broccoli okra peas green beans zucchini squash mashed/grated carrots sweet potato bell pepper frozen mixed vegetables (warm up first) figs kiwi papaya melon apples grapes dates peaches apricots strawberries (seeds removed) plums bananas (peeled) Being September, the blackberries are very ripe and delicious and my beardie LOVES them.  She eats one or two every few days.  This is a delight that she can enjoy for about a month and then they are out of season.  Be careful with seeds with small immature beardies as they can create a blockage.  Also don't let food mix with the cage substrate i.e. sand etc because the small particles caught on the food may also cause a digestion problem.  Use a saucer or small container lid. Sources:  http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=824                  http://www.bearded-dragon-food.com/                  http://beardeddragoncaresheet.weebly.com/feeding-and-watering.html

Brunation: Providing a Hide for your beardie

PROVIDING A “HIDE” FOR YOUR BEARDIE

In most cases, Bearded Dragons who are going to brumate will go down for their period of sleep on the cool side of their tanks or enclosures, as they rest better in cooler temperatures, away from the warmth of their lights.  This “hide” should be large enough to cover their entire body, but small enough that they will feel snug and safe during their period of deep sleep. 

The “hide” that you provide can be as ornate or as plain as you like, as long as you provide them with something, so that they can feel safe, protected and comfortable.
Many pet stores and online suppliers carry a large number of different styles....some made out of natural rock, or resin material, which look very nice, or even those that look like a cave, whose tops can double as a basking site, with silk or plastic vegetation attached to them. These will dress up their tanks, and can be used year round, but they can also be a bit pricey. Or you can simply provide them with an appropriately sized cardboard box with an entry hole in one end, placed upside down in the cooler end of their tank.  I made a cardboard cave alongside the full length of the back of my beardie's cage with openings large enough for her to go in and out of and the top wide enough for her to bask on.  She loves running in and out of the holes and climbing up and running along the top.  How plain or fancy you choose to go is totally up to you, and your own tastes, and pocketbook.  Your beardie isn’t going to care one way or the other, as long as he has a darkened protected area, away from his lights, to do his sleeping in.

People have suggested shortening the amount of time the lights remain on and then as Spring approaches increase the time of daylight, however, remember they need a minimum of at least 8 hours every day.  Do remember that your Beardie will decide when he wants to go into brumation and how long he/she is going to sleep.  Some beardies will brumate for a week at a time, others for a month up to two, it all depends on when they were born and their own inclinations.  It is recommended that if you are wanting to breed your beardie, brunation prior to breeding can be very helpful.  More on the topic of breeding beardies later.

More Dragon Love

This video is really about Love for your Bearded Dragon and the bearded dragon reciprocating.  A really cute video!

Uploaded by ChristinaR5 on Nov 3, 2011

This is Steve-O, he is my beloved bearded dragon. Every night we snuggle until he falls asleep, then he is tucked into bed. Every morning he waits for me to uncover him to wake him up. It has been the same ritual for 2 years now, ever since he was a baby (see my other videos to see me waking him up as a baby).
After I wake him up, I love on him and talk to him, then his light is turned on and I place him under his heat light on the other side of his tank (the red glowing light). He sits under it while I eat breakfast. When I finish, I prepare his breakfast. His breakfast on this morning consisted of dandelion greens and superworms. On this particular morning he was not really hungry, witch is no problem, he will have some snacks when I get home from my classes.
This video really shows how Steve-O is not food driven and enjoys human company. He is my baby and I love him more than any other pet I have ever owned. He is one of the family and my mother even makes him pillows, blankets and calls him her grandlizard lol
I hope you all enjoy this video and see how great a bearded dragon can be as a pet. I will post more videos of Steve just being himself so subscribe if you want to see more!

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