Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[angelsue]

Hello all

I have just joined as i am in the middle of getting all stuff needed to get my self a little bearded dragon

My brother owns 2 little baby's so its good for me to get to know them and also my brother will be helping me get my temps and everything right as soon as i can buy my dimmer and stuff needed.

As for the questions if you could answer any for me i will appreciate it as i am all confused after all the reading i have done and my mind feels a little boggled lol thank you to all who reply

1) I don't know wether to get a girl or boy,meaning i have heard the males can be really dominant will he be a handful to me? and i have heard that females can egg lay and could that course some problems? in all i just want to know if out of the two sexes which is more layed back.

2) I have heard that they go through adolescence the teenager stage lol meaning biting and hissing and stuff is this something i should worry about?

3) I also want to ask is 1 better or 2 together as i have read you shouldn't house 2 together i should only have 1? but then i got told it is best to have 2 together cos the dragon won't be stressed (i know 2 males is a no go as they will fight) and also if you get only 1 you do put your self in the position of it trying to bite you and stuff.

4) oh one last thing when i go to get my dragon is there anyway i will be able to say this one will be such a little sweet heart lol probably a silly question i know but thought i would ask in case there is something for me to look for and i will be getting one off a breeder when the time comes and not out of the pet shop.

sorry for the big long post just want to do this right and have a lovely dragon and be able to enjoy having him/her as a pet

I am so confused as in what to do so your answers will help me lots

Thank you
sue.

[Devon_Paul]

Hi Sue,

First of all, great to see a newcomer to the hobby and it is refreshing to see that you are doing all of your research and setting up your viv before purchasing your Beardie. I have some experience of Beardies as I have 3 already, but I do not consider myself an expert, however, I will try to answer your questions based on my experience.

1. Unfortunately you will probably not get the choice of sex if you are buying a young dragon. They are extremely hard to sex at a young age, and despite all of mine being sexed when I purchased them, they all turned out different!!
2. Mine have never bitten or hissed. The trick is to tame your BD by taking him or her out of her viv each day for progressively longer periods of time. My youngest is only 6 months old and she now loves to come out of an evening and sit on my lap and watch telly with me!
3. I would stick to only buying one. Pet shops will tell you, as they did me, that 2 together is fine and that they appreciate the company. This is true to a point, but twice now I have bought 2 together only to find both were male and they started to be nasty to each other after about 6 months old. I would wait to find out what sex you have and then look for an oppositely sexed mate at a later date. I had to unfortunately re-home 2 beardies due to the fact that I had bought more than one male and it can be heartbreaking.
4. When buying your Beardie, I would make sure you choose the one that looks most active and alert. If you can, try to see him or her feeding before you make your choice. Check the conditions that they are kept in too. Most reputable breeders or shops will offer after-sales help and will check that you have your setup right before you take him or her home. They may even offer to give you a care sheet too.

I hope that this helps. But most of all, I think you have made a great choice. Beardies make great pets and great company. They all have their own personalities and ways and they can be very funny and I just love to sit and watch mine. They love nothing more than to sit and watch me too!!

Good luck, regards, Paul.
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1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
0.0.2 Blue Tongued Skinks
1.0.0 Bosc/Savannah Monitor
0.2.0 Cats!!
∞.∞ Cockroaches - Lobsters, Dubia and Turkistans

[angelsue]

Thanks for your reply

I think i will just get the one so i don't run into some trouble as i know i won't be able to afford or have the room to get another viv took me all the time in the world to get round the other half to let me get one lol

The reason i was saying about 2 is the pet shop(yes i know the pet shop) told me there would be more chance of me getting bit by it if it was on its own but they do know that i won't be buying off them i told them i will be going to a breeder.

Its the puberty bit i get worried over lol i have read so many storeys of ppls dragons getting a little aggressive around this time but as you say it depends on the dragon.

I was asking over the male or female too as i know the males do the really black beard and head bob at you as such...if they do this is it still safe to pick them up ?

Is there anything i need to know when not to pick them up?

sorry for the long windedness of everything just need to try and absorb as much as i can so i can be a good owner so if there is anything i need to know at all please type it here so i can learn as much as possible

thanks again
sue

[Devon_Paul]

Hi Sue,

I wouldn't worry about all of the head bobbing and black beardiness!! My male, photo on a recent thread, is very animated at the moment because he can see my 2 females in their viv, which is just adjacent to his. He tries to climb the glass of his viv, spends most of his time head-bobbing and desperately trying to escape. This is nothing to worry about though and I think it shows that he is really healthy and fit. I cannot allow him access to my females yet though as they are only young and he could do some serious damage if he got his way with them!!
When he is like this, it is not aimed at me at all and I slide open his viv door and he just calmly walks out onto my arm. He soon settles down and when he cools down to room temperature, he becomes extremely docile and again, he also likes nothing more than to sit on my lap, or explore the house!!
_________________
1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
0.0.2 Blue Tongued Skinks
1.0.0 Bosc/Savannah Monitor
0.2.0 Cats!!
∞.∞ Cockroaches - Lobsters, Dubia and Turkistans

[angelsue]

Thank you that has made me feel better lol i love the way the males bob there head and black beard, if I'm honest i was wanting a male in a way but those things worried me but you have cleared that up a little now and my mind is starting to un boggle lol so when i do pick a baby if it is male i will be pleased ,even if it is female i will be too,as i say the only thing i have a worry about with a female is the way they can lay eggs even if there on there own,have you had this happen? if so what do you do? i just worry over her getting egg bound,sorry to go on but as i say just want my head clear and full of the info i need

[Devon_Paul]

Hi Sue,

My older female has only laid one clutch of eggs, about 12 I think. Unfortunately I was not aware she was gravid because I thought she was too young. By the time I got home from work, they had all started to shrink etc, so I just picked them out and put them straight in the bin. I knew that they were not viable because she hadn't bred anyway. I am looking forward to her getting a bit older, and having a go at introducing her to my male. Would love to have a go at incubating and then raising a clutch, but that's a different story altogether!!
_________________
1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
0.0.2 Blue Tongued Skinks
1.0.0 Bosc/Savannah Monitor
0.2.0 Cats!!
∞.∞ Cockroaches - Lobsters, Dubia and Turkistans

[angelsue]

Once again thank you for your help

[angelsue]

Oh forgot to ask ,i have bought some self adhesive vinyl floor tiles does anyone use these? or are they a no no.

I bought them because i have no one i know that could put ceramic tiles in for me and just thought with these i will be able to cut them to size,but will they be to slippy for him/her??

[tigerbaby2k]

Hi Sue and welcome on here!

I have owned and bred bearded dragons for over 10 years now. My male is over 10 years and my female sadly passed away in Sept having just turned 10 years too. I also owned 2 other male and 2 other females that passed away betweent eh ages of 8 and 9. I owened all but one from 4 weeks old. The male I have left I rehomed from someone at 14 months old.

I have never found a nasty bone in their body. I have never been hissed at let alone bitten. My oldest female was actually more dominant than the male that she was in with. I kept 2 females and male together in a 4.5ft long viv with many basking and hidding spots, never once had a fight. The females bred from around 2 years until they retired themselves at around 4 years and they still lived happily in the viv with the male (now Im not saying this works for all individuals!) Sorting eggs out is easy really - you just place a large deep container filled with slightly moist sand or soil and they females know when to go in adn dig to lay and bury the eggs. I have had 523 babies form them and only ever lost 2 eggs, one being infertile and one never hatched out. Amazing results if youve read the books that say around 50% eggs wont hatch!
I handled mine regulary from the day I had them, as Paul said, starting a few minutes each day but they were so tame from the beginning! I did the same with all the babies and people who took them from me couldnt believe how friendly they were. I find them all to have different characters, for example one of the males was very docile and used to sleep by my neck each time he came out, where as the one of the females used to climb the certains! I never experienced this whole "teenage stage" and have not met anyone that has! If your worried about eggs then go for a male.
Regardless of whether you just take on one, you will still need to change viv sizes - a 2.5ft long is perfect until around 4 months, then a 3.5ft until around 8 months then a 4.5ft or bigger as an adult. Alternatively, you could get a large viv now and just split it to a smaller one with a piece of wood then when they are big enough remove the wood and wa-la the best size viv!

Let us know how you do and if can be any more help
_________________
Sophxx

Counting down the weeks til I get my Cham! My beardie is 10 1/2 years old

1.0 Bearded Dragon
1.0 Lhasa apso
1.1 Lionheads
0.1 Syrian Hamster

[angelsue]

Thank you for all the info

Sorry for your losses,10 years is a really good age sure they had lots off fun with you hope mine will have a really good life span as yours have.

I am leaning towards getting a male but if he turns out to be a she I'm sure i will be ok

I have a viv ready and waiting it is 30 inches long so i know it will be ok for a baby,when it grows i will be getting a bigger home for him/her.
All i need to get is the dimmer thermostat and a uv tube and rock for basking then i will get my little baby, just need to get the funds together and i will be posting pics as soon as i have him,can't wait