Some breeding questions.

[Rocky]

Hey guys, really liking the site.

Now i have a 19 month old bearded dragon, Rocky, I did the test to see if he was a boy or girl. I lifted the tail 90 degrees and looked to see if there was two bumps. I only saw one, meaning that he is a she. Now, before i invest in a male dragon, is there any way to be 100% sure my baby is a female or a male? Also, what age do you think i should get for her breeding partner?

Thx guys and girls

[Jason.G]

It comes down to size not age, not recommended but you can get a beardy to breading size in 12 months, if enough heat and food is supplied. The males have a head thats wider and slightly longer, it sounds stupid but females have a prettier face. If you are gentle you can message the vent opening with suspected males to pop out the hemipene.

[Rocky]

thanks for the reply, i think rooky is a girl then, she is pretty Rocky is 45 cm's, i am guessing that is an alright size to start breeding? When do they actually breed though? i know when they hatch. Now haha. Also do i need to like. introduce them to eachother by slowly bringing the male in once and a while, or is it a one night stand situation?
Would you recommend breeding beardies for a first time breeder or is there an easier reptile to start with?
cheers

[Jason.G]

You have to start some were and Beardies are probably the best. All reptiles need a cooling down period to stimulate the breading cycle, its a bit hot at the moment so you should wait until it cools down a bit, if you haven't got a male yet you need to get one soon for this upcoming breading season, don't rush it buy the healthiest best looking dragon you can afford, wait till they are both a reasonable breading size, and try then, if you try to breed them have an incubator ready incase you succeed, its very stressful trying to make one at the last minute.
There are a number of good books available on bearded dragons that will answer most of your questions.
www.reptilepublications.com.au

[Rocky]

So they can pretty much breed any time, the tempreture just needs to be a bit cooler? And as for buying the best looking healthiest dragon i can afford, Its my baby rocky we are talking about, she has high standards, haha.

[Jason.G]

Reptiles need to be cooled down to stimulate mainly the males to produce sperm, this cooling period is during the coolest parts of the year, when you increase the heat they become more active and this trigers a breading urge so they can mate, lay eggs, and the eggs can incubate and hatch and the young can feed enough before the weather cools of again. this is a very broad description of how it goes, when they start mating they can have more than one clutch in a season.