I'm going to buy my first beard dragon this weekend! :) How ancient until you can sex them as i want a feminine?
Anyone got any good advice for beard dragons, the babies are 10 weeks old. What do i feed her, what do i put in her vivarium? how big does the vivarium entail to be? I may be getting 2 sister females so would 36" L x 18" H x 16" D be big enough for the 2 of them. Also what substrate do i need to use for them? Thanks
You can tell when they have reach sexual maturity but it all depends when that happens as everyone mature differently and faster or slower. But when you buy them you should ask and get a good clear answer of the seller.
Dragons can usually be accurately sexed starting at around 4-6 months of age, but each dragon is different.
As a first time keeper, http://www.beardeddragoncaresheet.org is a wonderful place to start reading up on keeping etc. The site covers all the basics and it has a discussion fourm at http://www.beardeddragoncaresheet.org/ph... where on earth you can post questions to clairfy things or seek additional opinion.
Also, since this is your first, I might suggest you start with one and see how it goes. While the precision is not overly difficult, it can be very time consuming. Plus, until you get to know the quirks of the dragon's sunshine to day behavior, you won't know what is "normal" and what is casue for concern. Taking to two dragons to the vet when they don't need to go can be extraordinarily a very expensive way to learn roughly them!
Remember, whether you sex them, they will have a much shorter life span. If you wish to sex them, at roughly 1 1/2 years of age. Use repticarpet for substrate, as they wont get impacted from it since they cant ingest it.
Sex
Bearded dragons are difficult to sex accurately when they are young. Experts may resort to "hemipenal eversion", pushing at the cloacal area to evert the masculine sex organs. This procedure can damage the lizard and is NOT recommended. Body proportions differ: males tend to have a larger head to body ratio, whereas females enjoy a large body with a medium skipper and are often smaller overall. Adults become sexually mature as early as 8 months and can normally be sexed then since the adult males have enlarged femoral pores (rounded pores on the undersurface of the thigh within a line above the femur bone). The external anatomy has subtle differences, pictured and explained here, that can help you to determine masculinity.
Dragons have active courtship rituals and reproduce very in good health in captivity. The female will bury up to two dozen eggs, and will threaten you with gaping mouth whether you try to pick up her eggs during the process, but afterwards offers no parental care. I've found that one mating can generate satisfactory fertile eggs for several layings (either that or my female, "The Babe," has learned how to gain from her lair to the male's at night.). "The Babe" laid 6 clutches of ca 20 babies each on summer, from a single mate. That is a lot of babies!!
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that should be big adequate for a few years but with two you should think about getting a bigger one as they grow. As far as i know you should know how to sex them now. and for a substrate use ether sand or Habi Chip bedding. ans small crickets will be fine be sure to dust then though beside a good Vitamin/Calcium powder
Iain is spot on.
You simply can't keep two together regardless of sex. You certainly shouldn't buy two unsexed babies together ever.
The minimum enclosure size for a single developed is 48 X 24 X 24.
Do not take the advice from the breeder. Don't forget they want your money and will tell you anything what you want to hear to get you to part with more of it.
Can't be sexed at 10 weeks
Can't keep hold of two together regardless of sex
Vivarium should be ok for one for a few months but it will need a 4x2x2foot vivarium from about 6months old
Answers: Yep, we can tell that it's your first Bearded Dragon(s) since you reflect on it's okay to house them together. Well, you're wrong, you cant house them together unless you buy a 100 gallon tank or more. Even then you'll have to supply 2 bask spots, 2 feeding areas, 2 hiding spots, and 2 of everything else. Even with providing all of this, one of them will still become dominant and the other will disperse. By this I mean it will stop eating, go into hiding more, and sometimes can even stop growing. They are solitary and do not approaching company. Please either get 1 dragon or house them separatley. You'll thank yourself in the long run.
It's much cheaper whether you just go and buy 2 separate enclosures. Since they are solely 10 weeks old, each would be fine in a 36x18 cistern for a couple months. Then you would need to upgrade to a 50gallon tank or a 4FT x 2FT x 2 FT tank. If you go and get 2 dragons, you need 2 of these.
At 10 weeks old, they can't be sexed. After about 6 months or so, try this: http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/se... Here is another: http://www.dachiu.com/sexing.html
While they are infantile, you need to mainly feed them insects but also try to bring them used to eating veggies. A rule of thumb to remember: Babies need 80% insects (protein) and 20% veggies whereas an adult wants 80% veggies and 20% insects. These insects include: crickets, phoenix worms, wax worms, butter worms, etc. Never feed pinkie mice, mealworms, or anything too hard or too big. Another rule of thumb: Never feed anything larger than the space between the eyes. All insects obligation to be dusted with calcium with D3 and a multivitamin supplement. Rep-Cal is the best and I highly recommened it (the pink and blue containers). Veggies include: collared greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, escarole, kale, endives, etc. Fruits are also apposite to feed: apples, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, etc. Mist the greens before feeding. More food information: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.co...
The substrate topic is significantly debated but myself and many other beardie enthusiasts recommened NOT using sand and other loose substrates. Instead use solid substrates such as un-glazed textured tiles (slate, ceramic, etc), reptile carpet, newspaper, paper towels, etc. Sands (even the calci and vita sands) are not good to use as it cause impaction. Other substrates like reptile bark and crushed walnut shells do too. Read this for more information about impaction and what to do: http://www.hubpages.com/hub/impaction
As to putting things into the reservoir, things like hiding rocks, branches, fake plants, etc can all be used. The easiest path to do this is to picture what you want the tank to look like, then dance buy the decor. With Bearded Dragons there is even more room in the tank for stuff since they do not requirement a water dish (it raises humidity which isn't good). They also like to climb up on stuff so put some driftwood and cork yelp in there. It's also good for bask.
If you need anything else, feel free to contact me. There is more to Bearded Dragons than you think and I'd resembling to help you get on the right track for keeping a happy, nutritious beardie.
You've certainly picked a great pet!
First of adjectives 10 weeks old is too young to be able to sex them. It will depend on the dragon how promptly they mature but you're usually looking at quite a few months. The best opening to tell is gently pick them up and turn them over. Look near the dais of the tail. If there are two nodule like bumps it's a male, one a feminine.
At 10 weeks old you can chop up some veges very finely and see if she'll chomp through them although with all of my dragons they didn't show much interest in veges until they be older. At this stage crickets would be the best bet - which is how your beardie will get most of her veges anyway. When you buy the crickets you should find some carrot contained by their container. Make sure you keep replacing it with fresh carrot/veges because doesn`t matter what thay eat your beardie eats. Dust the crickets with calcium powder since you feed her. The best way to do this is put the crickets in the fridge for a few minutes to slow them down. Take them out and shake some powder over them.
As far as the vivarium don't put any substrate down apart from paper towelling. It's easy to replace when your beardie wees/poos (and believe me she will!) and she can't eat it, choke on it and any stray crickets can't darken in it. FYI - crickets are known to bite beardies which is why they shouldn't be left contained by their tank.
It's important too that you keep up their hydration. Mist spray them a couple of times a afternoon or you can give them a warm bath within a plastic container. Make sure it's a container that doesn't have high sides. Put a facecloth on the bottom so she'e get something for traction and use warm water. All of mine love a bath. It will also give support to if they're having trouble pooing. Just stand clear!)
I know the temptation is near to decorate their tank with lots of great stuff but at 10 weeks out-of-date they can actually injure themselves. Leave out anything that allows them to climb too high or is hard approaching a rock. I learnt this the hard way. When I bought my unbelievably first beardie I put a vine in her tank which she ultimately fell off and broke her nouns on a decorative rock that I'd put in there as all right. To find that poor little reptile like that was awful but it be a lesson well learnt. Just have a small flat bask stone which she can easily get on and off. Some plant to put together it look nice and it will also give her somewhere to hide.
If you have a choice between getting on one or two beardies draw from the two. They're very social little things and they'd enjoy each other's company as capably as giving you a laugh at watching them communicate.
When you do bring your beardie/s home make certain you don't overhandle them. Give them time to adjust to their new environment.
Good luck.
