Expert: Joe Zarnick - 7/29/2010

Question
QUESTION: Can you put a 8 month old female bearded dragon with a 1 year old male bearded dragon

ANSWER: Hello, you cannot put them together. bearded dragons fight for dominance and will sometimes kill each other over it. Your male will try to mate with the female which will cause a fight to open up, they will attack and injure or kill one another. Please do not attempt to try this, as it will end badly.

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QUESTION: How old must the bearded dragon female be before you can put her with a male bearded?

Answer
Both the Male and Female must be older then 18 months old. Without waiting there can be extreme genetic effects, the baby can die before hatchling, and there can be deformities. It is never safe to breed young bearded dragons. It is almost never attempted, bearded dragons need to reach an age of maturity before the mating period. At the age of breeding, the best period to breed them at is after they brumate. Reptiles and some insects are known to do this. They lower their body temperatures and sleep more. It is much like hibernation but is within a different type of animal. They are not always sleeping during this period, They get up frequently to eat. After this time they are ready to mate.