Mating
Trial and Error
There really isn't much to bearded dragon mating, it either happens or it doesn't. Keep on mind you should NEVER on a permanent basis house a male and female together after 6 months of age. Around 1 year old males will make attempts to mate. Males will start becoming territorial, displaying a black beard, puffing it out and bobbing his head up and down. The female will either make an attempt to run away or will wave her arms, or making "push-up" type movements. It is always best to keep the male and female you intend to breed completely separate until they are going to be paired. It is of the greatest importance that your dragons be of the right AGE and WEIGHT in order to survive a mating. They need to be a minimum of 1 year old and weigh at least 350 grams. Mating is very stressful, more so for the female who can lay multiple clutches of eggs. Her body has to be strong enough to do so. Dragons can die from mating stress if they are too young, too old or have been bred too many times close together. To see if you are ready to mate and have eggs read about Egg Care.
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A Sub-Adult male showing signs of territoriality and possibly an interest in mating.
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An Adult Male showing blind aggression attacking a shoe instead of attempting to mate with a female.
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Head bob and wave displays.
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A male very aggressively wanting to mate.
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Once You Are Ready
Once you have fully prepared with an incubator for the eggs and housing for the babies, put your dragons together. If the male only tries to bite the female on the feet or tail and runs around her in circles, displaying his body flat and sideways he is not ready to mate. He is doing a territorial display and you need to remove the female immediately before he attacks her. A successful mating is when a male will grab a female by the back of the neck and position himself under her tail, this is called a "Lock".
Thinking about breeding? Please read my Blog to see if you are ready.
