Easy steps to Lizard Breeding
Bearded dragons are an one of only a few different types of lizards and are rapidly becoming a popular exotic pet. The lizard breeding process is very simple but still requires the proper care and effort to ensure hatching success.
First steps in lizard breeding
First and foremost, you would need to set up a condition that is conducive to the lizards’ breeding by creating the seemingly ‘natural’ conditions that will encourage mating. The tank should be set up to encourage the females to go into heat, provided that you have a healthy and mature pair of lizards. The mating season occurs during the winter months and is most conducive for lizard breeding. This can be artificially achieved through the use of a photo-period where a UVB light with a timer is set for 14 hours darkness and 10 hours light, reducing the heat inside the cage. There should be a specific basking spot with a 78 degrees heat at maximum with the other sections at 64-67 degrees. Less food should also be supplied during this ‘mating season’ of 6 weeks. Keeping the males and females together will encourage mating; should there be more than one pair, there may be signs of aggression among the males. Submission by the females is indicated by arm waving and head bobbing.
After the lizard breeding season, you can revert to 12 hour light and 12 hours darkness. More fatty foods can be supplied such as wax worms which will increase the bearded dragons’ weight in preparation for breeding.
Incubating the Eggs
When the females have successfully bred and are ready to lay their eggs, they will look noticeably heaver. Female lizards will look for a soft, sandy area in which to lay their eggs. You can use play sand and regular garden soil mixed together for this egg laying area. The females look heavier when they are pregnant. In lizard breeding, you will have to pick up the eggs with a spoon and place them into a hatching incubator without rotating the eggs. The temperature in the incubator must be at a constant 85 degrees with the eggs being kept moist by regular fine spraying or with a container of water at the incubator bottom.
New-Born Lizards
Lizard eggs normally hatch in a day or so of each other; when the hatch-lings pop out of their eggs, they will need to be placed in a tank for further development. The hatch-lings need to be fed often as they are usually very hungry and will chew on their own toes or tail if there is not enough food for them. The hatch-lings will love a diet of small crickets and tiny wax worms which they can easily bite and digest; otherwise, they may choke on their food. For the first 4 months, you will need to feed the hatch-lings three times daily; then you can reduce the feeding to once a day with greens and even flowers besides their normal fare of crickets and worms.
Lizard breeding and hatching can be very easy when you do your homework and have the know-how. Preparing your equipment and creating the proper environment will ensure success. Lizards are a very interesting species for pets and with very little effort you can have a “backyard” breeding program that will bring in some extra cash.