hey eyespy here is a question for ya

[raebug2000]

i have 2 babies now ( oscar ( the boy and figment ( the girl) tempoaryily they are sharing a cage, and seem to be getting along great....both are less than 6 months old...do i have to worry about her being stressed for breeding or anything like that right now?( yes i do intend to breed but prolly much much later) any suggestions?


p.s. they are so adorable i love them both and its so amazing to see that both have 2 seperate and completely different personalities :)

[eyespy]

Males can hit "pre-puberty" at 4 to 6 months old, so breeding pressure can start at basically any time. Most males are around 7 months before they have high enough hormone levels to actually do the deed but many will "practice" for a month or two before they hit peak hormone levels.

The youngest gravid female on record was 5 months old, so I'd watch them very carefully and strongly consider separating them. You really don't want a female to have her first clutch before she's about 18 months old because her own bones aren't fully calcified until 6 months after she's stopped her fast-growing stage and her body will be robbed of calcium she still needs for her own health.

I almost always cage all my beardies separately but let them run around on the floor together for well-supervised playdates so they still get to enjoy each other's company. That's more natural anyhow. Folks who have written about wild beardie behavior remark that beardies will often bask together in the afternoons but you never see them eating or sleeping together. Beardies with their own enclosures tend to be more fertile and live longer than beardies in group settings, probably because of lower stress.

[raebug2000]

the larger tank will be given to my female the male can have the second largest one :)
getting a nice big 75 gallon for *FREE* from a friend.......yeehaw boys and girls.