Beardies Prices for 2005?!

[damzookeeper]

What is going on here with beardies this year? I am seeing all these bright color morphs on the classifieds for $50. NOT WHOLESALE but regular price! Cheaper if you buy lots! Are beardies going to be the next iguana without the attitude of course. lol. But seriously, I have been noticing drops in most areas this year, can anyone enlighten me? Is it because there are so many kids out there trying to dip there hands in the cookie jar so to speak? Is the demand so low for them now that they are plumiting and dropping dirt cheap. Just last year I paid 125 for a salmon and thought that was a great deal. Now I'm seeing dragons of similar quality for $50?! What is going on here people?

[sungazer]

hey let me know where you find them that cheep? in calgary here i am having a hard time just finding a normal beardie for under $100.00 we need a friend for ours.

[damzookeeper]

Check the lizard classifieds right here on this site!

[new_ICULIZARD]

I hate to say it but there are a lot of people out there trying to do breeding on their own and its bringing down the price a lot. The sad part is that most of the smaller breeders don't keep paperwork and could be selling you inbreed lizards. Just remember to check for paperwork if you want to breed your own and to keep the risk of genetic problems to a minimum.

Travis & Kerry

[SnakeyeZ]

I sold most of mine for around $60.00 here.

[Piers]

I got out of bearded dragons about six years ago. I had a hard time with a whole sale price or $25.00 for regular ones.
My female was pumping out over 100 eggs a year and the market was flooded then!
I'm suprised that you guys/gals are able to get $100 + for any bearded.
Piers

[ICULIZARD]

I think the problem is that everyone seems to be calling their dragons offspring different things now and sometimes making up different morph names or assigning a name without knowing the bloodlines and background information just because they don't think their dragons look like normals. This isn't always the case, you may find a few good deals out there, but in my opinion the only way to guarentee you are getting what you are asking for is to go with a reputable breeder whose lines have been around for a long time and have had positive feedback from their customers and strive to produce the healthiest babies possible while keeping their breeders in top shape. How many times in the forums have you seen someone ask "here's my dragon, what morph is it...the petstore didn't tell me" then someone answers and the very next week the person is saying they have a "sandfire blah blah" dragon. There are some really pretty "normals" so why not just be honest and call them that? Because they are more likely to sell them if they assign them a cool name. Buyers think WOW, I can get a colour morph dragon for only $50?!!

If you are looking for specific bloodlines (chris allen, SDR, Dragon's Den, Sundial, Dachiu etc) and specific colours that you want your breeders to display and also pass along to their babies, then taking a chance with an unknown breeder or someone that wants to sell their dragon without asking for proof of background is risky and you may be disapointed. You get what you pay for in most cases.....you pay for breeders that have dedicated breeding programs to keep bloodlines seperate, you pay for the customer service you recieve from experienced breeders, you pay for the intense colours that those breeders have strived for and payed good money to add to their breeding programs. etc.

Some smaller breeders have put the money into good stock.....they may not be as well known, but the honest ones will tell you where their breeders came from so you can contact the original breeder and verify the quality of the bloodlines.

JMO (and as everyone knows, I have lots of them!)

Megan

[Capital_Dragons]

Megan - I couldn't agree with what you have said more..........

Here's my 2 cents posted on the other site -

Well, Deb, I also feel this is such a shame. Tsk, tsk, shame, shame - this really shows a lack of respect for the market and a great deal of ignorance.

For those of us who have been breeding for an adequate number of years understand, this kind of pricing will not produce much in the way of profit when considering the amount of money it takes to produce healthy thriving babies. And although the amount of money invested is often mentioned in posts directed at people considering breeding their beardies, time investment is not often mentioned, which I know is a huge commitment - and ultimately I beleive is what weeds out the fly-by-nighters from the truly passionate.

At the same time, I don't want to sound toooo bitter - and I totally understand that it is difficult to find buyers when you are the new guy - and I therefore, agree with Walter 100% also - wholesaling morphs for this price is not unreasonable and is a respectable and fair way to do business.

[ssscales]

It's based on the simple fact that more and more pet keepers have jumped on the breeding bandwagon. They start out with one and then buy 2-3 more, a year latter they have a clutch or two and before they know it they have a breeding colony producing a couple hundred babies a year. Some of these breeding don’t have the time, money or space to house and maintain a couple hundred beardies, so they dump the price!

Bearded Dragons have become over bred here in the states. You can find bearded Dragons for $20.00-25.00 and breeders all over trying to unload whole clutches for less than that. I don't see how they can turn a profit worth the investment the $$$ as well as time. I too have seen a few colored morphs for $50-$100 when just last year I would see them for $125-$150.

[Manitoban Herps]

I think it's nice to have beardies going cheaper though, lots of you might be able to spend lots on nice morphs but others aren't so fortunate, including me.

Plus people who just have 1.1 beardies and are raising babies don't care about the money, they think it's just fun to raise some babies :)

[Knowzilla]

I totally agree with Megan and Shelia there are alot of fly-by-nighters out their. Me as as small homebased breeder would rather see high quality dragons rather than lower priced animals. Sure I would save alot of money but I would probily get an animal or animals that are smaller and not as healthy as they could be. I totally commend Megan and Shelia for their deication to producing high quality bearded dragons rather than trying to produce as many hatchlings as they could and not truley caring about the animals themselves. I only hope that one day to produce hatchlings of equal or near equal quality. Its people like you two that make this hobby as enjoyable as it is, keep up the good work.

[K1LOS]

I don't think it is right to frown upon people breeding their pets. It is a whole other side of the hobby which is challenging and exciting. This hobby is all about learning and studying for me, and that is something new.

It is a shame the price is coming down, but that is the case with everything. Did you think those prices would last for ever?

The only way to keep prices is high, is limit clutches and only sell a few babies a year, right from the start. It is far too late for that. When ppl are selling dragons by the hundreds every year its just gonna happen. With the size of dragon clutches, and people can produce so many, its a wonder dragons cost what they do now even.

This hobby goes in fads and when something is new, its popular and expensive, and then the prices just go further and further down from there. Look at the costs of leo morph's vs time. It is inevitable.

At this point i would suggest the best thing to do is maintain your own prices and hope for the best. You might lose some business, or other breeders might follow suit.

I am currently waiting for a clutch and i have absolutely no idea what i will ask for them. I'm more interested in recovering the costs, and the experience.

Geoff

[JeffX]

Around here Beardies are going for $50-60 in the stores around here. The one breeder who sells out of their store are going for 50 dollars.

[damzookeeper]

Around here Beardies are going for $50-60 in the stores around here. The one breeder who sells out of their store are going for 50 dollars.

That is american dollars right? We are talking Canadian dollars here.
Also to clearify things, I am not frowing upon anyone for their efforts in the bearded dragon community what I'm upset, and many other reputable breeders with me, is that the people with pets that are breeding are selling dragons at 1/2 to 1/4 the price they are worth and eventually it will be the downfall of dragons and they will become a dime a dozen and end up like iguanas in reptile rescue organizations or worse.
I absolutely love my guys, they get all the tlc I can provide and babies are not sold until they are over 6 inches+ long. This means lots of food before they leave my house. When I have babies, depending on clutch size and amount of clutches, I spend anywhere from 1-2 hundred dollars a week in food for them. + cal., vit. lighting, heating... So, this is one and only one small reason for not selling dragons at 40-50 dollars each. Besides the fact that I really think selling at this price will absolutely kill the market for beardeds. These pet owners that want to get more experience are not all in it for the long haul and once they make a little money they will go on to something else and by this time the beardie community will be crushed. Again, this is my opinion, everyone is entitled to their own.

[JeffX]

I would be talking about american dollars.

I agree with you. In this area we have two locally run stores, and then the petco's and petsmarts. Both local places I wouldn't trust if they were my right hand man. But that's a different story, and their beardies are the cheapest unless you want an adult.

I also think alot of the education needs to be on the buyer. The stores, and breeders all need to educate their customers as much as possible. Most people make up their minds, and if they get rejected they go elsewhere where they are not troubled. Especially in my area the reptile hobby is still relatively small. So getting reptiles can be difficult unless it's a leopard gecko or ball python. Unless you go for the ordering through the internet, and then you don't get to really pick what you're getting.

It sounds like you really care about your beardies, and I applaud that. I wish more breeders, and even shop owners cared as much as you do. Unfortunately in our society animals aren't cared about as much they should be.

[beardiedragon]

It's nothing that we haven't seen before in other areas like in breeding dogs. Many people looking for a pet, especially a first pet dont care if they get a "mut" Dragon. If it is a pretty color they are happy. Nothing will change that. Unlike dogs, BD genetics are very delicate. Breeding siblings, undersized BDs... are some things that occur when breeders dont understand or care about the future of the industry. Not all small breeders are careless or thoughtless. There are quite a few that work dilagently to improve the gene pool. Educating the public is very important. I still ask $100-$300 for my colorful BDs (I see other breeders still doing the same) and while I probably do miss a few sales I think that most reputable breeders are not dropping their prices to compete with the $50 BDs. The pendulum will swing back as people realize it is not profitable to continue breeding and selling babies for $10 each.

[SnakeyeZ]

I agree. But I figured $60 was a fair price..anything more....and I would be stuck with them, any less...would make me sad, not for the wallet, but for the sake that these are living animals too.

-Rich

[Knowzilla]

I would rather pay and charge a little more for a dragon and get quality and nice colours, rather than pumping out as many hatchlings as I could and getting subpair animals in the process. It's like they say you pay for what you get.
Just my two cents.

[K1LOS]

Saw some for $15. That's taking it too far. Now your into absolutely everybody's impulse buy zone.

What do you feel the value of a sandfire x blood red hatchling is worth?

Geoff

[Knowzilla]

A sandfire X Blood hatchlings depending on colour and size about $175-$200, but I asume that the animals colours would be quite spectackular.

[K1LOS]

well yay for me!

Geoff

[beardieguy]

Hello I just want to say my 2 cents here.

I have noticed that alot of real breeders can still get a decent price for their dragons. Myself I have been breeding now for a few years and yeah I started as a hobbiest and will fully admit to it. Once I started to talk to real breeders that have been doing it for a few( capital dragons(Tim)) ( daichiu's), to name a few, I started to realize that they can tell you fully where their dragons are from and every peice of info you need.

Now that I keep paperwork on my dragons pertaining to its origin man I can do the same. See here all my normals are still $70 and that covers all the usual bills. Then I have my high end morphs which I do not neg. price with. You want a healthy pet that you know will not die in 6 months you have to pay for it.


thanks