At Which Age To Stop Breeding Your Bearded Dragon?

Ever wondered if your bearded dragon is too old to breed? I found myself asking the same question after noticing my dragon, Spike, slowing down a bit.

While they might still seem eager, there’s a sweet spot for ensuring their health and safety—and it’s all about knowing when to stop.

What Is The Ideal Age Of Bearded Dragons To Stop Breeding?

As we said, the age of stopping is not the same for all species. But how much difference is actually there? Well, it’s not too much for sure. Let’s clear that up with a table.

Species	Recommended Age to Stop Breeding
Pogona barbata	6-8 years
Pogona henrylawsoni	6-8 years
Pogona microlepidota	6-8 years
Pogona minor minor	6-8 years
Pogona minor minima	6-8 years
Pogona minor mitchelli	6-8 years
Pogona nullarbor	6-8 years
Pogona vitticeps	8-10 years

By the way, let’s not forget that the breeding condition depends not only the age but lots of other things, such as health and genetics. So, if you’re seeing some of the beardies are still going strong on breeding even after exceeding these ages, then it’s probably because they’ve got the other things right.

Why Should You Stop Breeding Your Bearded Dragons After A Certain Age?

There’s no way to deny that breeding bearded dragons is one of the most exciting and rewarding endeavors a breeder can ask for. It’s actually important, especially to ensure proper balance of the bearded dragon population.

But that doesn’t mean you should keep the lizards occupied in breeding till the last days of their lives. If you’re still not convinced about the fact that you should give your beardie a break after a certain age, these reasons might help you to reach a decision.

1. Health And Well-Being Of Female Dragons

If you really care about your beardies, seeing them struggling with complications is probably the last thing you’d like to see. But with the growing age, females start losing the efficiency of their reproductive system.

Plus, if pushed harder, they start growing complications as well. These complications include issues like egg binding. Not only these can cause discomfort to the reptile but can also create potentially life-threatening conditions. So, before it gets harder for the lizard, let it go to retirement from breeding.

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2. Metabolic Stress

We don’t if there’s any other process out there for female beardies as demanding as breeding. Breeding for too long and too frequently, puts significant metabolic stress on the reptile’s body, especially when they’ve grown older.

And the worst part? This stress will simply weaken their immune system. So, preventing major health issues will become difficult for them, more than ever. On top of that, they’ll face other issues like lethargy as well.

3. Reduced Fertility And Viability

Why do you breed bearded dragons? For better offspring, right? But when a female bearded dragon gets older, it often starts to face issues like reduced fertility and lower egg viability. With this happening, hatching rates also go down.

And even if a few hatchlings come out, they’re usually born weak. So, don’t want to get stuck in that kind of situation, you better let your beardies retire after a certain age and make the young or mature ones useful.

4. Longevity And Quality Of Life

Just like most of the reptiles out there, bearded dragons too have a limited lifespan. But when they get into breeding, after a certain age, their overall quality of life starts to fall apart. That’s because most of their energy gets invested in the breeding process. So, if you simply stop breeding after the right age, their longevity and quality of life can get way better.

5. Genetic Health And Diversity

Do you know the easiest way to lead your lizards to inbreeding? It’s the continuous breeding of the same beardies over several generations. And our experience says, inbreeding does nothing but lead to offspring, and lots of them might even have genetic health issues.

So, it’s better to give your lizards a break after a certain period of time. This will not only help you with genetic diversity but will also maintain the long-term health of the species.

If Bearded Dragon piqued your interest, this article will take you even further. Do Bearded Dragons Get Hurt While Breeding?

6. Ethical Considerations

The well-being of the bearded dragons you breed is totally your responsibility. So if you keep up the continuous breeding of older dragons it will be nothing but immoral, as it puts your ambitions as a breeder ahead of the creatures’ welfare.

What Is The Ideal Age Of Bearded Dragons To Start Breeding?

The growth rate of bearded dragons is pretty impressive. They grow so fast that just by the age of 8 months, they become sexually mature. But still, it’s not recommended to start before they hit the age of 18 to 24 months at least.

Actually, being just sexually mature is not enough as they need to physically reach the size where they can handle the process of breeding in the first place. Now the question is – is the age of breeding the same for all the bearded dragon species?

Well, we’ve got you a table for that. This table will tell you which size and which age is perfect for breeding in different species.

Species	Size	Ideal Age for Breeding
Pogona barbata	24 Inches	2-3 years
Pogona henrylawsoni	12 Inches	1-2 years
Pogona microlepidota	4-6 Inches	2-3 years
Pogona minor minor	14-18 Inches	2-3 years
Pogona minor minima	12 Inches	2-3 years
Pogona minor mitchelli	18 Inches	2-3 years
Pogona nullarbor	14 Inches	2-3 years
Pogona vitticeps	24 Inches	18-24 months

What Indicates The Breeding Readiness Of Bearded Dragons?

Are you still thinking it’s just the size and age that indicates that a bearded dragon is ready for breeding? Well, it’s not. There are tons of other aspects that say out loud that your lizard is ready to produce amazing offspring, such as –

1. Sexual Maturity

Okay, this one is directly linked to the age of beardies. Mostly the females need some not only to attain their sexual maturity but also to develop their reproductive systems properly.

After all, not waiting for the right time can lead to major complications, such as egg binding, which mostly happens when the beardie is immature. So, if you’re seeing your beardie has become 2-3 years old and sexually mature enough, go for breeding.

Ready to learn more about Bearded Dragon? This post will give you fresh insights! How To Prevent Bearded Dragons From Breeding? [10 Ways]

2. Body Size And Strength

Breeding is no easy nut to crack. It needs enough strength that comes in only when the beardie is in proper size and has all its nutrients right. If you start with smaller lizards, there’s a high chance they won’t be able to smoothly pull off the struggles of producing and laying eggs. So, if you’re beardie matches with the sizes we’ve mentioned above and has the strength too, feel free to go for breeding.

3. Reduced Health Risks

Is your beardie good with stress handling? We’re asking that because often the younger beardies stress out easily which impacts their overall health and leads to long-term health issues.

And we guess you already how these health issues can mess with the reproduction system. So, if your beardie has it under control and is good at keeping up with health issues and stressful situations, it can easily handle the breeding process.

4. Genetic Fitness

The last you’d like to have is probably offspring with genetic defects. But when parents themselves are not free of genetic defects, it’s kind of tough to expect healthy offspring. So, before putting your lizard up for breeding, make sure their genetic fitness is up to the mark.

5. Behavioral Readiness

When the dragon is finally ready for mating or breeding, it’ll show certain behaviors, such as head bobbing, aggression, change in colors, etc. So, if your beardie is showing something like this, count them ready for breeding.

Before We Go…

You’re probably still confused about the time to stop your bearded dragon from breeding. Maybe your lizard is still going strong in breeding without a health issue. Well, in such cases, to be sure you can consult a vet. But where to get the right one? Okay, let us help you out with that one.

Just check out our blog – Where Can I Take My Bearded Dragon To The Vet? [US Vet List]. It’s all there!