Interesting question...

[bubblez825]

Okay, so before anyone jumps down my throat for asking this question, I do not plan to breed bearded dragons, I just had a thought come to my mind while doing my "late at night, mind-wandering thinking" and could not find direct information on what I'm looking for when I went to research it. I thought it might be an interesting topic to ask about.

So here's the deal. Let's say, a friend of mine bred his bearded dragon pair, and the eggs hatched, and i got two of the babies; as of right now, we're guessing i have both a male and a female, but only time will tell. I also have my own female which has no blood relation to any of the above 4 reptiles.

First, from what I've read, you cannot breed brother to sister, as deformations, health problems and such can occur.

Second, what would happen if daughter was bred back to daddy, and son to mommy? Would the same risks be at stake? or since there are partially different gene's from either parent in each baby, could successful breeding occur?

Third, what if, when its an adult, I bred the (hatchling) male to my female, then bred the babies back to either my friends dragons, or one of the babies to the (hatchling) female? Would there still be a risk, even with "new blood" in the line?

I've read about the "5 generations between" *rule* for breeding dragons, but how exactly does that work?

Once again, nobody jump down my throat :main_laugh: It's just some food for thought, nothing that will be acted upon I'm curious to see what you guys have to say

~Emily

 

[acpart]

I can't speak to bearded dragon in-breeding, but it is certainly done in a limited way with leopard geckos with no ill effects as long as you:
--outcross every few generations
--are aware of any deformity patterns and discontinue that pairing if it occurs.

I have healthy geckos from parent/daughter or grandaughter offspring. I don't breed siblings because I don't produce males.

Aliza

 

[bubblez825]

I've read that with leos, as you've stated, which is why i was wondering about bearded dragons. Do you think they would be the same?

 

[AZdale]

I have been doing some research on breeding bearded dragons and one thing they seem to stress is to make sure your dragons are not closely related.

A reason for this is mostly because all beardies in the US already seem to be some what related.

I was considering breeding my fire red male to my super citrus female when I bought them, so I made sure that I not only purchased them from different breeders, but that their parents weren't purchased from the two breeders.

I do not know the linage beyond that. Now, I am also not sure if I want to breed them since bearded dragons have 20+ hatchlings in one clutch and I am not sure if I can find enough homes for them (not to mention they store sperm and can have multiple clutches).

If I was to breed in your situation I would look at the origins of each dragon from what you know, and only breed ones from different origins. Keep in mind big box pet stores most likely get their animals from the same location.

 

[bubblez825]

But can deformities and such really occur if a dragon is outcrossed and offspring bred back to parent or whatnot, as long as its not brother and sister? now, continuously doing this without outcrossing and without starting a "fresh blood" clutch, would obviously end in deformities, but by crossing an offspring to a non-related mate then breeding back to original parents, wouldn't be detrimental, would it?