How Long Is A Bearded Dragon Pregnant For?

Is your bearded dragon pregnant?

How long are bearded dragons pregnant?

A bearded dragon is pregnant for 4-6 weeks from the time of successful mating, and from there, it takes 55-75 days for the eggs to hatch. So a bearded dragon can get pregnant with and without mating, and you must make sure to give extra calcium.

The process sounds simple, but there is some more information you need to consider yourself informed and keep your bearded dragon and eggs healthy and happy.

Read on for more information.

When Is The Breeding Time For Bearded Dragons?

Bearded dragons can go through many breeding times a year, depending on a process called brumation.

These reptiles are most ready to breed a month after they come out of brumation.

Brumation is similar to hibernation.

When the temperature drops, bearded dragons slow down.

During this time, the cold-blooded reptiles won’t eat for long periods, although they will still drink water somewhat.

This is natural in the wild when the cold or rainy seasons come to the beardy’s deserts.

In their natural environment, bearded dragons usually only mate twice per year after this time.

In captivity, plan out when you’d like your bearded dragons to breed by forcing them into brumation by lowering the temperature in your enclosure.

Warning! Don’t lower the temperature below 75° degrees Fahrenheit (24° C).

This is too cold for your lizard and causes permanent damage or death.

What Age Can Bearded Dragons Breed?

Bearded dragons must have reached adulthood before breeding, regardless of their breeding season.

The age of adulthood is unique to the individual bearded dragon, but it tends to be between 8 and 18 months of age.

It would be best to avoid breeding bearded dragons until they’re around 18 months old at full sexual maturity.

And if you’re unsure how old your pet is, we have a post showing you how to determine your bearded dragon’s age.

How Long Do Bearded Dragons Take To Lay Eggs?

Once the bearded dragons have been successfully mated, you’ll notice the female’s abdomen starting to swell.

This is a sign of pregnancy.

It takes 4-6 weeks for a female bearded dragon to lay her eggs.

The eggs laid are called a “clutch” and are in groups of around 20 eggs.

After mating, the female should be removed to her own enclosure with a space called a “lay” for egg-laying.

During this time, you may notice the following signs:

• Normal eating habits but the larger abdomen
• Lumps and bumps in the abdomen
• Stops eating towards the end of the 4-6 weeks
• Abnormal bowels
• Urine may have a pinkish tint

Note: You need to make sure you also give the pet bearded dragon calcium supplements while pregnant.

It takes extra calcium to create a bearded dragon egg.

If you fail to supply extra calcium, your beardie may develop metabolic bone disease, which is fatal.

Help your beardy get some extra calcium by gut loading their food.

This means to feed the crickets or worms a lot of nutrient-rich food the day before you feed them to your beardy.

Another great way to increase calcium intake is to use a powder supplement sprinkled on top of its food.

This is the easiest way, but it is less effective than gut loading.

A combination of the two approaches may be the best way to go.

We have a post reviewing the best calcium supplements for bearded dragons if you want to check it out.

How Long Does It Take For Bearded Dragon Eggs To Hatch?

After fertilized eggs have been laid by your female beardy, they need to be removed right away, and they should be placed into an incubator.

It’s possible to set up your own homemade incubator, but you will find it challenging to regulate the temperature and humidity for the safety of the reptiles inside the eggs.

We recommend buying an incubator.

This is the best way to ensure as many eggs hatch as possible.

For help with finding the perfect incubator, check out our article on the best incubators for bearded dragons.

The incubator can take anywhere from 55 to 75 days for the eggs to hatch.

Even after the babies are hatched, you need to take care of them for at least eight weeks before they can survive on their own, consider selling or giving them away at this point.

Here’s our post on taking care of bearded dragon eggs for essential keys to successfully managing the eggs.

How Many Babies Do Bearded Dragons Have At A Time?

Bearded dragons lay eggs in clutches of around 20 eggs, and they can lay up to 3 clutches from one mating.

This means you will have up to 60 eggs from one mating.

When taken care of, most of the eggs will survive until hatching.

Since bearded dragons mate twice in the wild per year, you’re looking at 120 eggs and the potential for the same number of hatchlings.

Make sure you’re prepared for this many reptiles if you plan on breeding bearded dragons regularly.

Can Bearded Dragons Get Pregnant Without Mating?

Believe it or not, a female dragon can become pregnant without ever mating with a male bearded dragon.

This is called being gravid.

A gravid female bearded dragon will result in unfertilized eggs or an infertile egg, and they will never hatch.

The extra care you give your pregnant bearded dragon should be the same as if it had a fertile egg.

While most bearded dragons wait for a year or older to mate and produce offspring, infertile pregnancies can happen much younger.

Note: Some bearded dragons are completely infertile and never lay eggs. There is no way to predict this.

Another big difference between fertile and infertile pregnancies is a non-mated pregnancy only lays one clutch where the mated pregnancy may lay more.

We have a separate post on how to tell if bearded dragon eggs are fertile to add to the information in this section.

Conclusion

We hope you learned about how long a bearded dragon is pregnant.

This usually lasts for 4-6 weeks until the eggs are laid.

Then, it takes 55-75 days for the eggs to hatch in their clutches.

However, the female doesn’t have to be mated to get pregnant, but these eggs won’t hatch.

Make sure to keep the female beardy in its own enclosure and give her calcium supplements.

Soon, you may have your own little beardies!