Kingsnake.com
Kevin Dunne
Bearded Dragons
February 28, 2006
PHFaust: On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us at kingsnake.com,
I'm very pleased to welcome Kevin Dunne to our Eighth Annual Chat
Week.
PHFaust: Kevin Dunne is the owner of Dragon's Den Herpeteculture.
One of the leaders of the Bearded Dragon industry. Dragon's Den Herpetoculture
was started in 1993, in Santa Barbara, Ca., as a home-operated business.
In 1998 we relocated to the Los Angeles area and now they are located
in San Diego at a 7 Acre Farm. Dragon's Den recently merged Sandfire
Dragon Ranch to expand their collective bloodlines.
PHFaust: Thank you so much for joining us, Kevin, and welcome!
bdragon92_nr: Thanks for taking the time tonight. I have always
wondered how they get bearded dragons to get all these colors like
snow and blood and so on it does not come naturally
dden: Hi- Most of the colors are the result of selectively
breeding certain animals together, but sometimes people just get lucky
and pop-out unusual looking dragons.
Adam105_nr: What are your views on people that practice "unorthodox"
methods of bearded dragon keeping. Like using high basking temperatures,etc...?
I am curious because I and others receive horrible bashing on online
forums when we express these ideas and ways that have proven successful
for us.
dden: Not sure exactly what you mean by "unorthodox". As far
as basking temps go, I frequently measure temps in excess of 120F
outside at Sandfire and the dragons seem to be doing fine. GA
LedWings: hey kevin, I have one of the few aggressive beardies,
hes almost a year old and he puffs up, blackens his beard, hisses,
and struggles to get free, do you have any tips on taming him?
dden: Hi- I see that occasionally...usualy it involves a dragon
that is kept alone and I think it is just a defensive response...I
would say just keep at it and hope he mellows out. Sometimes I place
them with another dragon and they calm down right away. GA
LedWings: ok thank you
king_dj_nr: hello kevin thanx for joining us tonight : ).how
long do bearded dragons live? do u have a website i can buy bearded
dragons from?
dden: Hi- I thnk 6-8 years is an average. I have had on or
two live for 10+ years, but I think that is a long time for a dragon...if
you have one live 10 years you are doing something exceptional! GA
PHFaust: BTW Kevin's website is http://www.dragonsdenherp.com/
UAWPrez: Thank you for coming, welcome to kingsnake.com What's
the smallest size enclosure for one adult breadie to live in, and
is that ok or do they prefer to live in small groups?
dden: Hi and thanks...I recommend a minimum of 3'x2' for an
adult, with an extra 2 square feet for nother adult, but sometimes
we are forced to keep them in more crowded areas...not bad for a short
time. I think they do better in small groups.GA
jnsreptiles: Couple of questions... What is your opinion on
Temperature Determined Sex? Also.... As far as translucent dragons
go, in your opinion, is that what is needed to breathe life back into
the bearded dragon industry as a financial business??? If not, what
will it take? Thanks Kevin.... Jason and Shawni Smith
dden: I am still not sure thet the sex of bearded dragons
can be determined by incubation temps...I have tried many temps, but
I have not seen a definate outcome one way or the other. The translucents
are a great addition, but certainly not the only "new" thing out there...I
think the colors are getting brighter and brighter every season and
every year we see more "new" types of color morphs. All of thoem add
new life to the industry. GA
krn: Hey kevin, THanks for chatting tonight This is Kevin
the kid who bought the pair of cresteds off of you back at the beginning
of February. I was wondering if German Giants came in sunburst or
an any other special morph? thanks Love the geckos you sent there
doing well
dden: Hi Kevin...Thanks! I'm sure that German Giants have
had colors bred into them by many people. There are also plenty of
dragons that are as large as the German Giant line. I think creating
large dragons is just a matter of breeding more "unrelated" animals
together. GA
soderstrum: Hey Kevin i have a male beardie he is now like
16.5 inches do you think i would be able to feed him pinkies or should
i wait to he grows a bit more? Also when is a bearded dragon able
to start mating?
dden: Hi- That's a matter of personal opinion...I know lots
of poeple feed their dragons pinkies, but I prefer not to. I think
it is a huge amount of protien to feed them...let's face it: Bearded
dragons don't get a whole lot of exercise! I worry about kidney problems
later in life (the dragon's)...
dden: Sorry. to answer the other part of your questin: They
can be sexually mature at a very young age and we have bred plenty
of males at 16 inches...GA
Tsuky_nr: I got a normal yr old femele beardie and shes a
yr old and shes just 13 inches long (i know shes small for her age)
what can I do to increase her size?, and I also got a pair or baby
germans can I breed my normal female with the male german? and I got
a friend that has a pair of beardies and the female laid 15 eggs and
all were wrinkled is that a problem?
dden: I'll answer the last part first: Often the eggs are
wrinkled but, when put in a humid environment, gain moisture and expand
to fill up the wrinkles. They can go on to incubate full-term and
produce pefectly healthy babies. As far as a 13 inch yearling...that
is probably normal too. As long as she keeps eating she will probably
grow to a normale size adult. Since I have merged with Sandfire, I
have realized that the "normal" growth rate is much slower that that
of animals that are kept indoors, under summer conditions, all year
long.GA
dden: My pleasure Tsuky!GA
ryan_nr: are you working with any other sp of beardeds
dden: Sandfire has a beautiful colony of Rankins Dragons.
We should have offspring available this summer.
NewVisionDragonZ: I wanted to know what made you get into
the bearded dragon buisness
dden: Like most of us, I started playing with beardies as
a hobby. I quickly saw that it could be a good business since it was
something I enjoyed and was something that I could do on my own terms.
It was much easier then...I think the only other dragon breeders were
Pete and Phyllis Weis, Dave Duncan, and Bob Mailloux (who is now my
"partener"). GA
PHLdyPayne: it has been brought up in the forums recently
that bearded dragons are fed too much in captivity, causing them to
grow fast and possibly cause health problems in later life. what is
your opinion on this?
dden: It's probably true that they are fed more in captivity
than they would have access to in the wild. I don't know how long
they live in the wild...I suppose many dragon deaths in the wild are
due to predation so it's hard to say how it all adds up anyway. I
know I am probably guilty or "power feeding" animals that I want to
grow up to breeding size quickly, but that's just part of breeding.
I guess to give you an honest answer, I would have to be able to compare
the lifespan of wild dragons to that of captives...I wish somebody
would send me to Australia so I could get working on it!GA
PHFaust: Kevin we are at the hour, but we have several questions
waiting.... Would you like to stick around for a bit or do you have
to run?
PHLdyPayne: thanks kevin. i think we should all raise money to
send kevin to australia to do that research lol
dden: Yes...I can stick around.
PHFaust: Groovy
ireny: Hi Kevin. I have had Crested's for years but last summer
I found a BD in the middle of a busy road. A month later she nearly
died from internal parasites. Meds from the vet, 3 weeks of forced
feeding a wet protein dog food and soaking in a warm bath twice daily
saved her. Questions: Do parasites come from crickets? How often should
she be tested? Is there anything that can be done to avoid parasites?
Also, is there a way to tell how old she is (she's 16" long)? Thank
you.
dden: Hi- First off, parasites come from everything! There
is ongonig debate over how much of a parasite load, if any, is necessary
for normal digestive function. I only treat a dragon if it is losing
weight and shows an unusually high parasitic presence (as judged from
a fecal analysis). If you are in doubt, have a vet do a fecal exam
and , if necessary, prescribe the right meds...It's a touchy spot
though as it can be just as bad to over-medicate as it can to do nothing.
Not sure how you could determine her age if you found her as an adult.
I have had dragons grow to 16" in 4 months and I've had them grow
for 2 years and still not reach 16" in length. GA
BJC: Hey there Kevin...(I work at a pet store) and one of
our dragons came in sick with a few problems that I am trying to fix.
I took him home cause well he would only eat for me :) He is getting
so much better since then ... I have one concern, about his tail...
he hasn't shed it once, he has a M.Bone D. though in the mits of reversing,
its quite kinked... do I have to be really concerned about his tail?
Once I get it under control, MBD, will it staighten and shed? does
MBD stunt their growth?
dden: Hi- I don't think the tail will straighten out. You
may be able to treat the MBD, but I don't think the damage is reversible.
If the MBD was diagnosed by a vet, you were probably given something
to prevent further problems, but I have not seen any "reversing" of
the effects...GA
amhjda1109: Hey Kevin, it's Allison...I was just wondering
what the average growth rate of a bearded dragon is? My babie's 11
inches and only 85 grams (unsure of his age, got him from a petstore)...and
he finally grew 1/2" after growing nothing (length wise) for about
3 weeks. Is he too small?
dden: Hi- Hard to say without knowing his age. Beardeds tend
to grow long, then fatten-up, then grow long, then fatten-up ,etc.
They may look skinny at times without being unhealthy...I just make
sure they have a nice warm basking area (I recommend 110 degrees on
the surface) and feed them as much as they like. I would guess that
she still has some growing to do. GA
HerpZillA: Hi, first thanks for your time, 25 years away from
herps, back in again and vitticeps has moved to #1 for me, My questions
is the "german giant" strain pure vitticeps? or is there some barbados
in there? On a more personal note, I have 1.3, my male is not huge,
but one female would 22"++ if a full tail. Last year, he just rode
her, I can easily borrow a bigger male, I actually have a larger yellow
available, but my 1st male throws off great reds, Does size matter?
many thanks for the extra time tom
dden: Hi- Well as the saying goes..."size does not matter",
but that is not entirely true for dragons. A male needs to be long
enough to breed with the female when he bites her neck to hold her
in place. If he is a lightweight, he may just get dragged around the
cage. If he is too short (for lack of a better description), then
he won't be able to successfully mate with her. I would try the bigger
animal and see if you notice a difference. As far as the Germans...I'm
not 100% sure that they are pure vitticeps, but I was always led to
believe they were...that would be a good question for Sherri S. I
think she has researched that question. GA
dden: Sorry, I meant Sheri S.
PHFaust: On behalf of Kingsnake.com, Jeff B, and myself, I
want to take a moment to thank Kevin for being part of our chat week.
Kevin, thanks for taking the time out to chat with us on Beardies.
HerpZillA: Ty Faust too. New to this room, I was a bit clutzy,
asking for my position, was not sure how that list was generates.
Yours is not an easy job I see
soderstrum: Thanks Kevin For The information
LedWings: thanks kevin
PHFaust: And Kevin, Im glad to have helped you with your first
time. :)
PHGinger: Thank you Kevin!
HerpZillA: And Thank you Kevin
snakeman19_nr: thanks kevin
PHLdyPayne: thank you very much kevin for coming in and answering
questions and putting up with the madness lol love to have you back
again
dden: Thanks everyone...sorry I did not get to answer more
questions, but I am a CRUMMY TYPIST. I would be happy to answer questions
if you email me directly. Kevin
