# breeding painted agamas?



## cornflakes (Apr 7, 2009)

at some point in the future i would like to breed my 2 painted agamas, but in the care sheet i have it says they need a hibernation period in dec and jan in order to breed. is this true?


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

some lizards wont breed without brumation. I dont know anything about painted tbh. Do you no the latin name? do you have pics?


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## cornflakes (Apr 7, 2009)

laudakia stellio


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

am i right in thinking there also known as an orange spotted agama?


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

If they are then

*Breeding:*

Agama stellio picea can become sexually mature after one year but this can vary with different growth rates. Literature states that a reasonable cooling period is needed for them to breed. The first year the animals cooling period was only 5-8 degrees cooler than the temperatures listed above and this was enough to trigger breeding. First year breeding resulted in both of the females producing three clutches with about a 50% fertility rate. Breeding behavior is as with some other lizards; the female dances around the male, her back arched and wagging her tail. The male answers this display with a display of his own, head bobbing. If both animals are interested the male will bite onto the back of the females neck or flanks and copulation takes place. I witnessed the animals mating a few times after the seasonal increase in temperature. After 5-7 weeks the female started digging in all the corners of the vivarium. From this moment on I kept two corners moist to accomodate both females. After few days of digging she laid her clutch. One day when returning home from a day of work I noticed a very deflated picea and one corner of the vivarium was firmely covered with sand. She laid six eggs but only three were fertile. Two weeks later the other female laid eggs in the same corner. 5 weeks after laying the first clutch both females laid their second clutch. Again after 5 weeks the third clutch. The females always were two weeks from each other. I removed the eggs and placed them in the incubator.

*Incubation:*

The eggs were put in a container with some predrilled holes with moist vermiculite. The vermiculite was mixed with water at a rate of 1:1 bt weight. The eggs were buried in the vermiculite leaving about 30-50% of the eggs about the surface. Literature stated the incubation time is 50-60 days at a temperature between 28 and 30ºC (Gunther Kohler) I set the temperature in the incubator at exactly 30º C. 50 days later all three eggs hatched. Two weeks later the first clutch followed the other clutch and so on.

*The Young uns:*

The hatchling picea are exact copys of there parents. They are extremely active and beautifully dark coloured. The youngsters are housed as the mature animals but in a smaller vivarium. They immediately eat small crickets and wax worms. Do not feed buffalo worms to the hatchlings because their shell is too hard anf they will have problems digesting them and it may end up causing impaction. Feed the hatchlings insects generously coated with a calcium/vitamin powder. Every day they are given fresh drinking water and misted twice. The three animals first to hatch were 2 females and 1 male. The second clutch was 3 males and 3 females. The temperatures (day and night) in the vivaria of the youngsters is equal of those of the parents.


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## cornflakes (Apr 7, 2009)

im not really sure because theres another one very similar but black and orange and smaller


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

This is what I got when I googled painted










this is orange spotted googled










so disregard the info above


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

actually just looking at where i got the info from the latin name is right but there saying that there orange spotted!

Laudakia stellio picea


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## cornflakes (Apr 7, 2009)

it is very confusing with those two types


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

I have agama atricollis (Blue headed) and when looking for stuff in shops or online its a nightmare. you need to always go by the latin name then check double check then phone back speak to someone else and check again! ive googled painting breeding and there seems to be little info


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## AmyW (Aug 24, 2009)

From when I had mine, from the research I did, this was the scientific name I found and it seemed correct.

_Laudakia stellio brachydactyla_


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

that looks right to me

heres a google pic










*Breeding:*

Mating takes place within a month or so of emerging from hibernation. The male(s) - or the dominant male will often be seen adopting a suitable vantage point from which he is clearly visible and perform a series of press-ups, often with his dark gular pouch inflated. This serves both as a territorial display to other males and as an initial mating display to females. If you have two or more males, initially more than one may do this, but after a bit of chasing and displaying to establish dominance it will normally be restricted to the dominant male. 

If a female is receptive to a male, he will quickly grasp her with his jaws by the back of the neck and coitus, generally of short duration will take place.

Egg-laying will take place about a month later, although this period can vary tremendously in a greenhouse due to the variation in weather conditions. The female will choose a suitable spot and dig down as much as 25 cms to lay her eggs. The preferred medium varies from female to female. Some of mine use the provided sand area, others actually heave substantial cobble stones away from the underlying peat, dig their burrow, and then, after laying the eggs, roll the stones back. I failed to find eggs for two years until I saw this astonishing behaviour - and astonishing strength! A clutch is typically of 8-10 eggs. Even in the greenhouse, early clutches are sometimes followed by a further mating and a second clutch. Conversely, these same females will often only lay every second year.

Using my incubation technique, the eggs tend to hatch after 50-70 days. This is a very large variation and I am unsure why this is the case. The young are perfect miniatures of the adults although seldom show the bright adult colouring at this age. Sometimes this can take as much as a year to become apparent. As with most lizards, they should be segregated from the adults for the first few months of their life.


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

heres he page BTW

Painted Dragon - Laudakia stellio brachydactyla


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## Woodsman (Aug 12, 2008)

These are Laudakia stellio brachydactyla.
They do have to be brumated if you wish to breed them.
Our pair are currently brumating.
Blaptica on here breeds these regularly,he's the expert on this species.
Hope this is of help.


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