Where I live, which is a smaller town...even OUR humane society has WD's. Badly abused its really sad.
The 3 pet stores that are in this county all have them for sale.
If its getting popular here thats saying something.
We are usually 10 years behind lol
Thanks Nicole for your point of view!
Its just my point of view....but I'd rather rescue one.

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Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

The only way that a person on his/her own breeding them would help the wild/caught situation is if he/she were able to sell to a pet store for very cheap on a continual basis. Otherwise they will keep buying the wild caught water dragons and selling those - and the majority of people buy them from pet stores. So the homes you'd find for them wouldn't be people who would have bought the wild caught ones anyway, they just be the people who already were looking for a breeder or who you have convinced need a water dragon.

Hatching a clutch just because you can doesn't help the situation at all, and quite possibly hurts it in most cases.

While I'm up on my soapbox, though , I'd like to point out that if you know you are not going to hatch the eggs, it's better not to let them mate in the first place. Pregnancy is not easy on a water dragon. She's stressed from the mating, stressed from the pregnancy, and stressed from laying the eggs. Not only that but she loses vital nutrients and often a great deal of weight through the process. And if you don't have a place she approves of to lay her eggs, sometimes she won't, and become egg bound.

All-in-all, I've always thought that if you're not going to hatch the eggs, it's a bit cruel to put a female reptile through all that.

If you *do* decide you're going to keep them together, make sure you know beforehand exactly what care she'll need through the whole process.

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"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

I appreciate hearing both sides of the issue. There are pro's and con's for each owner of whether to breed or not. Although I was enthusiastic about having babies from my two dragons, the reality is that I cannot house or re-locate that many dragons and be assured that they will be taken care of properly. It also doesn't seem fair to the female to have to go through the pregnancy if my intention is to only keep a few of the eggs to development. I would love to be able to breed them as a supplier and maybe help decrease the need for the wild captures, but I just don't have the resources to handle an operation like that. Hence, my decision is to rescue a dragon when I decide that I am ready for the new addition. Sometimes excitement can over-rule sound judgment...then reality sets in...and if you listen...smarter choices can be made.

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"Dare to Dream! Without dreams, there is no Hope."
***Tami***

Of course it is the keeper's decision. I was just throwing out my opinion as I saw several posts that were advising to get rid of the eggs - I felt that the other side of the debate needed to be said. I do not look down on keepers that choose not to hatch their eggs - that is their decision, not mine. I was simply (although rather long-windedly, lol) explaining the other side of the situation in response to advice that seemed to automatically put down breeding as a negative thing to do. I never said breeding, when possible, is a must.

Remember, a female dragon will lay eggs with or without a male. She will go through the stress of being gravid, digging a hole, laying eggs, burying a hole, losing weight and nutrients, and the possibility of becoming egg-bound without a male - the eggs just will not hatch. All this trouble is not limited only to females that have mated.

tlh9162,
If you feel you cannot handle the hatchlings then simply freeze the eggs as was said earlier. But remember that even if you keep the male and female separate, the female will still lay eggs - just infertile eggs. Be sure to have a laybox prepared for her at all times or when you think she is gravid, and provide extra calcium supplements (along with UVB) when she is gravid as well.

No worries Dp, already been in place. The UVB has been there as long as I have had her and all of her crickets are calcium dusted. As a matter of fact, she wont eat them unless they are. Her gravid box has been in her cage for 2 weeks now, just incase she is old enough to start laying...fertile or not. Had to move a few things around in her tank to put it in there..kinda stressed her out about that. She is back to her happy self now. Thanks for the concern.

One thing I love bout this community (HC) is that you all can voice opposite opinions maturely. You all have the same love and best interest of the animals in mind...be it from opposite sides of the "fence". I have learned so much from listening to this "debate" and I want to thank everyone for their input.

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"Dare to Dream! Without dreams, there is no Hope."
***Tami***

I absolutely agree! This has been an excellent debate that was kept on a mature level. Thta is also one of things I like about HC. I think it is great when you can hear opinions from both sides of the fence, and make an educated decision as to what is best for you and your animal.

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead