How to Breed the Topaz Dragon in DragonVale (November Gemstone Guide)

Published October 24, 2026 Updated October 25, 2026 5 min read

Illustration: an amber-orange topaz gemstone

The short answer: breed a Firefly Dragon with a Cactus Dragon during November. Breeding takes 30h (24h in an Upgraded Breeding Cave), and each attempt has roughly a 3% chance. Outside November the pair cannot produce it.

Topaz is November’s birthstone dragon. This guide covers preparing both parents before the month starts, how many attempts fit into the window, how to confirm success from the timer, and what to do if you miss it.

Quick facts

Rarity	Gemstone (birthstone)
Level required	12
Combination	Firefly Dragon + Cactus Dragon (either order)
Window	November (the whole calendar month in recent years)
Breeding time	30h · 24h upgraded
Incubation	30h · 22h 30m upgraded nursery
Odds per attempt	About 3% (wiki estimate)
Earns	2 gems a month at levels 1–3, 3 at levels 4–6 and 4 at levels 7–10
Gem price when offered	1,500 gems
Quest	Remember November (16 hours)
Released	1 November 2012

About the Topaz Dragon

Topaz is November’s birthstone dragon, released on 1 November 2012. Its lore places it on a small, isolated island in the Crimson Sea at the edge of the Shimmering Isles — shy at first, then one of the friendliest dragons around. A detail collectors like: the Topaz was the first dragon with complete heterochromia, meaning its two eyes are different colours.

Gemstone dragons share three rules worth knowing before you start:

They earn gems, not DragonCash — slowly, but forever.
They can never be used as parents. A gemstone dragon cannot breed with anything, including another of its kind.
The recipe only works while the dragon is offered. Outside its window, the pair simply produces other dragons.

Why Firefly + Cactus?

The Firefly Dragon carries Lightning and Fire; the Cactus Dragon carries Plant and Lightning. Together that is Lightning, Fire and Plant — three distinct elements. During November that exact pair is the Topaz recipe. Both parents are quick to breed (Firefly 3h, Cactus 30m), so Topaz is one of the easiest gemstones to prepare for at short notice.

Getting the parents ready

The combination is fixed, so the real work is having both parents ready — and at level 4 or higher — before 1 November.

Parent	Elements	How to get it	Breeding time	Level
Firefly Dragon	Lightning + Fire	Any pair carrying Lightning and Fire	3h	12
Cactus Dragon	Plant + Lightning	Any pair carrying Plant and Lightning	30m	12

Firefly Dragon: One of the original 2011 dragons.
Cactus Dragon: Fast 30-minute timer; also a parent of Topaz and Peridot.

Both parents must be level 4 or higher before they appear in a breeding cave, so feed them a few treats as soon as they hatch.

Step-by-step plan

In the month before, breed or buy a Firefly Dragon and a Cactus Dragon.
Feed both to level 4+; higher levels do no harm.
On 1 November, start the pair in your fastest cave.
Read the timer immediately: 30h (or 24h upgraded) means success.
Clear failed eggs quickly and restart — every hour counts in a single month.
If you have two caves, run the pair in both for double the attempts.

The odds: how many attempts should you plan for?

The DragonVale Wiki lists the Topaz Dragon at about 3% per attempt. That number is a community estimate, but it is useful for planning. On average you would expect to need around 33 attempts — and because every attempt is independent, some players need far more and some get lucky on the first try. The table shows your chance of having at least one success after a given number of attempts, and how long that many attempts takes with one cave working non-stop.

Attempts	Chance of at least one	One cave (30h each)	Upgraded cave (24h each)
10	26%	12 days	10 days
25	53%	31 days	25 days
50	78%	62 days	50 days
100	95%	125 days	100 days
150	99%	188 days	150 days

Two caves running the same pair halve the calendar time. Results here assume you clear or hatch the other eggs promptly so the cave is never idle.

What fits inside the November window

Assuming you start on day one and keep the cave(s) busy for the whole window (about 30 days):

Caves on this pair	Attempts → chance (standard)	Attempts → chance (upgraded)
1	24 → 52%	30 → 60%
2	48 → 77%	60 → 84%
3	72 → 89%	90 → 94%

Reading the timer

Birthstone dragons follow a neat pattern: their breeding time in hours equals the number of days in their month. November has 30 days, so Topaz takes 30 hours. Other gemstones share that length, but they are tied to different months or parents, so a 30h egg from Firefly Dragon + Cactus Dragon in November is almost certainly your Topaz. Our Egg Timer lists every timer we cover.

Breed it or buy it?

Which cave to use for gemstone attempts

Any Breeding Cave can produce gemstone dragons. The Epic Breeding Island is described in-game as a place where “some of the rarer dragon hybrids might come about more frequently”, and upgrading it to the Epic Breeding Sanctuary (225 gems) cuts its breeding times by 20%. An Upgraded Breeding Cave gives the same 20% time saving. During a short gemstone window, the time saving is the part you can count on: more attempts in the same days. Our Breeding Cave vs Epic Breeding Island guide goes further.

When Topaz is offered for gems it costs 1,500 gems. Because gemstone dragons pay back in gems over time, many players prefer to breed them and keep gems for event dragons that cannot be bred at all.

November also falls inside the quarterly Jet window (mid-November to mid-February) and the end of the Amber window (to about 15 November). Give Topaz priority — it leaves first.

Recent windows

Recent appearances of the Topaz Dragon, including the occasional short off-season return:

From	To
1 Nov 2023	1 Dec 2023
1 Nov 2024	1 Dec 2024
24 Apr 2025	1 May 2025
1 Nov 2025	1 Dec 2025
28 May 2026	4 Jun 2026

What it earns and why it is worth having

The Topaz Dragon earns gems — 2 gems a month at levels 1–3, 3 at levels 4–6 and 4 at levels 7–10. That is slow, but it never stops, which is why gemstones are among the most sought-after dragons.

Common mistakes

Starting late in November. Parents should be ready before the month begins.
Parents below level 4. They will not appear in the cave list.
Breeding outside November and expecting a Topaz. The pair produces other dragons then.
Trying to breed with your Topaz. Gemstone dragons cannot be parents.
Letting failed eggs block the cave. Clear them and restart straight away.

Frequently asked questions

What two dragons make a Topaz Dragon?

Firefly Dragon + Cactus Dragon, during November.

How long does the Topaz Dragon take?

30h to breed (24h upgraded).

Can I breed the Topaz Dragon outside November?

Only if the game brings it back in a special event; otherwise no.

Can the Topaz Dragon breed?

No — gemstone dragons cannot be used as parents.

Does Topaz share a timer with other dragons?

Yes — Diamond, Sapphire, Pearl, Jet and Aurum also use 30 hours, but they need different parents or months.

Facts checked on 26 October 2026 against the in-game rules as documented by the community DragonVale Wiki. Breeding odds are community-documented estimates, event dates and prices change, and the odds tables are simple arithmetic from those estimates — not guarantees. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Tools

Put this guide to work

Egg Timer Lookup

Enter the breeding timer to narrow down what is in the egg. Open tool