Please Help - Bearded Dragon Is Bullying

Hi everyone,

I am new to this website, and have joined because there seems to be a wealth of knowledge here!

Now, I am at wits end because I have tried everything under the sun to resolve this problem, but nothing is working.

Let me explain:
We bought a female and a male Bearded Dragon around 6 months ago, when they were 8 months old.
The male has grown into a colourful, majestic looking dragon. The female is quite literally half his size.

She will not eat crickets, only meal worms and locusts.

The male has already damaged one of her legs whilst trying to mate (which she never wants to do). She is tiny, and just can't defend herself.

To rectify the problem we took the male out, totally cleaned out the viv and put her in for a couple of hours on her own (so it smells like her) and he backed off a bit.

He has again launched another attack, and we think he has broken her other leg as she can't walk on it. He also constantly bits her tail and it is always half the size of his (like a stump).

Can you suggest what we can do? As in the shop we were advised we could keep the together.

Thank you in advance

Unfortunately, the pet store gave you bad advice. While it is sometimes possible to house two beardies together, it is not recommended and in this case is clearly not a good idea. They need to be separated immediately. If left together, the male will continue to harass the female. She will suffer more and more injuries, and most likely will eventually die - either from injuries or from stress. Please, get the female to a good herp vet (http://www.herpvetconnection.com) and then separate them permanently.

I agree with Jasper's mom. I have had female beardies that get along well. The first two we had were best friends. The two females I have now are housed separately but seem to get along well while sitting on the living room window sill with the window open to get good sun, as they are right now. However, the way your two are going, I would deffinitely keep them separate. Even when they are in real sun, as your male being with your female will stress her out even more.

In my experience, some will get along just fine and others will not. I have some ( females even ) that I can not house with anyone, they will immediately attack! There is no way of knowing the personality of any dragon! There are some factors that can contribute to aggression, if the tank is too hot, the area they are in is to busy or noisy, and others.. Like the other replies, I would suggest separating them right away..
She need to be seen by a vet too..

Heidi