Scottishdragon":70ia8zu7 said:
Hi everyone, i am new here and would like to say hi to everyone. I have a slight problem that i need advice.... so the story goes like this... i have a bearded dragon, around 14 weeks old, viv size is 5foot long, 3 foot wide and 2foot high, she loves it, so anyway i recently heard of someone getting rid of a bearded dragon because they got bored of it ?, so i said i would take it. It is defo a male as he shows hos
black beard while head bobbing. Anyway i put him my big viv with my other one..all went well then he started to run around chasing my girl and biting the top of her neck and climbing on top of her. I read online and have told that this is breeding behaviour but they are too little for me to allow that to happen. Any info on this would be great thanks. Is it breeding? Or fighting? Will it calm down?
This is not courting / mating behavior. This is a territorial dispute.
This is going turn very nasty very quickly, while it's great that you took in the unwanted dragon, putting it in the same viv as existing dragon is going to end bloody.
You dragon has a situation it is not happy with, a new dragon has suddenly invaded it's territory and it's having to share you, it's food and it's basking spot and home with the new comer, in the wild the resident dominant dragon will drive off intruders with body language , but this doesn't work in a small confined viv and so the aggression will rapidly escalate and very soon the newcomer will be savagely mauled perhaps even killed unless you separate the pair.
Three options :
1) best = set up a new viv the same size as the existing one and stack the two viv so neither dragon is forced to look at each other all day every day - they will be stressed if they can see each other all the time. Let the original dragon keep it's viv and move the newcomer to the new viv.
2) partition the existing viv (5ft x 3ft x 2ft H) into two side -by - side mirror image vivs ( 2.5ft x 3ft x 2ft H) making sure the partition blocks each dragons view of each other, this is a cheap and relatively easy option but will involve rearranging the basking and UV lighting so each has an equal share of light, heat and UV. Very good solution for your situation with two hatchlings or juvenile dragons.
3) set up a 100L - 150L tub as a rearing tub to how the rescued dragon in , see
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=233480 , this is a very good and cheap solution and will be adequate until the rescue is about adult size.
Things will settle down quite soon if you arrange to separately house the pair , and both will be much happier and both will have their best chances of thriving too. You might notice so insecurity behaviours from your dragon as it will now know there is another dragon present and will be jealous of any attention the new comer receives from it's personal human slave (you) ... extra snuggles are in order for a while.
>>>> you are thinking I'm nuts ! well that's what happened with we brought home Puff and Rex , our two BTs (George and Mildred) became very clingy for a few months, and the same when we brought home Peppa and Toothless (from Rex , Wriggles (the eastern water skink) and the two BTs.
They do form tight bonds with their humans , especially when as pampered as my gang are.
