Bearded Dragons Hand, HELP!!!!

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popsickle18

Juvie Member
Sorry to butt in, but why take the chance housing them together? It has been proven time and time again that beardies do not need or really want cage mates. That "cute cuddling" you see them do in pet stores is just the superior dragons showing off their dominance by sitting on the other ones. They are competing for sunlight and food. My first dragon was missing toes, before I got him, from being with his cage mates. It happened during feeding apparently. My second dragon is a rescue from animal control and he has a significant part of his tail missing and three toes from each rear foot from his male cage mate. His cage mate was in even worse condition than him with a limb missing, toes, and a huge part of his tail. Clearly, many dragons do not belong together.

I would just separate them. It might seem silly to do so right now but all it takes is one fight too far and a dragon will end up severely injured.
 
I would also hate to butt in but you should really separate them... I unfortunately a few years ago had two babies a boy and a girl and thought since the tank was huge, 60 gallon, they'd be fine together and they'd grow up together and all this stuff and how cute it was when they laid on each other... then one day I came home to find my boy bit the girls tail, back foot and face! Obvious they became separated.

Bearded dragons like to be kept alone. whether it is a male or female there will always be a more dominant one and fights will happen.

Also I'd like to touch on the beardies don't bite themselves comments... Yes they do. Not for no reason but they definitely do. When things are wrong reptiles subject to self mutilation. I had to put my baby boy down the other day because I caught him biting off his hands. He had a problem shedding and it began cutting off circulation and he broke both of his hand and he was only 5" long. He had food and was good on his weight but he didn't shed and tried to tare himself apart to loosen skin. so YES beardies do bite themselves.

But I would separate these two little guys quick before you come home to more bit marks or missing body parts. whether the other one bit him or not... one will eventually bite the other. That is why you should NEVER house ANY bearded dragons together.
 

Bwalter

Sub-Adult Member
To still keep them together even after the one was bit is just so wrong. One day you will find the one dead, can you live with that? It will happen, not IF, but WHEN. If you love them SEPARATE them and get the one to the vet ASAP
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
As far as self mutilation mentioned by Calalilly, yes in extreme circumstance it can happen, and I'm really sorry to hear about your baby. What a terrible thing to have happen ! Off topic for just a second, but be sure the humidity in the tank is not too low, if it is you can spritz water in the tank a couple times a day to help with that so the skin can shed. But that situation [ self mutilation ] is extremely uncommon, and given that his dragon is with another, that is the answer that explains what happened here.
 

popsickle18

Juvie Member
I have found my dragon scratching the heck out of itself before to attempt to loosen up some skin, but never biting. I wouldn't put it beyond some dragons though. I've found the more regular the baths the less that will happen.
 

Molson

Member
You're willing to risk the health of your dragons just because you have a delusion that they are best friends? That's pretty selfish to prioritize your viewing pleasure over the health of your pets. You know how bearded dragons can act when alone together, and one of yours had his foot bitten, why would you even consider keeping them together?

It seems like he already made up his mind though.
 

SoleSky

Sub-Adult Member
Molson":3hmjeekm said:
You're willing to risk the health of your dragons just because you have a delusion that they are best friends? That's pretty selfish to prioritize your viewing pleasure over the health of your pets. You know how bearded dragons can act when alone together, and one of yours had his foot bitten, why would you even consider keeping them together?

It seems like he already made up his mind though.

I agree with this statement, yes we took bearded dragons out of the wild for our own "viewing pleasure" but it is more than that. It's giving them a chance at a longer life and appreciating their beauty and enjoying their company. As many don't like to admit it, bearded dragons can't really "love" another bearded dragon, they prefer to be alone, as they should be! The point is to give them each a better life, they're animals who depend on us, and because we took them out of the wild they need us to be there for them and help them survive. With two beardies living in such close quarters there is bound to be ANOTHER fight. I understand your heart is in the right place, but you must make a logical decision here. Beardies really only know to eat, sleep and mainly to reproduce, their goal is there. It's biology, and i'm sorry, no form of human mental conception will change that.
 

Tracey13

Member
I am not an a very experienced beardie owner, I have had my boys about 9 months but I feel like I have to comment because we are in the process of dividing the enclosure that they have shared until now. It really is a very good possibility that the wound was caused by a bite, as hard as it is to accept. I saw my beardie bite the other yesterday during feeding. No blood or visible wound but it could happen again. No doubt the person who posted has seen some of the behaviors I have where they lay next to each other, put an arm around the other or seem to hold hands. In the human world it means affection, maybe to them it means something else. I don't know. I am going to divide my enclosure with screens but if it doesn't work out, we have glass panels.
Believe me friend, I understand what you are going through. I believe you care about them and want the best for them. Maybe males enjoy the companionship sometimes and that's what we see, but then that survival instinct takes over. I would feel horrible if I came home one day and found one of them hurt or worse. Good luck to you, I know you'll make the right decision. Tracey
 

Sheena

Member
What an ignorant fool. "They wave to each other so that must mean they like each other right?!" Ahem, no it doesn't that's a threat / dominance display. They weren't sharing a superworm they were trying to eat it before the other one did, it just so happened that it ate the other half while the beardie was busy. You need to separate them as soon as possible or they will end up just killing each other over food, light and heating privileges. In Australia, where they are naturally found they all have their own territories and chase others away to keep their females, food etc.

People here are telling you that its wrong, yet you chose to think your beardies are some how miraculously different and love each other. You're completely wrong, yes beardies have their own likes and dislikes, but all beardies are the same when it comes to sharing a cage.

If you are going to completely ignore any warning or advice people are giving you, then don't be asking why one killed the other all of a sudden.

The idiocy is high in this one.
 

Jess

Extreme Poster
Remember that name-calling isn't helping anyone...

@OP: You need to remember that reptiles are completely different than humans or our mammal pets... Since (nearly all) reptiles have been solitary in the wild, they don't have the emotional capacity to "love" or form bonds. The part of their brain that is responsible for emotions like this is underdeveloped. It's scientifically impossible for your bearded dragons to be "friends", since reptiles are made to see each other as nothing other than competition for survival. It will definitely be better for their health if you separate them. :) They may be tiny, but I have seen bearded dragons that size bite each other's entire limbs off, and an amputation surgery is going to costly and unpleasant for your little guys.
 

Jess

Extreme Poster
... And do you think that saying that is going to make him want to change anything? :roll: it's frustrating when people don't want to take our advice, but making people not want to come back to this forum isn't exactly making progress either.
 

Sheena

Member
His animal is relying on him for everything. Health happiness, food. Everything.

If he is going to completely ignore those needs then hes a selfish human being who shouldn't have animals to begin with. Enough said.
 

SoleSky

Sub-Adult Member
I agree with Jess, I don't think its fair to name call. They came to this forum looking for help and they're getting the advice they need. Sometimes its hard for people who haven't owned an animal before to recognize certain behavioral patterns that could mean an animal is in distress. This person came in here with good intentions and telling them off is only going to drive them away, which is worse for the beardies.
 

Jess

Extreme Poster
^^^ Exactly. Judging by the picture he's probably a younger teenager, who just got his first reptile. The fact that he signed up for this web site and posted this shows that he cares for them, even though he seems to be in denial about their "friendship". Sometimes all you can do is give people the advice they need, hope they take it to heart, and leave the door open to them. It sucks, but you can't force people to do anything. Looks like he probably isn't planning on responding to this thread or coming back to this forum tho.
 
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