4 month beardie attacks 2 month beardie

[melpem4695]

We went out tonight and after about an hour got a call from my step son saying that one of the 4 month old beardies had attacked the smaller one. I immediately told him to turn off the light and heat to make them sleep, which seemed to do the trick stopping any further attack till I could get home. When I got home the small one has a wound to the top of its head which looks like a puncture mark. I have cleaned him up and placed him in a smaller container within the vivarium till I can get him to the vets tomorrow. A couple of questions:
1, Is it normal for such a young beardie to attack a smaller one (I cant sex the smaller one yet so cannot tell if they are both males)
2, Is the "puncture" mark normal, it is a single puncture to the centre of the head, it did bleed by thankfully stopped pretty quickly. looks more like a tooth mark to me
3, do you think its possible that my step son is lying and the cat has had the beardie, I have checked the cats for any tell tale blood marks but there were none, I just dont understand why they would attack today when I am out when it has never happened before. I have seen no aggressive behaviour and when I left they were all on the rocks together (I have 4, 2 x 4 months, 2 x 2 months)

I'm hoping the little thing makes it through the night

I would appreciate any comments, I may be being unfair to my step son or maybe not !!!!

 

[tempusfugit]

It was most likely the dragons fighting for dominance. Beardies can't be housed together at any age - that's why you see them being sold with toe and tail nips even at 4-6 weeks.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Hi there,
A larger dragon will always dominate a smaller one. Its a reptile thing.
Separate them asap and all will be well.

 

[SoleSky]

Hello,

As mentioned above beardies should not be housed together, no matter what age, sex or size. It's best that you separate them both so that they're out of sight from one another. Bearded dragons are territorial animals and one will always dominate the other. In this case you could either put a divider in a large tank or buy two 40 gallon breeders and keep them in those as they will need them as adults. Just for other reasons could you provide info on your setup?

UVB Bulb brand and type?
Substrate?
Temperature (based on digital probe or temp gun)?
Diet?
any other info you'd like to provide.

 

[melpem4695]

I have a Repti-glo bult in 10.0 uv bulb, 4 foot by 3 foot Viv, feeding them on fresh veg including carrot, pea, red cabbage and dark green leaves (dandilion ect). Also have medium crickets and meal worms which I provide every other day with protein powder on them. Diet is mainly veg. They have all been fine, sleeping and staying together I just don't understand why it happened yesterday without any warning signs. I am so upset. The injured one (Stumpy) looks very sorry for himself, I am just waiting for the vet to come back to me with an appointment time. He hasn't opened his eyes yet, but is currently on a rock warming up. He has a punctuure woulnd on his head and has not eaten yet. Thank you for your help I really appreciate it.

 

[MissT]

Have you separated them all?

It is normal that this should happen out of the blue. Even older dragons that have lived together for a while can just 'turn' in the blink of an eye. They are much happier living separately.

 

[melpem4695]

Although I have 4 I am holding 2 for a friend until he can get his vivarium, the two older ones are mine (although were all bought together and have always been together), as an emergency measure for today I have separated the two smaller ones to a smaller tank. The vet said this would be fine for a few days until I can get a new set. The two older ones are one male one female so should be ok for the next few days too. Once the smaller ones have gone to their owner one of the bigger ones can move into the new Viv. The vet has cleaned Stumpy up and the cut to his head doesn't look to bad however he still hasn't opened his eyes and she is concerned that one may be damaged, he hasn't eaten yet either but she said he has had a shock and it may take 24 hours. He has antibiotics in case it was the cat and she gave him some pain killer. He is holding up his head now and he opens his mouth but looks very sorry for himself. I can only wait and see

 

[Mirthy]

Bearded dragons eat their young. They eat things that fit in their mouths. Toes, tails and things that move and wiggle. They eat other lizards. They aren't evil or bad. They are just being bearded dragons 8) It is very rare to have a pair of bearded dragons that actually don't try to dominate each other...and then it's more along the line of apathy. I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm just saying it is not likely. What is far more likely is that one dragon is going to have a miserable stressful life, always feeling bullied and trying to get enough food...and the other dragon is going to have a stressful life always feeling like it has to bully the other dragon.
A casual encounter may be nothing, but day in and day out can be really hard on the little guys.
Pet stores and breeders keep dragons together because they have large clutches and to house them singularly would be near impossible.
Don't blame the kiddo, it was bound to happen.

 

[melpem4695]

Thanks Mirthy, Stumpy is looking so much better, just need to keep a close eye, new viv should be here in the next few days, honestly the help and advise I have received on here has been such a big help, thank you all

 

[Mirthy]

I'm so glad that Stumpy is doing better! That is great news!
If you have a chance, we'd love to see a picture of the little guy and the rest of your dragon horde, too!

 

[Monotov]

I didn't read all the posts so I apologize if this has already been said. I belive your beardies were fighting. I housed Monotov and Layla together and Monotov began attacking and dominating her around 3 months, bobbing the head and nipping at the tail sort of thing. I don't believe your son said the cat got a hold of him/her, only because beardies, especially juveniles, are very fast. I have a cat who gets along with my beardies and snuggles, but I have another cat who will chase after them and they get away fast enough and never could she get a grip on them. Anyways I'm surprised you kept a beardie at 4 months with him because at 3 months mine began to fight.

 

[MooseDragon]

My dragon was yonug when i got him, and already had a little stub on his tail from being house with his siblings... It just doesnt work. Some dragons get along fine, some dont. I guess its time to seperate them.

 

[my1stBD]

Thanks Mirthy, Stumpy is looking so much better, just need to keep a close eye, new viv should be here in the next few days, honestly the help and advise I have received on here has been such a big help, thank you all

Awesome, post some pics of the new setup when its done, glad Stumpy is showing improvement.
Dont beat yourself up over what happened, lots of people get the wrong advise about housing multiple beardies together and do nothing BUT you came for advise and you took it and seperated them to prevent future issues, that is what is important

 

[jirish617]

I have a Repti-glo bult in 10.0 uv bulb, 4 foot by 3 foot Viv, feeding them on fresh veg including carrot, pea, red cabbage and dark green leaves (dandilion ect). Also have medium crickets and meal worms which I provide every other day with protein powder on them. Diet is mainly veg. They have all been fine, sleeping and staying together I just don't understand why it happened yesterday without any warning signs. I am so upset. The injured one (Stumpy) looks very sorry for himself, I am just waiting for the vet to come back to me with an appointment time. He hasn't opened his eyes yet, but is currently on a rock warming up. He has a punctuure woulnd on his head and has not eaten yet. Thank you for your help I really appreciate it.

Glad to hear stumpy is doing better.

As far as their diet you only feed them every other day? They should be fed atleast twice a day. Mealworms aren't a good choice either. Their chitin is rather hard and can be hard for a beardie to digest, especially at such a young age. Their diet should mainly be insects at this age...not till they are adults should it be mostly vegetables.

 

[melpem4695]

Sorry my fault the way I wrote it, No I feed them everyday, but they have the live food every other day. My new viv arrived this morning, so all is well again. Photo's to follow. Can I ask what substrate you would all recommend at the moment I am using sand but I saw a review about astro turf. I think sand is ascetically better but would be interested for some other opinions. Thanks