Yep, exactly! She is exerting her dominance over the new beardie, she wants him to know that she was there first, it's her house, and even though you've "covered" her tank with paper (Can you please elaborate on what that means, how many sides, top, etc. of her enclosure is covered up?) she still knows the other beardie is in the house. Again, how much of her enclosure is "covered up with paper"?
my first beardie in in the living room and my rescue is in the dining room. I took computer paper and covered the area where my first beardie was able to see the rescue. This picture was taken a few days after I received the rescue.
Beardies are solitary reptiles, meaning that in their natural, wild environments they live alone, travel alone, eat alone, etc. from the time they hatch onward. They love their people but definitely do not want to share them, and the presence of another bearded dragon in their home with their person or people is very, very stressful for them! The only thing more stressful is two Beardies being forced to live in the same enclosure together, which for some reason lots of people insist on doing, saying "They've gotten along fine since I got them, they've been together since they were babies. I don't know what happened!" right after one beardie got it's foot bitten off, one beardie has lost so much weight it's emaciated, or worse, right after they woke up to a badly shredded and dead beardie. So it's awesome that you're not housing them together in the same enclosure, thank you for that because a lot of people don't listen to us when we tell them to separate them immediately, to the point that they tell us we don't know what we're talking about. Only after tragedy strikes do they decide to listen. That being said, having your girl in the same room as the new beardie still is very stressful for her, hence her "depression". As of now it's not effecting her appetite, but it is effecting her behavior, and as stated above hopefully she will get used to the new beardie, but even if she does it will take quite some time.
when they are outside of the cage together they get along for the most part. Every now and then my first beardie will show dominance. If I'm holding both of them at the same time they are both fine or if they are in grass they are perfectly fine.
<<<< PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - I PLEAD WITH YOU --- never have the pair out of their vivs at the same time on the floor together --- ever ---- an angry dominant beardied dragon can move like greased lightning and it will only take a moment for her to inflict a savage mauling attack on the new comer.
The alternative results are that #1 months go by and she doesn't adjust, and this situation goes from only effecting her behavior to also effecting her appetite and consequently her physical health in addition to her mental health; and #2 it's also possible that the new beardie will also be stressed out, simply because of the presence of another bearded dragon, and his behavior also eventually becomes effected.
How old is your new beardie? I ask because if he's a young baby or juvenile you don't want his appetite and consequently his physical health to be effected while he's in his most important growing period. Lots of Beardies become stunted because of stress related to this, usually this is because two Beardies are housed together, but I have seen it happen simply because two Beardies were sharing the same room.
My rescue is 4 years old and she isn't bothered by the other beardie. She always has vibrant colors and acts completely normal.
<<<< I found the most effective way to avoid line of sight domination was stacked enclosures, put the bigger / elder bearded dragon in the bottom enclosure, the smaller one in the higher enclosure.
This way the only time they will see each other if when you have one of the other out for snuggles or for floor time - you wont likely have the hatchling roaming about on the floor for several months yet as it's too small and can disappear under / behind / between stuff too easily.
Just my opinion and you certainly don't have to listen to me, but I'm going to give you my two cents as a 37 year old that has owned reptiles and parrots since I was 6 years old, including a baby green iguana that I raised from 2 months and had for 11 years, and had to rehome when I went away to college, and a male baby Beardie that I raised from 1 month old and who lived to be 12 years old and who died of natural causes (I currently have a 7 month old female beardie that is thriving)...I ALWAYS find it much easier and much less stressful to address a problem before it becomes a problem. Once it's a problem then it's always much more complicated, costs more, and possibly ends in tragedy. Not trying to be dramatic, but it's the truth. So my suggestion to you is to try your best to move one of your Beardies to an entirely different room now, at least on a trial basis to see what happens. If your older beardie is in the same room and the same place her enclosure has always been in, then move the new beardie to a different room, as to keep your older beardie in her comfort zone, and once the new beardie is in a separate room then remove all of the paper from your older Beardie's enclosure. Just try it and see what happens. My guess is that her "depression" goes away pretty quickly and her behavior returns to normal rapidly.
It's not so much finding a space for the tank some where else. This major issue is there is several windows in my apartment and I can't get the humidity to stay below 50% even with a small dehumidifier.
I know your apartment is small, but I now always think in terms of "What Could Happen In the Future" (I didn't used to), and as a result I've saved a fortune, and had much less stressful. The bottom line is yes, your older girl may eventually adjust to having the new beardie in the same room after a few months, and she may not develop any more physical or behavioral issues from it, and yes your new beardie may not ever develop any physical or behavioral issues. But the alternative is that the opposite of both happens, which could turn into a nightmare and cost a fortune. And most importantly, it's obvious that your older girl as of right now is very stressed out, and that's a shame if she doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be perfect, and it might take a while to get the temperatures and the humidity correct in your new Beardie's enclosure after you move it to a new room, but in my opinion it worth it, and will be much less stressful for you and them in the long-run.
