OK, I'll explain it from a safety issue, these two pics are from a thread posted here last year from a breeder that housed two females together for two years. The pictures are graphic and sad. This female had laid a batch of eggs a week before this happened. Apparently they had been fighting off and, on for a while as you can see the tail missing "and healed" and, some toes gone that are healed on the injured front hand.PodunkKhaleesi":2hdxzk7d said:Yep, I think as far as bearded dragon enthusiasts go the three most controversial topics are beardie cohabitation, mealworms, and loose substrates. A lot of really respected/revered beardie breeders house multiple females together, but one could make the argument that this has less to do with them having a definitive answer on whether it’s a positive practice and more to do with creating an economy of space. There’s a lot of information from vets and herpetologists about other husbandry issues so I agree that it would be great if respected figures with a background in reptile behavior could explain specifically why cohabitation is never a good idea or is acceptable under specific circumstances. Given that these animals aren’t social in the wild, it makes sense that keeping them alone is both natural and desirable. But with so many breeders (and even some zoos) housing females together, there’s definitely a contradictory message on whether cohabitation can or should exist. So I agree that it would be great to have a definitive answer from an indisputable authority on beardie behavior.
LupercaX":65itbtzv said:Another thing I find interesting is the evolution of the creatures. They’re evolving into crazy morphs and some even have a leather feeling back! So, if their colors and body can change, isn’t it possible that their brain can evolve to becoming more social?
Think about it, animals adapt. They adapt to what makes their species survive. Essentially, these new morphs we see probably would have never happened in the wild because it wouldn’t allow them to survive. But since their getting these beautiful colors because they can, and still survive because of being pets, isn’t it possible for them to recognize their species can survive being in groups and adapt to that?
AHBD":38mq01x2 said:Just wanted to add that the poor dragon in that picture was extremely neglected and that the bites would happen over a period of time. The owner did not separate them after the first bite, or the second or the third. By then you have a biting dragon that actually has a taste for the blood of the other one. That could have been stopped at the first bite which may have been relatively minor like a few toes, but it was left to end up in this horrible condition.
I have to agree. There is no evidence that they can be housed together without the threat of bodily harm that is proven to be fact as of yet.PodunkKhaleesi":402mph7d said:Yeah, I think sometimes pet owners can naively assume that because their two dragons aren’t outright fighting, that they’re best buds. But there are elements to beardie language we still don’t fully understand, and some that are subtle and that a newbie might never pick up on (one beardie always sitting on the other while basking, one beardie hiding a lot, etc.). I’ve seen multiple zoos house females in groups, so I’m wondering if the theory there is that as long as everyone has ample space/territory then dominance and stress aren’t issues? Their enclosures are much larger than anything the average pet owner can aspire to, so it seems like it would be an ideal scenario for social/behavioral study (if they’re going to house them together regardless). It would be nice to have recent and specific research on the subject.
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