Building a new VIV

[Amy2]

Why don't people listen to what others are telling them? I realize your vet told you it would be alright, but until the beardies are atleast 4 months old, it is very difficult to sex them correctly. I have a pet shop owner who has dealt with reptiles his whole life, he is in his 70's. He is very wrong on what he believes to be the proper care for bearded dragons though. He feeds them wrong, he houses them wrong, he doesn't give them the correct lighting, and consequently he has baby dragons that keep dying on him...he still will not listen to reasoning. My point is, everyone is human and makes mistakes and people are misinformed. Perhaps your vet isn't well educated on reptiles...the people on this board are speaking from personal experiences. They have had their beardies injured or killed due to cohabitation. Please listen to them, do not put your bearded dragons together. You bought them, now it is your responsibility to provide the best care for them, and that means providing them safe housing. If you cannot afford them both, then maybe you can sell one.
I am not trying to be rude or mean, I just do not want to see any needless mistakes that could be easily prevented. :wink:

 

[smergy]

Lol u wanna come to ohio and make me one
And yes i do hear what ur saying about these dragons but this vet we found here deals with beardies all the time owns a few and stuff so i dono

 

[Amy2]

If I could, I sure would! Lol. Like I said, I don't want to cause problems, I just don't want your beardies to get hurt. Watch Craigslist and maybe you will find something reasonably priced on there..? Otherwise, I think Petco is still having their $1.00/gallon sale...you can get a 40 gallon breeder tank for 40.00...it would be big enough for one of them through adulthood. Just ideas, IDK.

 

[smergy]

Amy!! thanks for the advice and all the advice i get here but i think from what i read from other areas what the vet tells me is true, because from what i have been reading if they are near or the same age, they normally get along
i also read if they are male/female young and grow up together they normally get along
if the cage is big enough they can get along if the above is met, and hence the question on building a better viv, i was going to wait a year but now that we have the two i have been pricing wood,
also read if they are different types of beardies if the above is met they will, i think they are one is dark and one is light so maybe they are different types...haha not sure
so maybe what the vet says will be true, and maybe you guys say will be true, i welcome all and any advice mainly because we are first time owners, now my wife was the one that bought the female and at first i was upset but what is done is done i cant change it, alls i can do is love each one, care for each one and watch them both as they grow, now they do wave to eachother...lol

on a side note when i build my bigger cage should i try and order glass for the front doors/windows or is plexie glass ok??

 

[Spikey07]

Beardies are solitary animals and only come together in the wild to mate. Housing them together will cause them unneccessary stress.

They are hardy animals and may not always show there is a problem but one will dominate the other for the best hearting and lighting.

I housed my 2 females together when they were babies. I ensured there were 2 basking spots and 2 food bowls, ect. But this didnt work, one started growing quicker and dominating the other. I separated them quickly.

Also if one is male and the other female then the male will over breed the female.

I highly recommend you take the advice and seperate them. Whilst you are planning on building your own enclosure can you not make a stackable, so they each have their own space???

 

[SeanFred]

I personally like tempered glass better then plexiglas. I am in Michigan and I know my supplier will ship. 2 sheets of 1/4" tempered glass for my 6' viv was 55.00. Same amount of 1/8" plexiglas at home depot would have cost me more. Plexiglas is also easy to scratch.

 

[Amy2]

Okay, if you are going to build a 6' cage, then just build a divider in the middle. One can live on one side and the other can live on the other side. Simple solution. As long as they cannot see eachother they won't be stressed. Stress can cause health problems that will lead to unnecessary vet visits and illness for them that could easily be prevented. They do not like to live together, period. They need to live alone. I do not care what you have heard, read, or anything else. If they are waving to eachother, that isn't something they do because they "like" eachother. It isn't cute. You really need to have them in separate enclosures. Please take the advice of myself and the others on this board and separate them asap. If you are already going to build a 6' enclosure, then adding one more board to divide the enclosure isn't going to break you.
If you really care about these beardies, and you want the best for them, then listen to us. Also, it doesn't matter about what colors they are, that makes no difference, they still will not get along.
As far as the plexiglass or real glass, plexiglass might be easier to work with and easier to obtain, but it does scratch easier.

 

[sweetiepie9]

It's up to the original owner as to what he wants to do with his own beardies. You've made your point Amy, so let it drop, now. You can't make people change their minds. The point of this post was to get ideas on building a viv, not what the original owner was to do with his beardies. Added by moderator

 

[smergy]

thanks sweetie as i said i don't know what i am going to do, all this post was based on help to build a new VIV not please oh please attack me i really need it, i joined this site because it looked like people gave good advice and it seems like all you people want to do is come on some comment i made and just attack, yes i have read posts on what not to do and what to do with two bearded, i was told from here one of the main things to do is get a vet that specializes in these which i did but in this big attack fest was said that the vet might not know his profession, so really really disappointing being told to do one thing and the once attacking me are saying to listen to your all advice, well so with the vet thing so does that mean i shouldn't listen to that advice about a good vet, or should i not listen to the advice about two beardies together. yes i have read many many other forums, blogs about having two together and separated so i cant really say that i am going to in the end when i build a new viv keep them together; all i have ever said was what my vet and other areas on the net have said, and that is what i pointed out was my vet who specializes says its ok, conflicting people on the net, say yes/no/depends on the size of their cage, age and such.

as i said I do take advice and read what everyone says her, as well as what people i can physically talk to say, because frankly your all right i dont know everything about these being a first time owner but you know maybe i should take the other poster attacking me and get rid of the other one, maybe i will build a 6 footer and divide them, i dont know this post was looking for advice on building a bigger viv not advice on having the two, that was in another post i did.

 

[BotanicalStig]

Well you came here to get advice and you're getting it. Nobody here is "attacking" you. They're giving you the "good advice" that you came here for. You asked for help on building a viv for two dragons, and people mentioned that two dragons need two separate vivs. It is your choice what you end up doing in the end; but understand how frustrating it is to come here and see someone asking for advice, and then refusing said advice.

Nobody is insisting you have a horrible vet or anything. In the three years I've been here, I can not recall a single time someone said their vet gave them good husbandry advice. Sure they know what MBD looks like, how to diagnose parasites, etc. But if you ask, they'd probably tell you using crushed glass as a substrate and a mini fire pit as a heat source is a dandy idea. Husbandry just doesn't seem to be important in the trade. It should be, but it isn't. Countless times I've read about vets suggesting sand and crushed walnut as a substrate because "they use it for their beardies and they're experts". They, however, are usually receptive to the group here who have the evidence to prove how dangerous doing so is.

Are you aware of what could happen when you house multiple dragons together? It sounds like you would know, you mention you've read some threads about it.

Please consider keeping them separate. We aren't trying to be jerks, we just want the best for your babies. Splitting a 6 foot long viv would work, but it might be more practical to stack two 4 footers.

Again it's up to you, but if you decide to keep them together... Don't expect advice on how to do so.

Steven

 

[Amy2]

I apologize, It was not my intent to make you feel like I was attacking you, I wasn't. I was trying to help you understand, since you are new to owning bearded dragons. I am sorry. It is your decision to do what you want. I will not say anything more on the matter. I was only trying to help.

Amy

 

[smergy]

its really fine i just felt that when i asked to build a better viv i would just get that...lol anyhow I am currently building the 6x2x2 viv and will put the male in that one and for now the female will stay in the 20gal tank we got when we first got the beardie. but i must ask about what you all talked about with the two, the female doesnt seem to want to be handled, and i have never seen her eat the crickets!! so i do need to ask do you think its because she doesnt care to be with the other one.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Probably, no matter how well two beardies seem to be together, there is always a dominant one. Males & females, no matter what age, rarely get along together. And as they mature, the male would just want to breed with the female, adding to the dominant behaviour. So that could be why your female isn't easy to handle. Now that the male will be in a different tank, you'll probably see better behaviour from your female. I'd way you'd want to handle her as much as possible, even if it's just putting your hand in front of her in her tank so she can get onto your hand and get your scent(the warmth of your hand helps). That waysshe'll get used to you & I'll bet her appetite increases, too. That's why that was mentioned at the beginning. Alot of people on this site are passionate about this issue. I have never had beardies in the same tank, even though I've been rescuing and or adopting them since 2006. When I had two young babies, they shared a tank but just for a week or so until I got another set up. I've always known that eventually there would be a fight & alot of the dragons I've had over the years had tail nips & missing fingers & toes just because of that.

 

[smergy]

oh ok so she is probably fine then eh? i should just hurry and finish the VIV then as soon as possible, no thank you guys i was just worried i should take her to the vet over her not really ever eating crickets and not really wanting to be handled. with Draco i was so anxious i actually handled him from day one but with her when i go in to get her she runs so Hydra seems like she never wanted to be messed with.

 

[smergy]

ok i did kinda go with a cross with your design sean and the crossfire, i went like 58 x 2x2 but i have a question on lighting, the one you got for the uvb the t8 fixture, is the thing open all the way like if you go in and go to the pet store they are enclosed, when i went to the pet store, of course they said you dont want lighting that is open like that but i want to know if its ok, the lady there at the store was really making me mad. with everyones advice here she was saying the opposite like, tile is bad for them and sand is good, they can eat meal worms and stuff and lastly she said if i got the lighting from home depot it will break....lol neadless to say i left in a real bad mood but i want to ask anyone here about lighting.