Can a male & female beardie stay in the same enclosure?

[wakandagi]

Hi, I have 2 new baby bearded dragons I got yesterday at the LI Reptie Expo. I was told that they are 6 weeks old. I have a male Sandfire & a female Italian Leatherback. I had asked the seller/breeders, if they can be housed together & they said yes. But today when I went to the Country Critters pet shop (they're family owned, not a chain store), they said that when they mature, they'll fight. My question is, can I keep them together, even as adults?

I had asked different people & looked at different Bearded Dragon sites...some say that it's OK to have them together, some say that they might have mating/dominance fights as they mature. Some say it's OK to have 2 males or 2 females together, some say no.

I'm confused. Can a male & female stay in the same enclosure without fighting? Please let me know soon, thanks.

 

[Gail]

No, they will either breed way too young which could kill the female or fight. Sometimes 2 females can be kept together but its very risky and not recommended for a beginner to try. Best to separate them soon.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Im willing to bet I know the the name of the people you got them from....lol
Anytime you put 2 dragons together you are rolling the dice on the health of your animals.
I sell dragons for a living and I never recommend keeping 2 together.
I actually talk people out of sales.

 

[wakandagi]

Ah, I see, that's not good. Right now they're getting along, but I would never want them to get hurt. I'm glad I'm asking this now. I got them from Dragon Fortress, they seemed knowledgable and all their beardies looked healthy & alert. They also told me that 1 male can stay with 2 or more females together.

What am I going to do? Right now their in a 3ft long x 1ft deep x 18" high glass tank. The other enclosures I have are a 20 gallon tank & a 5ft long x 2ft deep x 3ft high custom built enclosure...

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

For a short time they will be ok. Just pay attention to behavior.
You will need another set up for your dragons. 2 dragons 2 set ups.

 

[jeserah]

Holy Crap, your art's amazing. Seriously, you've got talent. What medium do you use most when you draw? manga pens, graphite? I love the feel of it. Also, is that a tuatara as your avatar pic, or some time of water dragon? Ok, I'm going to settle down, now. Sorry for distracting the thread.

 

[mistegirl]

I had the exact same thing happen to me from a breeder at a show. Guy even told me they'd be fine together in a 30 gallon. I feel for you, it's a crummy position to be in.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Thats why I will never be rich selling poopers....lol

 

[GunRack]

Dont feel bad, I was told I could keep all my females together in one tank, I was told I could keep one male with all the females, etc. etc. All at the Daytona Reptile show.

All of my critters are seperated out, I am literally surrounded by glass lol, but would rather that then anything happen to any of them!

 

[wakandagi]

Holy Crap, your art's amazing. Seriously, you've got talent. What medium do you use most when you draw? manga pens, graphite? I love the feel of it. Also, is that a tuatara as your avatar pic, or some time of water dragon? Ok, I'm going to settle down, now. Sorry for distracting the thread.

Thanks so much! I draw by hand & use bic pencils & Sakura manga pens. Then I scan my art & use Adobe Photoshop & either colour it or use screentones. My avatar pic is a male Chinese water dragon that I used to have. By the way, cool blog, your dragon is very beautiful!

 

[wakandagi]

Ah, so it's true that beardies shouldn't be together then when they mature. Thanks so much for the info! Looks like I'll have to buy another tank.

I'm starting to notice the different personalities of my 2 little beardies. The girl is extremely active, will come right up to me & is an eager eater. She's also heavier. The male is very alert, but shy & more cautious than the female. He tends to mostly hang out at the tops of the basking branches. I remember when we had Senegal Parrots, the male was the shy one & the girl would come right up to us.

I haven't seen them drink water from the water dish, so I mist them a little bit & they were licking the droplets. I've fed them some pin head crickets (dusted them with cal. with D3) & some finely chopped collard greens, which they took strait out of my hand (mostly the female though). I should post some pics...

Oh yeah, right now their in a 3ft long x 1ft deep x 18" high glass tank. Is that too big for them? Or should they be in my 20 gallon Exo-terra tank? At what age should separate them?

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

The male is showing signs of being the #2 dragon.
Thats why the shyness ect ect.

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

Ah, I see, that's not good. Right now they're getting along, but I would never want them to get hurt. I'm glad I'm asking this now. I got them from Dragon Fortress, they seemed knowledgable and all their beardies looked healthy & alert. They also told me that 1 male can stay with 2 or more females together.

What am I going to do? Right now their in a 3ft long x 1ft deep x 18" high glass tank. The other enclosures I have are a 20 gallon tank & a 5ft long x 2ft deep x 3ft high custom built enclosure...

You could put one in the 20 gallon till you get another viv.OR keep it in the 20gallon and move it to the custom built once he grows

 

[Caramello197]

I am in the same boat. I bought my dragons from Dragon Fortress and they told me the same thing. I purchased a male red italian leatherback and a female sandfire hypo with the understanding they will be fine living together in a 36x18x24 inch tank. Unfortunately my female is lazy but very sociable, has a big appetite and is growing twice as fast as my male. The male is shy and does not eat as much although he has plenty of Reptiworms waiting to be plucked. I am thinking about building a 72 inch enclosure with a divide so I can have the choice of opening the enclosure to the full length or dividing it into two parts, one for each beardie. I just hate the idea of seperating because they do get along and they usually lay on each other when my male doesn't escape to the top of the cage and lay on the exo-terra background.

You can see my beardies in the introduction board:
http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=136603&p=1095427#p1095427

 

[wakandagi]

Wow, that's interresting that you got your beardies from the same people! I had emailed Dragon Fortress about housing them together and they told me that as long as they are eating, then there is no problem and that they house beardies together so that they "learn" eachothers behavior from the opposite gender. I'm taking it that is not true. I feel guilty for not knowing beforehand that 2 beardies shouldn't be housed together.

Unfortunatly, I haven't been able to buy a new tank yet. I want to separate them now, but my parents are reluctant to do so because they're not looking forward to buying another tank, another UVA light+ fixture and another UVB Repti-sun 10.0 bulb+fixture. I was going to put one of them in the 20gallon, but we found out that the glass had cracked...

I noticed a switch in the behavior of my beardies, now the male seems to be the dominant one, because he's claimed the highest perch "as his" while the female sits on a rock below. However, they both eat very well and look healthy (they aren't skinny nor have any wrinkled skin). I'm frustrated because I want to separate them soon, but my parents say they don't have the money right now to buy all those supplies. Wish I had money to buy the supplies myself.