Difference between territorial and mating behaviour?

[TheBeard9789]

I'm just wondering how to tell the difference for example when I have my beardies on my bed/floor together they are 90% civil and the occasional head butt. Then at times they will flatten out puff up and do a bit of head butting and lay on top of one another and then at times they don't even interact. Now today my Female wanted to go in to my Males enclosure and INSTANT head butt and nibble on the legs/beard with NO harm done no bites no marks (im not even a foot away from them supervising). Then my Male ended up bobbing eating his greens faster and it felt like he was like "this is my perch my basking spot my food my lights etc" then he pooped and the encounter was over with. I have never seen them want to interact this bad before but was it really mating behavior or a territorial response? She is going on 2 yrs old and is about to shed (18 inches about 565G) he is around almost 5 I wanna say (18 inches about 660Gs needs to lose about 10G for ideal weight) he is the aggressor bob wave head butt etc whole deal. Though she does defend herself she seems to kinda shrug and gives him the cold shoulder then he stops EVERYTHING and loses interest also if it matters I don't mean defend like a fight or hissing I mean defend like she shows no interest and then it defuses him almost instantly

NOTE: I took stuff out of his enclosure and made room for her to sit beside him it was cleaning day for their enclosures

 

[SPandS]

I can't answer your question about the difference in behavior. I never let mine interact with each other as it only takes a split second for something to go wrong, they can even mate that fast from what I understand.

I'm curious about his eyes though. They look like they're bulging a bit. He's very overweight and it can cause health issues. How long have his eyes looked like that?

 

[TheBeard9789]

I can't answer your question about the difference in behavior. I never let mine interact with each other as it only takes a split second for something to go wrong, they can even mate that fast from what I understand.

I'm curious about his eyes though. They look like they're bulging a bit. He's very overweight and it can cause health issues. How long have his eyes looked like that

Forever and the weight I mentioned is a tad bit off he seen the vet not even 3 weeks ago vet said he is healthy but needs to lose 5-10G more and he will be at his ideal weight. The pic is probably a bad angle he has greens 24/7 but insects only 2 times a week which today was his feeding day so he is a bit full. He was around 750G but has lost a lot since his diet started it also didn't help that he was coming out of another brumation period which has happened 2 consecutive winters

 

[SPandS]

I don't mean to be assuming anything and I'm by no means an expert but based on that pic he looks obese. 5 or 10 grams will make no difference. My first thought was fatty liver disease when I saw it. Of course I could be completely mistaken and he could be fit and healthy and I hope that's the case. You said he was seen by a vet, are they specialized in bearded dragons? Has there ever been blood work done?

 

[TheBeard9789]

I don't mean to be assuming anything and I'm by no means an expert but based on that pic he looks obese. 5 or 10 grams will make no difference. My first thought was fatty liver disease when I saw it. Of course I could be completely mistaken and he could be fit and healthy and I hope that's the case. You said he was seen by a vet, are they specialized in bearded dragons? Has there ever been blood work done?

There are only 2 vets that see reptiles I have seen both when i rescued him he was under fed and never got the taste of greens/veggies he eats strictly insects but I always have greens/veggies in his enclosure and he will pick here and there. The thing with him is he is picky and since he isn't really active much yet the vet said he could be hunkering down for another brumation cycle and he isn't burning any calories even though I may feed him insects 2x a week he isn't active. I haven't thought of fatty liver disease but I will talk to my vet asap he won't be in till Wednesday. They have done examinations weigh ins poop samples for parasites etc but no blood work so I will have to check that. I know I'm waiting for the warm weather so he can be taken on walks and be active more and trying to find the best ways to get him to eat more greens and veggies but a lot of the healthy insects are so out of stock sometimes crickets are the only choice but not the healthiest choice