Okay, so I've had my first bearded dragon named Ziva for a year. Supposedly she was 8 months when I got her. She just came out of brumation about 2 weeks ago. Healthy as can be. So she would be approx 18 months old. So i ended up rescuing another beardie about a week ago, who they said was a female bearded dragon. Her? hatch date was at the end of October last year, if they weren't lying. Sooo my question is, I'm pretty sure i just witnessed some kind of mating dance/ritual. Which concerns me because i thought i had 2 females. Do two females do this? Or do i possibly have 1 male bearded dragon? Concerned in Cali. Thanks, Jen.
Are they housed together? Because if they are, that was almost definitely a dominance fight. I highly suggest you separate them and put them in separate cages. ESPECIALLY if they have a major size difference.
Its possible you have a male, but you should separate them in either case. Also, you should not have them interacting, you're supposed to quarantine any beardie you get for at least a couple of weeks or so to ensure that you do not spread any diseases or anything like that.
Hi Jen....females can act out mating behaviors toward each other as well. If you want to arch the dragon's tail up in the air + snap a few pics I can prob. tell you the sex. Or you can use this method: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=209431
And Jen, it would be best to quarantine the new dragon to keep your dragon safe in case the other has parasites or a potential hidden health problem as was mentioned. We were typing at the same time.
Thanks for the replies. They are now separated. Before i put Annie? in with Ziva she had a full vet workup, blood work, parasite check, all those goodies. I have a vet who I've been taking Ziva too since I've had her.
Ive seen bearded dragons dominance fight, and this was different. Annie? Who may be male, kept licking Ziva, and flattening out her body, and making this weird movement, and Ziva who i think is female, was bobbing her head, no black beard though. I don't know. It was strange. Soo for now, I am separating, and i will try to get some pics of Annie's tale. I tried using the flashlight, but i couldn't tell for sure. But i will try again.
Can't say I am an expert on this, but I'll try. It looks for the most part female, but looking closely at it, I think I can see a thing sticking out on each side, which makes me think that its actually a male. Don't quote me on that, though.
Edit: twice in a row we post at almost exactly the same time XD
Okay, so she's female. Does a young beardie ever look female before its developed? Because she's only 5-6 months old. Is there any chance Annie could be male? I don't plan to house them back together, but id like to be able to have them out on the couch and around the together.
Thanks
In physical aspect yes, but not with sex organs. Unless your beardie has a sudden sex change (no documented cases of this, at least from female to male, in beardies), your beardie is going to always be female.
You should be fine with doing that as long as you monitor how they react to each other. It shouldn't be too much of an issue with females as long as they both have calm temperaments.