Hi, it's me visiting pet stores again to appreciate the reptiles and other creatures. This time I saw a bearded dragon set-up that made me wonder if it made any sense.
I know you're best off not housing adult beardies together. There were three in the tank - but the tank was very long, well over six feet/180cm (quick approximation made with my own arms). Basking spots at each end, a mega long tube light (UVB I suppose) going across the whole length of the tank.
Lots of stuff to climb over or hide in, many dishes for fresh vegs. The dragons didn't have to spend time near each other to be able to do normal dragony functions (eat, sleep, bask).
My intuition is that this probably was stressful for them still as they had to be aware of each other, even if it probably was better than them being forced to be around each other in a small tank. All the toes and tails that I could see were intact, one of the dragons was thinner than the other two. One kept on missing the branches of his/her climbing tree and just kicked at thin air.
They also had a baby beardie sitting alone in a little tank. He/she was basking quite happily, sweet little thing.
If the tank was over 6 ft what was the width? Two basking spots isn't a problem as long as they had a cool spot in the middle. If all the animals were female, or there was 2 females with one male it probably wouldn't be an issue. Not sure why the dragon would be missing the branches though.
I have a friend that converted her entire garage into a desert ecosystem. She has over 40 dragons living in the same area. But because there is so much room they have plenty of places to claim as their own territory. I think its a bit too many animals...but it works for her and she just doesn't know how not to accept anymore rescues.
Thankfully she is retired and has the time to devote to her 'children' as she calls them. I had her set up a quarantine area in her garage dedicated to taking care of the sick ones. Once they get a clean bill of health they go into the community living area.
I am not sure what its like in the wild. I have never seen a report on how many bearded dragons per acre there are. But since they breed so easily, and have large clutches I would expect that there are plenty living in close proximity to each other.