Experienced people only Please.!

[midmichicer]

Now if you want experienced people, doesn't get much better than Dianne.

Now I'm posting as a member rather than a moderator. When I didn't know any better and before I joined this forum, I'm ashamed to admit that I had 2 beardies together for a short time. One was larger than the other. I thought they were both doing well until I came on here and started asking questions about beardies as a whole. I thought it was cute when they sat on the basking spot together or tried very frantically to catch the crickets faster than the other one but I found out differently. When a longstanding member mentioned that it was not a good idea to have 2 together and informed me of the "signs" to watch for that meant a problem is brewing, I took a closer look. The smaller beardie was showing many signs of stress showing that he was not happy and not really doing well. He would lay on the bottom of the tank with his eyes half closed and dark in color with dark marks on his chest and belly (stress marks) but when I took him out of the tank, his eyes were open wide and his color became much brighter. Shortly after I put him back in their tank, his color darkened right up and he would go and coward in the corner. During feeding time, he was running from the bigger beardie to get out of her way because of how fast she moved. She was gaining weight and shedding but he was staying about the same in size and not eating much at all. So, when I observed these signs, I knew it was time to separate them. I couldn't believe the difference in him in less than a wk. He was eating more, his eyes were nice & bright as well as him being able to bask when and where he wanted to. He gained wt and was shedding almost continuously which was great to see and he was allowed to develop his "own" personality. I was so very thankful that I learned the signs & was able to observe this behavior in time so that he could grow up to be be healthy AND happy. Thought I would share my experience with you in hopes that it will help you and both of your beardies especially since there is such a noticeable size difference. I have heard of females being able to be housed together but it seems to be rare but you have to keep a very watchful eye continuously to be aware of any problems starting.

 

[diamc]

Well, thank you. :wink:

 

[sweetiepie9]

Truer words you won't find. Diane is an experienced beardie slave and is very knowledgeable about nutrition and healing.
Deb

 

[lilgreeneyes]

Hi There,
I just wanted to say that before my husband and I found this site, we had 2 beardies (that we bought from a breeder) housed together. Things went from happy to sad in about 2 weeks. We would think it was cute if they were hanging out the side of the viv together. But after about a week, we noticed the bigger one (yes this is surprising) started to seem like he was going down hill. He wasn't eating and just laying around. Then exactly 2 weeks to the day we got them both, the bigger one passed away.

I will also say that I agree that the pet stores don't have good husbandry. We got our dragon, Yoshi, from Pet smart. For about 3 weeks before we got him, we would be in at least once a week and peek on him. At first he was really tiny, but soon we noticed he really started to grow. The day we went to get him, he was by the glass peeking out and behind him, on the basking platform, there were 3 smaller beardies stacked. All of a sudden, Yoshi ran up and literally knocked all the beardies down. We wanted him from the first time we saw him, because he was always at the glass to greet us, but we were also glad to be taking him home, because if he would have stayed in there much longer, the situation of him pushing other beardies around could have gotten much worse. After checking him out, (vent, eyes, all the basic stuff) we did notice that even though he was the biggest, he had a tail nip, about 1-2 inches off.

My husband and I are so glad we found this site. The people on here have been so helpful. No matter the advice given, it's always been appreciated. This is a wonderful community of people who love bearded dragons and want to help each other give these beautiful creatures a happy life.

 

[Sierra1167]

lilgreeneyes ...I just have to say that that was a wonderful post. <cheers> :headbang:

 

[JenFid]

I have 2 beardies, one that is mine and the other we are long-term baby sitting. Our guest beardie is a female while mine is male. Right from the get go they hated each other. Mine will head bob, stomp, black beard and run his cage to try and get to her. She will do smaller bobs and waves in return. This happens when I bring one of them into just the same room as the other (tanks are in separate rooms). I don't even want to think about what would happen if I tried putting them in the same tank.

Ultimately of course it is up to you.

 

[lilgreeneyes]

Why thank you Sierra