Fighting Beardies

[spikesowner]

We adopted two Beardies, one male and one female, about three years old. They have been together since birth, according to the prior owner. They are in a 60 gallon extra deep tank, eat well, are active, and very healthy. Vet says they look great.

Lately, the male (Zeus) has taken to biting the female (Lady Elizabeth) on the back of the neck, shaking her, etc. For about one month this rarely or never occurred. Now it is very frequent.

Any ideas why this might be happening? Is it normal? Is it dangerous for her? Seems odd after being together for so long that he would suddenly begin this behavior.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide.

--DT

 

[haleygirl272]

You need to seperate them ASAP! It is very dangerous to have more than one beardie in a tank, no matter if it's male or female.

 

[beardie parents]

It's called breeding. If you want beardie babies, keep them together. Th only problem with keeping a male and female together is overbreeding for the female. One mating can net you 3 clutches of beardie eggs. If you don't want beardie eggs, separate them.

 

[spikesowner]

Thank you both.

Is the aggression attributed to mating? We are unsure. I would like someone to address this issue if they know.

They have been together for three years, and both are healthy, with no injuries. My understanding is that they had eggs quite a while ago, but never since that time. Is there anyone else who has kept a male and female together without problems or has encountered this before?

Thanks again. I really appreciate the responses.

--DT

 

[beardie parents]

I have not experienced mating as all I've ever had are girls. However, I have read a lot on this site and when a male wants to mate with a female, he'll start by biting her neck to keep her still then get himself under her tail to get the job done.

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,
Congrats on your new little monsters!

Well the general belief on this matter is that beardies are solitary and territorial creatures and so should always be housed alone.
It drives us crazy that pet stores and local breeders often insist on it being fine.

Males + females especially shouldnt generally be housed together because they can overbreed. The neck biting is the first attempts at mating. Your male may have just reached sexual maturity and has started to bother your female.
As you can see from the biting mating is not a pleasant experience for the female. Unless you want a very upset girl and ALOT of babies you really do need to seperate them.

Something else that often worries us about cohabiting dragons is that beardies can and do attack eachother, unfortunatly dragons are not like dogs, who can be taught about naughty aggressive behaviour. They can live in apparent harmony for months and then one day snap. Once it has happened once, it will happen again and again.
Dragons will think nothing of nipping off a chunk or tail/toe in order to defend their basking spot, its just in their nature.
I myself have rescued two dragons who are missing chunks of tail, toes and even arms.

Indeed there are rare cases where dragons show no signs of agression towards eachother, and there isnt too much bullying but it is a risk that is simply not worth taking in my eyes.
As your boy has started to bother your female you should really start to think about seperation.

I would suggest you separate your beardies with a cardboard screen for now until you can figure out a perminant solution.
Your dragons will lead much happier healthier lives apart

Holly

 

[spikesowner]

That sounds like great advice, and I really appreciate it.

DT

 

[akingsley9000]

Very well said Holly!

I just wanted to add that - you mentioned that according to the prior owner they have been together since birth. This indicates that they are most likely clutch mates. If you allowed them to breed, it would be inbreeding which can lead to/cause defects in the hatchings.

~Allison