Got 2 new beardies...

[Thebearded1]

Hi all, I just got 2 new beardies on Sat. I was looking for a forum site and whala, here we are. Thus far they are doin well. Eating crickets and lettce, some mango also. One of them seems to be a bit more sluggish than his tank mate, unill I toss the crickets in..lol. They are Aussie and Opie(Opie being named by a 9 yo girl) I was told they are a pair, but the guy I was dealing with said he was not quite sure yet, still small guys(bodies about 4 in). I have a 95 gal tank with opening front doors, very cool and easily accessible. Dont wanna get into too much here other then intro and to say hi to all. I see that I have alot of browsing to do here and information to be had. Hope to hear from you all. Have a great day. Here are a few pics, still have to put a backing on the tank. Hope you enjoy.

 

[dolcedragon]

Welcome to you and your two very cute beardies.

 

[Thebearded1]

Thanks Dolce!

 

[Thebearded1]

This is so much fun....

 

[Drakones]

welcome, hope you have fun here. I just joined this week also. I have learned things here, things I would have never thought to ask. I like the pics of your dragons . Nice tank, you mind if I ask where you got it? I am in the market for a new tank.

 

[Thebearded1]

Thanks you. Welcome to you also. I got the tank locally here in Mich at a pet store. Made my MartyMade. I got a Dragon book that was supposed to be a good book, I am not impressed, so I went lookin on the net and here I am. I am sure there will be more info here than I cuold imagine. I have learned alot myself already. Thanks again for the comments and have fun with your new family member.

 

[AnnArborGuy]

oh no not another michigan bearded dragon lover
Lots of em on this website. You have adoreable beardies.

 

[Thebearded1]

Must be the cold Mich weather,wanted a lil piece of Australia... :lol: Thanks AAguy
I have been trying to post a pic to the right of my posts, an avatar I guess, I read the how to but no go, it says my pic is too big. Cant seem to make it smaller. I know this is the into thread not how to....I'll keep trying. Thanks again AAguy.

 

[lilmike04]

i think you should realy tanke out the sand
as baby bd the tend to lick alot of stuff and if they get the sand in there mouth when digested it gets like cement and the can die you should put them on newspaper ,papertowels ,or tile as baby
and as they get older you can put them back on san

 

[AnnArborGuy]

Theres a section on the website that you can resize the image for an avatar, check out this link. http : //www.beardeddragon.org/imageResizer/

 

[Thebearded1]

Got it thanks. You rock AAguy. Preciate it.

 

[Catalyst]

Cute dragons you have there Congrats on the new additions.

If someone hasn't already mentioned it to you, keeping two dragons together is a tricky thing. If they are two males, they'll have to be separated because they will eventually begin to fight with each other and can kill one another. A male/female pairing isn't good either. The male will be ready and willing to mate as early as six months of age, while the female should not be bred until she's 18 months old and 18 inches long. Having them in the same enclosure can result in premature mating (which can in worst case scenario lead to health problems and death), overbreeding, stress, and possibly physical injury. Most good breeders house their males and females separately, only putting them together for the actual act of mating to take place. Sometimes two females of similar size and temperament can live together but it's not a sure thing and many of us have had to separate our females because of dominance and stress issues. Generally speaking, dragons aren't social creatures and do best housed alone.

What type of lettuce are you feeding them? Iceburg and romaine lettuce are mostly water with no nutrition, and give some dragons the runs. You'll want to give them things like collard greens, dandelion greens, and endive among other things. Here are some helpful pages about dragon salads and food:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
http://www.reptilerooms.com/Sections+index-req-listarticles-secid-1.html

Sand isn't usually recommended for baby dragons. They like to lick everything and are also clumsy hunters, both of which increase the likelihood that they'll ingest some of the sand and become impacted. Babies should be kept on a solid substrate (paper towels, nonadhesive shelf liner, textured tiles) until they're larger when their hunting skills have improved and their digestive system has lengthened out so that the risk of impaction is less. Just a heads up.

 

[Thebearded1]

Thanks for the post and the compliment Catalyst. Well now,It seems as though I may have been misinformed ut a guy whom I though was well informed. Oh well, that is why I am here. Also the new book I bought,the Bearded Dragon Manual(by experts..Hmm) is NOT very informative for biginners to say the least. So it sounds like I should only be keeping one of my new guys in the same enclosur. The guy at the pet shop said I could always bring them or in my case maybe one back. I think I will get some natuaral looking ceremmic tiles to put over the sand for the time being, although the book does say that they(the expert writers) have and do keep babies in sand substrate with no problem. I know though that if it can be a problem I want to eliminte it. i am and want to be a responsible dragon owner as I thrive to care for all my pets to the best of my ability as I do with my salt water reef tanks and 2 cats.

I have noticed that they keep pretty much seperate in their home, only making contact or socializing when they happen to cross paths while eating. Otherwise they are on their own perches most of the time.

The lettuce I am using is green leaf lettuce. I will look into the other greens that you mentioned and the salad mix on the thread you posted.

Thanks for all the info and links. I will start the process of changing things very soon.

 

[RedHandFilms]

I agree that you need to separate them. It is one of the most common mistake that new owners make; getting 2 dragons because they look so cute together. Its not your fault. You didn't know. I have seen what happens when two dragons are housed together. Dragons without tails, missing toes, or even whole limbs. Dragons that have been brutally killed by their cage mate. It is not just one dragon at risk. I have heard of both dragons dying. One wounds the other. The wounded dragon kills the first outright and then dies of its wounds. It is not worth the risk.
Even without such brutality, there are still risks. One dragon will always be dominate, even if just by a little. In many cases of dominance, the dominate dragon will not let the other dragon eat, or allow it access to basking or UVB spots. The dominate dragon will grow much larger, even double in size. I have seen clutch mates (both born at the same time, from the same parents) with one double in size. As humans, we often mistake signs of dominance for being cute. Things like basking on top of each other, head bobbing, and arm waving are not them "being friends," but rather clear signs of dominance (well actually arm waving is a sign of submission). Even dragons in separate tanks that can see each other (two glass tanks next to each other) can cause a lot of stress.
So please, for the sake of your dragons, separate them. Even just a solid divider in the tank would be fine for now.

 

[Thebearded1]

This seems so contradicting. While I am reading posts from all of you, I am reading the book I got, and it states that they are social creatures and that in males, they may show signs of social deprivation. Sheesh. And these writers are supposed to be experts. It does however talk about dominance and intimidation.

I have learned more in a few days from here than a week with the book. Confusion setting in now.
I think I will talk to the guy at the pet shop and maybe take the one dragon back. Maybe a divider though. Then I need to get a bigger perch forhte other side and another feeding bowl I would guess. I got a bigger tank to start so that they could be together, not wantin to get 2 complete set ups.