Is Bearded Dragon Cohabitation A Good Plan?

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Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
smergy":nt9uxknr said:
i really dont understand why people comment on other people saying they are separating
Because that is the point of this thread. So of course the supporters of this idea are going to be happy and tell the person good job, or so be it.

smergy":nt9uxknr said:
my point is this, if you got them together and your parents are right they get along, then maybe their wont be an issue
Exactly, maybe. Maybe means there is a possibility, and why take the risk if you can avoid it.

smergy":nt9uxknr said:
if you look at the statistics there are just as many successes as there are tragedy

I would like to look at these statistics.

And last but not least, mods don't delete posts just because they say cohabitation is good. If you read through this thread you will see a few posts on here of people saying they have had success. But, you will also find a LOT more saying they haven't.

-Brandon
 

Brandonforty2

Juvie Member
smergy":6d2p63yp said:
i really dont understand why people comment on other people saying they are separating, omfg mine live together for when i got them and i come here and read, i have had mine for half a year now well about 5/6 months and not any problem, they are all eating, running around, playing like normal, and all healthy and have never fought so i must say and i hope people stop this discussion that well not every situation will end badly, if you as the dragon owner cant watch them, cant pay attention to when and what they do then yes separate them but if you have success then y would you separate them.

my point is this, if you got them together and your parents are right they get along, then maybe their wont be an issue if you look at the statistics there are just as many successes as there are tragedy, i am not saying that you shouldn't get the good advice some people give from here but frankly don't be a drone and say omfg this one site lots of people arguing over this i should listen to the ones against it.

if you read this whole post you will find videos and others talk, if the moderator didnt delete them of people saying its ok, just use your own judgement.+

the last thing i say is i do agree that if they arnt the right cercomstances then separate, and right i mean
same age/size, big cage, multiple basking/food, and most importantly not male male

mine cage is 5x2x2
male -draco
female 1 - hydra
female 2 - dymond
age - 5/6 months
Yours are young as well. It seems like they get along when they are younger. I think I might have two males. I think I should get a new tank because there is a chance that they wont get along. Better safe then sorry.
 

Mariah94

Juvie Member
This is such a good thread. I knew before I owned my first beardie that housing them together was a bad idea. I had one guy try and sell me his two together and he went on about how he absolutely would not seperate them...so I let them go.

Now I have 2 babies, three months, and one month. I can't even have their cages near by...because Malachi (the older one) will just eyeball little Chomper all day long and Chomper will arm wave and hide in his rock. They are not friends. The only time they are ever together is for bath time or for a quick picture. They are jealous of each other, if I'm holding one and the other sees it, the other will start glass dancing and get real fidgety. I can't even imagine if they were housed together. They need there space.

Just my 0.02
It frustrates me when people refuse to listen to the advice and the pictures that prove that it's just a bad idea all around.
 

Germ

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Thank You! Mariah ...

Kinda Bumping the thread to keep it alive :wink:
 

smergy

Hatchling Member
Mariah94":34q5cd0f said:
Just my 0.02
It frustrates me when people refuse to listen to the advice and the pictures that prove that it's just a bad idea all around.
what about the pics above in this thread and videos that show how good of an idea it is??
just my 2 cents on that one....lol
 

sweetpea1981

Juvie Member
There may be SOME beardies that MAY get along in one enclosure does not mean that it is a good idea to "keeping poking the grizzly bear", in my opinion. If you can't afford multiple enclosures then you should not have multiple beardies. I believe they should be housed separately for the safety and well being of the animals and the mental health of the owner, cause I wouldn't want to worry all the time about the "what ifs". I love my babies and my babies are happy, safe and sound in their own enclosures. Just my 2 cents.
 
well uh oh I owned a female beardie for 15yrs after she passed away last year I went to a beardie breeder I found in my area she told me males n females like each other n having friends so I bought a male n female hatching from her. Mine are 9mths old the female injured her foot on some rocks so we had to take her to the vet separate them to treat her n let her heal and it took 2mths n yup they now seem to hate each other n the divider remains in the 4ft long terrarium. What really sucks is pet shops n some books say you can keep males n females together making it very confusing also my vet who is a exotic n reptile vet said keeping male n female together is ok to I'm so confused now and after reading this whole thread. So after seeing this n advice from repticon of Facebook my two will never be buddies able to be together again? So now my question is then mine are about 9mths old n live in a 4ft long terrarium thats split down the middle with plexiglass so they can't get at each other n each has heat lamps n all the needed stuff on their own sides. How long is it ok to keep them like that I do exotic pet rescue n have ferrets, gliders n a few other odd pets n I have to figure out where to put another 4ft long tank in my room and how do I get them to breed if they hate each other? :banghead:
 

Germ

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Having a see through divider is not the best of plans, seeing each other, even though they can not actually physically contact each other, will frustrate & stress them out. Once old enough, could also trigger infertile clutches, without ever having been physically together in the 'Family' way.

BDs don't have to like each other to mate :wink: . BDs mating act has absolutely nothing to do with like\love ... It is not all gentle & lovey, it is pure instinct, very aggressive, at times violent. While not all the time, but many more times than I would really like to think about, mating can result in serious injury.

Having gotten them both from the same breeder, them being the same age, I'm going to guess that they may be siblings with at least one parent being common to them both, if not from the same clutch. If this is the case, is it wise to breed them to each other?

Some more Food for thought when contemplating breeding ...

TO BREED OR NOT TO BREED: A REALITY CHECK

Good Luck
 
I was only interested in breeding to see it happen the babies hatching n such experiences it to add to one of the cool things seen in my life not in becoming a breeder . My sister her boyfriend n a few friends were pushing me to do it they wanted babies but thanx for that article I had no idea they had that many babies or that often n that they were like roo's and sugar gliders n able to retain sperm until the right circumstance for babies is available.I won't be breeding mine I wouldn't know what to do with so many babies n these two eat like hogs couldn't imagine 30 or more eating that much or the housing them all yikes. The plexiglass were using is not see thru other than just them seeing shadows nether sit by it or attack it or pay much attention to whats going on in the area they can't get to no head bobbing, arm waving , puffing up nothing it was the sturdiest material we had on hand to separate them n wanted it a strong barrier. Since now I see another reason never to have them together again the number of babies the attacking each other n maybe killing each other all seems like much more stress than its worth to house them together for me n them. I know their not real active lizards mine sun sleep n eat chasing crickets the most exercise they seem to like so is a 4ft long tank divided in half with driftwood rocks n such on each dragons side big enough to house them life long?
 

Germ

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Depending on how deep (Front to Back) the enclosure is. I have a 4 foot enclosure divided into 2, but it is 3 feet deep, thus providing 6 square feet of floor area on each side. A single adult BD needs a minimum of 4 square feet of floor area to live reasonably comfy in.
 
I know this is a repeat of many other posts, but I just wanted to say that I think the original post is incredible and think it should be displayed at pet stores and offered in pamphlets when people buy bearded dragons. My son wanted a bearded dragon and when we visited them in pet stores (all housed together) they were so "loving" and we were told that they liked companions and they would be better off if we got two. Years later, my son used his birthday money to purchase our dragon, Murtagh. He has been a great lizard and we all enjoy him very much. However, when he was two months old, I was looking for a class pet for my new teaching position and thought I would buy another bearded dragon. I went to Pet Smart and asked about gender and cohabitation and all that. They told me that I needed to clean out Murtagh's cage to remove his smell and then they could live together, when Loki wasn't at school with me. I did this and put Loki in with Murtagh. They did this adorable "waving" thing which we thought was adorable. Then Murtagh raced at Loki. We weren't sure what that was all about, but we got Loki out of there and put him/her (we thought she was a her, but never actually knew) in a separate terrarium. We would let them hang out together outside the terrarium on a heating pad. They would seem to cuddle up together. We thought they liked each other, disregarding Murtagh's aggressive behavior in the terrarium. (Murtagh would also stare into Loki's terrarium constantly, a bit creepily.) I had hoped that when they both got big, they would be mates. Murtagh had a close call one day because my son put a toad in his terrarium. Murtagh bit the toad and began seizing. We googled it and discovered we were in big trouble. We soaked him in salt water, forced fluids after projectile vomiting, and this ended with my son palpitating his heart and blowing air in his nose for two hours before Murtagh finally woke up. This was around 15 hours of horror. I brought Murtagh in the next day to class and put him in Loki's terrarium. The students usually held the dragons during class, but it was planning and I was sitting 2 feet away from the terrarium. When the students came in, I went to get Loki for them to hold. I picked up the rock he always hid under and his leg was dangling. I freaked out in front of the students and someone took me to the vet. They sewed up Loki and she actually seemed to be doing a lot better. We put her terrarium away from Murtagh's and she was eating so much better and seemed to be getting around well. 1 or 2 weeks later, it was time for her check up. I took her back into class and put her in her terrarium. The appt was at 8:30. It was 8. I began to work at my desk. I turned around and the class rat had gotten out of her cage and was eating Loki's eyes and head. The horror will never go away because it was MY fault. Both times, I assumed that Loki would be safe because I assumed that the animals would not harm her. People cannot be trusted to not harm others and I assumed that animals would behave differently. People like myself need to wake up. Animals do not think as we do. We need to get that.
 

dragonlover3

Sub-Adult Member
Hi All,
Thought I'd pop in and update you on my Sage and Pilot. They both are doing great. They have grown so much. They have thrived with the great care I give them. Sorry if that sounds like I'm bragging....well, I am a little :) Here are some photos from the past several months of my sweet beardies who were rescued from co-habitation. These bite amputations were avoidable.
I hope you enjoy the update photos! {Disregard the photo dates, my camera didn't come with a 12 year old to program it for me :)

Pilot,..... My Guy Pi
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Sage, My Little Sweet Pea
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....and Sage just won a photo contest on Facebook with her skateboard photo.
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Germ

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Thank you very much for posting, they are looking great considering their ordeal. Sage's winning photo seriously cracked me up. Great Job!!!
 
http://lllreptile.com/info/library/animal-care-sheets/lizards-and-monitors/-/bearded-dragon/

I thought some might find this interesting this is from LLL reptiles a online reptiles and supplies store and part of why I got a male and female and tried housing them together till the female lost part of her foot to the male attacking her isn't wrong for them to say this. cuz then folks like me by two and well then the cannibalism begins and were left with vet bills and scrambling to get them proper caged and separated,,,,this is from their care sheet,,,,,,,,,Although male-male combat is often observed among sexually mature individuals, bearded dragons are in fact a social lizard, and interact favorably with others of their species (save for the exception noted above) and with humans as well. They are one of the few species of lizards that are naturally tame, that is, they will sit happily on your hand or shoulder with no intentions of biting, scratching, or running away.

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