Is Bearded Dragon Cohabitation A Good Plan?

[Germ]

This Original Post & Pics in Picture\Video Format - CLICK ME!

 

[Germ]

 

[theguns19726]

WOW....... I am getting another beardie tomorrow and will NOT be putting them in the same tank. Im so thankful to you for posting this. I almost was going to put them together. I can not thank you enough for saving my beardies from pain and suffering. This has been me ever since I found this forum ----> :study:
This place rocks.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I have 4 males & one has lost his front & back toes to another baby when they were together in a big tank at a pet shop. They weren't fed enough & that was the result. Rubio was 3 mo old when I found him, dark & in pain at the bottom of the tank. So I brought him home & did some first aid. Today he's 3 yrs old, 22" long & almost 800g & gets along fine without this toes. It's just when he sheds that arm/leg, he needs help because of the scar tissue. So having babies together, even at the pet shop, can cause alot of issues. I'm glad to hear that you're not going to put your beardies together. Sometimes it works, but rarely & you never know when they'll attack each other.

Even though he's upside down, if you look at the right side of him (left in the picture) you'll see what's left on his digits.

 

[Nibbles]

Just the other day at the pet store, a bearded dragon know-it-all approached me and proceeded to tell me that dragons are creatures who need companions and don't do well if housed alone. He said that they are the only reptile that produces oxytocin (really???) and so on. I told him my dragon is 10 months old and he suggested grasshoppers as a meal(way too big for the little guy). He also said it's normal for them to poop only every couple of weeks(I believe he's lumping dragons in with snakes there). While I knew better, it's sad that someone who may not has/will most likely be misinformed by that guy.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Just the other day at the pet store, a bearded dragon know-it-all approached me and proceeded to tell me that dragons are creatures who need companions and don't do well if housed alone. He said that they are the only reptile that produces oxytocin (really???) and so on. I told him my dragon is 10 months old and he suggested grasshoppers as a meal(way too big for the little guy). He also said it's normal for them to poop only every couple of weeks(I believe he's lumping dragons in with snakes there). While I knew better, it's sad that someone who may not has/will most likely be misinformed by that guy.

Unbelievable! I have 6 bearded dragons and they all hate each other to varying degrees. Just the sight of each other brings on healthy emotions such as rage, jealousy and submission to the point of anorexia and hiding. The only friend your dragon needs is YOU.

 

[VerriKerri]

This is how my little Haku is missing his tail and arm. He was kept in with 3 other dragons at the pet store and they were bigger than him too. I wish people in pet stores had to pass tests before they were allowed to work in certain sections. :/

 

[sweetiepie9]

So do I. My hubby worked at a pet shop in 2009, that's how I got Rubio and Issy. Issy lost 1/2 her tail & was a tiny thing at 3 mo old. Roger got me to print up instructions on set up, food, water, baths, etc & he gave it out to anyone who was interested in a dragon. Well the manager didn't like that at all, but Roger did it anyway. He was only there from Sept/08 to Jan/09, but the baby dragons grew really well under his care. I also made a salad of small pieces of butternut squash & collard greens & they all dived into it every day as they only got fed twice a day & even then the manager complained it was costing him too much in crickets :shock: So there's not alot you can do but complain to the manager about the info you're getting from the people who work with reptiles.

 

[Samanfa]

I've recently got two little dragons! they are 10 weeks now and have been together since they hatched. We got them off what seemed like an experienced reptile owner, but now I'm really scared and upset that we wont be to stay together. He did have 2-3 in shared housing, and I did not see any signs of injury at all, as he got them out to show us how they are when they get bigger. They are pretty much the same size, the presumed male is slightly bigger, but not by much.

We really don't have enough room for a second viv. And would not be able to get another for a month or two even if we were to find space for it to go, as you all know its not cheap.

Do you think they will be okay for now due to the fact they have grown up together, honestly they seem very close and are often sat together on their plants/vines ?
It would break my heart to have to re-home one of them. But If its the right thing to do then I would obviously do it.


just noticed I missed a few things, we assume the other dragon is female
and by together I dont mean on top of each other i mean next to each other

 

[sweetiepie9]

I would probably be ok as they're very young, but you have to keep your eye on them & make sure one isn't dominating the other, as that's another problem with housing them together. One will lie on top of the other to make sure it gets all the UVB or basking heat, so that's something to keep an eye on, you want to them to get equal UVB & equal basking time. Very important & the first clue, besides the lying on top of each other, is that one won't be as sturdy or as big as the other. If you'll be able to get another set up within a month & keep a good eye on them, they should be ok, but really, you have to watch them constantly to make sure. I don't blame you for not wanting to re-home them, I wouldn't want to either. I have 5 dragons & a gecko in a 1 bedroom apartment, so you know they take up more room that I do. I have 3 40gallon tanks along one wall, a 75 gallon tank behind the couch & a 40 gallon in my bedroom. The gecko is in a mesh tank across from the 40 gallons. So I've made room to be able to keep them all. I was in a 2 bedroom, but had to move because of cost. So that's how I solved my problem & made enough room for my dragons. Mind you, I don't have alot of visitors, I visit everyone else instead!

 

[Germ]

PJ thought exactly the same thing, checkout the other posts & replies prior to this particular subject ...

Hey Guys. Bearded Dragon Cohabitation is NOT a good plan...

You may already know my two baby Beardies were being housed together temporarily. They didn't even last two months.

Up until yesterday, I had no problems with Fiz & KD. They seemed to be as content as clams and weren't too bothered by eachother's presence. Well, unfortunately, KD felt the need to "act up" when Fiz was just laying happily on his basking rock.

KD lunged at Fiz and bit his tail.

That was the first and last time I had ever seen a conflict between them. There is now a duct tape enforced cardboard barrier seperating the two siblings.

Fiz suffered minimal damage. He already had a nub tail from when I got him. KD put one or two tooth marks in Fiz's tail. Luckily Fiz didn't bleed, although there are one or two red marks on his tail. He's being treated with warm Betadine baths, Neosporin, and isolation from KD.

It's completely my fault, but if I hadn't seperated them last night, who knows what KD could've done to Fiz!

Please take this as a warning. My situation is no where near as horrible as any of those in the pictures above and on the other previous pages, but it could've eventually developed into something more serious.

I learned my lesson, and I admit, I was wrong. Fiz paid the price for my mistake, and he's getting tons of crickets and love for the next month because I'm so sorry!

It is never a good plan or safe at any age or length of time when being kept as pets. Breeders & stores do it because it is 'Business' - 'Cost Effective' without the wellbeing of the animals in mind. If they have amputated young'uns, oh well, "Sale Price", or "we'll just breed some more", "it's a hazard of the business". Breeders also have a selection to pick out temperaments of the females that may safely cohabit. The normal keeper doesn't have that luxury. The thread speaks for itself. A little research prior to purchase goes a long way. Many of the shots are of very young BDs severely injured by cohabitation. You can not be watching them 24\7, even if you could, it only takes a split second, quite often without previous warning, completely out of previous character. Too often, much too fast for intervention. After the fact is not the time to do something about it, the time is now, before you possibly come home to carnage you won't soon forget.

The 'Cautions' are there, what you do with them are up to you. It is not you that will suffer when it fails, but the poor youngsters that you forced into this situation. No matter how close or cute they seem to be when we try to humanize their actions &\or read human emotions into them, in captivity, If they were free, given a choice, they would not be together, it is not in their nature.

Good Luck to you & yours

 

[Nibbles]

THIS

No matter how close or cute they seem to be when we try to humanize their actions &\or read human emotions into them, in captivity, If they were free, given a choice, they would not be together, it is not in their nature.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I absolutely agree, it is not in dragon's nature to be together. Some dragons do get along very well & always will, there are have been examples of that on this site; but for the most part dragons are solitary creatures, they don't want other dragons in their territory. In my case, my males have no choice but to see each other when they are out of their tank (singly, of course) because of limit of space. They are never outside together, as that causes a fight right away. But they are used to each other, as I've had them for about 2-5 years. I also have a TV going in the living room, and a ramp that they can run up & down; they have access to the whole living room, which is blocked off & access to sun on the balcony, which is also beardie-proofed. This works for my crew, may not work for someone else. When I'm at work, they're in their tanks, only Leo can see the TV from his tank, but they can all hear it. That's for the 4 that are in the living room/dining room. My 5th dragon is in my room, I put music on that TV, as he enjoys it & it calms him down. He has no access to being out of his tank, he's a rescue & needs recourperation time. He's small enough to have alot of room in his tank for him to get around, so that works for me. He's got parasites, on meds, so is in the bedroom until he's clear.

I am totally against co-habitation, even though I do know owners that have females in large tanks with double basking arears & double hides. That's working very well, but I think it's because one of the females is very different from most.

There are others on this thread that have proven, even as babies, that they can't be together at all. So I prefer not to take any chances & each dragon in my house has his own tank. It's just better that way & stops any fighting, as they will fight each other.

 

[nikkinoooz]

Thanks, found this post very educational, as I have just got 2 dragons (male and female), that are two years old and have been housed together for the duration, and although they look comfortable together, upon reading this thread, it makes sense for me to part them. I am going to invest in another Viv, as i would hate for Charlie or Lola to obtain any injuries due to uneducated human error!

 

[sweetiepie9]

It's good to hear that you're going to separate them; it's not that they've done something now, but they could in a second & it's always aweful to come home to the result of a fight. Thanks.