Is it okay to house a male with a female?

[Bradleyv1714]

I just adopted 2 Beautiful beardie's but they are housed together, one female and one male... I was wondering if I could house them together as I don't have enough space for another tank?


Thank you
Bradley

 

[Claudiusx]

If you don't have room for another tank there really isn't an option. Either way, one dragon is going to get picked on and won't get the best basking spot, etc.

Beardies are solitary reptiles and only come together in the wild to mate. They should be housed separately in captivity too.

-Brandon

 

[Bradleyv1714]

so would be a good idea to get two basking spots? I can do that!

 

[Claudiusx]

Would be a good idea to get two tanks. I wasn't saying you need to get two basking spots, i was just giving examples of what BAD THINGS will happen when two are housed together.
One will be stressed while the dominant one rules over the tank. The stressed one will become lethargic in some cases, not eating because the dominant one doesn't allow it.

How big is your current one?

-Brandon

 

[jeschardies]

I wouldn't be as concerned with the space needed for the two dragons as opposed to the space needed for all of the baby dragons in the case of housing a male and female together. The space/money needed to properly care for 1-3 clutches of baby dragons far exceeds the cost of separating two dragons......
I have two 40 gal breeder tanks in our living room and agree that it is not as convenient as I'd like it, but the two dragons I have are a male and female as well. I am waiting to move so that I can build a multi-stack condo piece for them. This option provides the same amount of enclosure space, but vertically as opposed to across the entire wall in the main room of the house.....hahahaha

 

[Bradleyv1714]

you see I want to do that, a stackable system... but right now I don't have the money or the time as I am in Fire Academy...

 

[isdrake]

Keeping a male and a female together is not such a good idea. IF you want to house a male with a female you should have at least two females and a lot of space to reduce the stress. However you can not house them together all year around because the male will probably put to much stress on the female/females.

I would strongly recommend that you house them separated. But IF you are going to house them together anyway it's extremely important that they have a lots of space and double of everything. They will need two hotspots, two feeding bowls etcetera. And a lots of hiding places is important too.

Also keep in mind that if you can't afford a pet (or several) you shouldn't have them. If you can't afford a second enclosure how could you afford to threat them if one of them gets sick or injured?

 

[Bradleyv1714]

Also keep in mind that if you can't afford a pet (or several) you shouldn't have them. If you can't afford a second enclosure how could you afford to threat them if one of them gets sick or injured?

I guess some people just don't know how to read...

I never said I couldn't afford another tank, I said I cannot afford a stackable system right now! I can definitely buy another tank and supplies but I have no space for another tank!!!

 

[jeschardies]

You are in the same position I was in when we rescued Jager. We rescued him from a family that admitted they didn't know how to care for him. They kept him in a 20 gal which they also gave us. He is supposedly 1-1/2 years and is smaller than my 7 month old female. It was obvious that they fed him little to no veggies, let crickets loose on his sand substrate and used no UVB on him.
Prior to getting Jager, we knew the situation and purchsed the same get up as our female, only we got it from Craigslist for $50 (40 gal breeder, lamp stand, tank stand, bowls, books, dome). Killer deal as I didn't want to spend too much when I knew I wanted to buld a multi condo setup.....
I've been researching on the build a lot and the viv pics only thread has a lot of great examples, but the money and time are against me at the moment as well....

Good luck, hope you get everything situated before you run into any problems with housing them together.

 

[jeschardies]

Do you know how old they are and how long they've been housed together? If they are young, then you may have more time than if they are a bit older and reaching breeding age. The male will reach this age at a younger age than the female.....

 

[Bradleyv1714]

ok... I adopted them from someone on this forum! these beardies are in amzing condition that I can see, except for the fact that they kind of poop diarrhea like. according to what I was told the male was purchased first and he is now 2yrs old and then they bought a female a little while after which she is now 1 1/2yrs old... that I know of they have always been housed together and she has laid 3 clutches! I have spent some time examining them and I see that the female is more dominant than the male in eating but in basking they practically take turns!

 

[Claudiusx]

They aren't really in excellent condition if they have runny poo. That could mean they have parasites and they should both have a fecal test done.

Another reason not to house them together. Two beardies living in the same cage both with parasites will cause the parasite count in both of them to raise extremely high unless your able to sanitize everything a millisecond after one goes poo. Otherwise the parasites in the poo will get transferred to the other dragon and back and forth.

-Brandon

 

[isdrake]

Also keep in mind that if you can't afford a pet (or several) you shouldn't have them. If you can't afford a second enclosure how could you afford to threat them if one of them gets sick or injured?

I guess some people just don't know how to read...

I never said I couldn't afford another tank, I said I cannot afford a stackable system right now! I can definitely buy another tank and supplies but I have no space for another tank!!!

It's not about the reading it's about understanding something that isn't my native language. And in this chase I must have misunderstood you and I'm sorry.

If you can afford another tank then I don't see the problem. Just get one that will allow you to place your current one on top of it.

 

[Bradleyv1714]

Claudiusx: I understand what you mean, I will take them ASAP to a vet to get a fecal done... but how would I collect runny poo? lol!

isdrake: I have looked for that but I have the two beardies I adopted in a 40 with it's lights and then I have my beardie that will be in a 40gal breeder also with lights so I cant really stack them up! I was thinking about building a kinda cheap stacker, made out of 2x4 to hold 2-3 tanks but I doubt it will be strong enough to hold 3 tanks!

does anyone know where I could find some plans for a cheap stack system for 3-40gal breeder tanks?

 

[Claudiusx]

Scoop it up with a spatula or something whatever you can use, just get it in a container.

-Brandon