Killer beardie?

[1222]

I have two beardies. I purchased them together from the same tank. They are male and female. Not sure of age but they were small. In a short period of time the female has grown very rapidly and the male is still pretty scrawny. I’ve had them for 2-3 months. Yesterday I saw the male dragging his front leg backwards and when I looked it was broken. Closer inspection reveled there was some blood underneath at the joint. Could the larger female have done that? This morning when they woke-up, I saw the female charge at the male when he moved. Of coarse I separated them at once. :?

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,

The general belief on this matter is that beardies are solitary and territorial creatures and so should always be housed alone.
So really the behaviour you are describing was highly likely to start sooner or later.
Males + females especially shouldnt be housed together because they can overbreed.
When beardies are housed together one usually becomes dominant causing the other beardie to not grow properly due to stress, which sounds exactly like what has happened in your case.
Beardies can and do attack eachother, unfortunatly dragons are not like dogs, who can be taught about naughty aggressive behaviour.
Dragons will think nothing of nipping off a chunk or tail/toe in order to defend their basking spot.

I rescued a dragon from a viv with multiple beardies in. She was small for her age and was missing a bit of her tail, most of her right arm, most of her right foot and alot of her toes.

Dont beat yourself up about not knowing, most ignorant pet store workers will insist that having two beardies is fine, but please do the responsible thing and seperate them perminantly.
Your dragons will lead much happier healthier lives apart.
Until you can get a new tank for your female Id suggest separating your viv with a section of cardboard immediately.


Holly

 

[1222]

Thanks for the info Ethelia. Damm the pet store. It probably cost the male beardie his life. I appreciate your response, as now I’m a lot more informed about beardie behavior. I will also study-up on them too. I have him separated and have no plans returning back with her. I also hope he lives and finally can start to grow at a reasonable pace. Of coarse if he does live he will only have 3 legs but that is ok with me.

 

[Ethelia]

Im so glad you seperated them. It is a very responsible step to take.
Did you have a spare tank or are you using the cardboard technique for now?

So sorry to hear your beardie lost its leg. Did you take it to the vet? Has it been stitched up?

Holly

 

[1222]

Im so glad you seperated them. It is a very responsible step to take.
Did you have a spare tank or are you using the cardboard technique for now?

So sorry to hear your beardie lost its leg. Did you take it to the vet? Has it been stitched up?

Holly

I don’t have an extra tank yet. I will be going to the pet store (not where I bought them) and get one later today. I will never do business with them again. With the info you gave me, I feel that they did know but where more interested in sales and nothing about the health of them.
Right now I have him in a good size Tupperware container.
I haven’t taken him to the vet yet. As far as stitching-up goes, there doesn’t seem to be any open wound. Yes I know I said he has blood (dried) under his arm and he does, but I think it’s probably from a bite because I can’t really see a cut. At this point his arm is still folded all the way back, is very hard now and is darkening along with his toes.
Not to minimize his predicament, but he seems to be in good sprites despite his wound.
Thanks for your concern.

 

[Ethelia]

Your anger is understandable. We've all felt it at some stage!

The darkening/hardening of his injured limb definatly does not sound good and I really would get him to a vet asap. It could lead to something very nasty if you leave it.
Until then you might want to bath your boy in warm water up to his armpits. It might help ease the pain and it will clean up any bite wound he may have.

Holly

 

[MissT]

Until you get him to the vet, use some betadine in the bath to clean his wound and eliminate the risk of bacteria/infection or fungus. If you get him in to the vet asap his leg may have a better chance of being rescued and there will be less risk of an infection spreading through his body (I have a little guy who had a seriously messed up foot when I got him and I believe acting quickly saved his foot!) Until you get him there, dilute the betadine so it looks like weak tea and bathe his injury in it. Then apply some neosporin to the wound.

Hope this helps!

T

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

As suggested, it will be best that you do take him to the vet, to avoid infection. Most of the times, once they sustain a bite, it will get infected. What you should do for now, is get some betadine to keep it clean, along with neosporin & polysporin to help ward off any infection. Also, make sure that you have a non particulate substrate in the tank to keep dirt & debris out of the affected wounds.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

 

[1222]

Until you get him to the vet, use some betadine in the bath to clean his wound and eliminate the risk of bacteria/infection or fungus. If you get him in to the vet asap his leg may have a better chance of being rescued and there will be less risk of an infection spreading through his body (I have a little guy who had a seriously messed up foot when I got him and I believe acting quickly saved his foot!) Until you get him there, dilute the betadine so it looks like weak tea and bathe his injury in it. Then apply some neosporin to the wound.

Hope this helps!

T

I’ll check to see if my wife has some of that. Neosporin we do have. It’s 5:10 p.m. here and he’ll be going to the vet in the morning. Thanks for the tip.

 

[1222]

by Drache613 Keep us posted on him.

I’m kind of thinking that his front leg is broken. It’s bent completely back and against his body. I’ll give an update after the vets visit. Thanks.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great, we will look forward to news after he sees the vet. Good luck.


Tracie

 

[Ethelia]

Any updates?
We're keen to know how you're getting on x