M/F house together?

[chemgrl08]

Hi all. I have a question about housing a male and female together. It's been a while since I've had a beardie, but I have an eye on these two beardies that are listed on the facebook marketplace by what seems to be an incompetent owner. :x She says they have MBD, and I've asked her for more info, but until then I want to make sure I have the ability to care for them long term before committing to them. They are supposedly "juveniles," one is male, the other female, and they are housed together in a 20gal, (but I have a larger 50 gal that they would be transferred to.) I am worried that having both of them together will cause problems. Namely,
1.) Stress (particularly to the female) due to breeding attempts by the male once they are sexually mature
2.) unwanted batches of eggs
3.) possible increased risk of becoming egg-bound to the female
4.) dominance/"relationship" issues

Is it reasonable to expect a 50 gal to comfortably accommodate two adult beardies? Is it safe/relatively stress-free to house a male and a female together, without the intent of breeding? (There are too many unwanted beardies as it is, and I have no history on these guys whatsoever. I expect the owner bought them on an impulse from some big pet place like Petco or Petsmart.)

I'll be happy to offer more info once the current owner messages me. (Its possible she has already given them away.) I'm aware that I'll need to treat them for MBD, possibly parasites, malnutrition, and a whole scheme of other problems, but I'm going to deal with that in a separate thread and if/when the time comes (and I get more info.) For now, any info on the housing and stress questions will be helpful. Thanks so much!

 

[AtlasStrike]

Every reason you mentioned is valid, they absolutely should not live together. Especially if they have MBD, trying to lay a fertile clutch will kill the female. It is not a good idea. Perhaps you can find some one else to take one of them if you know it is beyond your capability? A local herp society or a rescue might be willing to take one since if some one else took them they would likely remain in danger from sub par care and husbandry.

 

[chemgrl08]

OK, well, that seems to settle it. Thanks for the info! There is indeed a reptile rescue nearby, so I'll try to work with them on this one. Thanks again!