Male and Female

[viral013]

Ok...I am getting Ra a "girlfriend" my breeder is selling me a 3 year old female. She has always been housed with male dragons. I am kind of nervous about housing her with Ra because he hasn't been housed with a female since he was a baby. They will be in a 55 gallon breeder tank so it is plenty big. If I do decide to breed them then the tank is sectioned off for a lay box, all I would have to do is put the pineapple stuff in there. It would be a completely new tank so I don't think Ra would be territorial. I'll have to get another hammock tho b/c that is something he deff. wouldn't share! Any advice would be great. I know that it is not recommended but my breeder has been doing this for a LONG time and his are always housed together and he told me it would be fine.

Thanks

Laura

 

[viral013]

help...

 

[diamc]

Hi Laura, I'm sure you want complete honesty. Housing 2 beardies together all the time is not a good thing as they are very territorial, dominance issues, stress, injuries and deaths have occurred. We have read and seen many pictures of terrible injuries that have taken place and it can happen VERY quickly. Even though you would be trying to put them in a totally different tank than your male was in originally, if he is the alpha beardie, he will be the dominant one. If you do plan on breeding, then the best way to handle it would be to only put them together long enough for the breeding to take place, then separate them. If they are allowed to be in the same tank continuously, the male will breed with her non-stop and she won't be allowed to eat as much as she wants or even be able to bask when she needs to. Having them together when she is gravid could also cause her to become egg bound which is very dangerous and could kill her.

You do have every right to be nervous about putting them together. You would be much safer and they would both be much happier in their own tanks. I had 2 young beardies together for a short time before I knew any better (before I found this forum) and even though no injuries occurred, it was very obvious that the smaller of the two was very stressed out from it and I saw every sign of stress when I was told what to look for. Once they each got their own tanks, I couldn't believe the change in both of them.

Please consider all of this and if you want me to post pictures of some of the injuries that have occurred from 2 being housed together, let me know and I will share them with you. Thanks for asking about this ahead of time. :wink:

 

[viral013]

Thanks so much. I am going to take this into SERIOUS consideration. I will have 2 tanks.

 

[diamc]

That's great to hear, you won't be sorry. If you need more details of any of it, I will be glad to give more info about what I experienced in their behavior which as I said, was only stress but was affecting the male quite seriously. I am very thankful that I knew exactly what to look for. Thanks for listening.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Also if you do plan on breeding, females are normally retired after only a few years. They can be bred to death, by having eggs all the time, it depletes her until she can be so weak, she can die. If you do want to breed, get a younger female, 18-2 years old, almost 500 grams. Just make sure you get which ever female into "Prime" condition before breeding.
Hope this helps,
Janie.

 

[viral013]

After serious consideration I will not be purchasing the female. I will get the tank tho. Thanks so much for your advice! I decided Ra and I have no more room in our relationship

 

[diamc]

That's too bad that you decided not to get the female. Are you sure you couldn't get her & just put her in her own tank? Gee, I have 4 beardies and they are all so loveable, but yet so different. I can't imagine how it would be without any of them.

 

[viral013]

I am getting ready to move into a small apartment with my boyfriend this summer and we're going to wait and see how things go before we commit to any more pets. I dont doubt that she would be amazing I just don't want to get in over my head when i'm moving soon. Thanks so much for all the advice and I can't wait to add onto my family! Even tho it might be a while...it's what's best

 

[diamc]

Oh ok, I understand. I just didn't want you to think I was discouraging you from getting her. Good that you're thinking things over first and not jumping into anything. Lots of luck with your move and all.

 

[viral013]

Thank you