I confiscated two adult bearded dragons from my grandchildren that were not properly caring for them. I have had them for about 6 months and have never had bearded dragons before. They are in a 60 gallon aquarium with all of the appropriate housing, lighting etc. I have studied alot and believe they are receiving good care.
They are both females. One has become overweight and the other appears normal weight. They never fight. The large one is always first to the dish but I always provide two dishes. They always sleep together.
My question is whether or not they must be separated or will it be stressful for them to be apart. They have been together most of their lives.
I don't handle them as much as I should but I do the best I can. Do they prefer a solitary life considering the limited time I spend with them. I take care of their needs but don't provide extracurricular activities very often. I have leashes but maybe take them out once a week.
So, should I keep them together in a larger aquarium or separate them? Not to mention the expense of setting up two aquariums.
I will appreciate the groups input.
Housing 2 females together is one of the exceptions to housing BDs singly. Since they've been together this long without issue, I don't see any reason to change things unless... things do change--behavior-wise.
I think it may be possible the heavier one may be gravid with infertile eggs. If so, she will eventually have a need to dig a nest to lay them in.
Once a week on a leash sounds pretty good to me (but then I'm not a dragon ).
To piggy back off the advice above, are you sure they are both females?
Dragons can be housed togethr, but I usually only recommend it to experienced keepers. It's kind of like motorcycle riding. It's not if you go down, it's when you go down. 9 times out of 10, something will happen. So, just be prepared for that.
If you don't have a second setup on hand, i would suggest at least putting the money aside so you have it available if you need to buy a second setup.
They definitely can be housed together without incident, but there definitely can be incident. And that is something that all experienced owners who house together, and all breeders, are prepared for. Hence the ability to separate if need be.
On another note, I don't believe the dragons really get a benefit from being housed together. But, that's a separate discussion.
Essentially each dragon will need it's own basking spot and you will need at least 2 hides , I wouldn't house two adult dragons together unless I had a pit or enclosure at least 6ft x 4ft footprint.