Owning Multiple Bearded Dragons: Need Advice/Guidance

[NoodlesMommy]

I currently have two bearded dragons, Mochi (male/1 yr/gray rescue) and Noodle (female/1.5 yr/Citrus Tiger)

They have separate tanks, separate bowls, separate EVERYTHING! (I always clean and sanitize my hands in between interactions) They are even housed in separate rooms in my apartment. I am aware that they are solitary creatures but I just want them both to be comfortable and happy.

I am not planning on having them both out at the same time nor do I wish to breed them, I just want to get ideas on how to physically house them both in the same room (preferably). [They are both in separate 40 gal top-opening glass breeder tanks]. (Should I look into a shelf? Can they see eachother? Which Room should they preferably be in (more 'traffic' or less 'traffic' room)?Which way should they be facing... etc.)

I also want to get a general idea of how other people keep their multiple beardies, how they interact (although they will most likely always be separated through glass...) and what special considerations need to be taken to ensure that my spoiled Noodle gets all the attention she wants and Mochi can become more accustomed to his new home, become comfortable/happy and he can at least acknowledge his new "roommate" without becoming distressed

Thanks

 

[EllenD]

The best advice I can give you for keeping a male and female in the same room is to stack their tanks on top of each other in a shelving system so that they cannot see each other, and have completely separate "out of tank" time, especially with a male and a female. Currently I have an almost 10 month old female, a 3+ month old male, and a year old rescue male with severe MBD who is a bit stunted (not a lot but has mobility issues because of the MBD). They are all stacked and cannot see each other at any time unless I'm carrying one past the tanks, or one is out on the floor by itself. I never, ever have them out together, not even supervised, because even though my male has severe MBD and cannot move very well and my female is perfect and much larger than him, the male immediately gets a pitch black beard when he sees her (as does my juvenile male of just under 4 months, lol) and he immediately starts head bobbing and will not stop until she is out of sight. And that's how males are, if they can see a female they will black beard and head bob, and if they have any chance to be out with a female they will spend the entire time trying to mount her...And she actually attacked him the one time he was out on the floor with her across the room, he moved faster than I thought possible to get at her, and she wasn't having any of it...And my 3+ month old is doing the same thing. And if a healthy male gets hold of a female it's hard to separate them...So keep their tanks stacked and keep them from seeing each other, otherwise they'll be stressed and it can eventually cause health issues, usually in the female.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

With top-opening, stacking may be tricky unless the shelving allows for adequate room on the bottom one.
I have a male (11mo) and female (5mo), housed in the same room, stacked, but front opening enclosures. I am looking to build/buy upgraded sizes as my male has outgrown his home, but he is free-roam as soon as I am home and on weekends.

Here is a photo of the setup currently

They are well aware each other exist, and my male will run out and head bob at her top enclosure even though he cannot see her in most cases.

 

[Drache613]

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