Should I separate my lizards?

[dragonmama2047]

And tonight they're both out cuddling before bed--Bandit with my husband and Banzai with me. They must have been so fed up with having to share everything! Unless something goes disastrously wrong, I'm moving further posts to Beardie Tales. Thanks so much everybody for the help and support! I had no idea where to turn, and you've just been the best.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Yes - separate your pair of beardies immediately , beardies are solitary animals who do best on their own in their own enclosures and who are best only allowed to come together for brief mating encounters.

There is a real risk that eventually one will be attacked and will suffer a nasty injury or even be killed.

 

[dragonmama2047]

Yes - separate your pair of beardies immediately , beardies are solitary animals who do best on their own in their own enclosures and who are best only allowed to come together for brief mating encounters.

There is a real risk that eventually one will be attacked and will suffer a nasty injury or even be killed.

You're right, and thank you for the response. It took some careful utilization of credit, but Bandit and Banzai are now chilling in separate enclosures. I moved the larger of the two, and neither seems terribly stressed. If anything, Bandit has fewer stress marks, and they both seem happy to sleep out in the open within their enclosures. (Before, Banzai was going into her hide hours early). I feel like we dodged a bullet, and I am so happy on their behalf and mine.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Well, the enclosure isn't one-hundred percent the way it will ultimately be--for one thing, they will both have a Reptisun 10.0 when the fixture arrives tomorrow. But it's close. You were right, of course, about moving the bigger lizard, and she has always been more adventurous anyway. This morning she glass-surfed until I let her go in the new enclosure, and now she's basking in there like it has always been so.

Bandit, chilling in solitary splendor. He's so relaxed he's doing the arm...

And Banzai, also in solitary splendor, doing the leg:

If I didn't worry so much I'd think they were happy or something.

I recommend you slip a bit of cardboard between the two tanks ? this will reduce the visibility of each beardie to the other and reduce considereably the chance of dominance issues (they use beardie body language and stares to dominate smaller beardies if the little one can see them).

I also recommend if there are mesh tops on the tanks , that you replace the tops with home made plywood tops and the dual lamp dome hoods can then simply be sat on the plywood to shine through a hole , you'll find the tanks are then much easier to maintain a thermal gradient in and you might be able to get away with a lower wattage basking globe and still get a good basking spot temperature.

I also highly recommend you remove the particulate (sand) bedding . It's an impaction risk and also will contribute to tank humidity if there are any spillages or splashing and is a perfect place for viruses, bacteria and fungi to thrive , as well as being hard to properly spot clean when the beardies to the toilet.

 

[dragonmama2047]

Well, the enclosure isn't one-hundred percent the way it will ultimately be--for one thing, they will both have a Reptisun 10.0 when the fixture arrives tomorrow. But it's close. You were right, of course, about moving the bigger lizard, and she has always been more adventurous anyway. This morning she glass-surfed until I let her go in the new enclosure, and now she's basking in there like it has always been so.

Bandit, chilling in solitary splendor. He's so relaxed he's doing the arm...

And Banzai, also in solitary splendor, doing the leg:

If I didn't worry so much I'd think they were happy or something.

I recommend you slip a bit of cardboard between the two tanks ? this will reduce the visibility of each beardie to the other and reduce considereably the chance of dominance issues (they use beardie body language and stares to dominate smaller beardies if the little one can see them).

I also recommend if there are mesh tops on the tanks , that you replace the tops with home made plywood tops and the dual lamp dome hoods can then simply be sat on the plywood to shine through a hole , you'll find the tanks are then much easier to maintain a thermal gradient in and you might be able to get away with a lower wattage basking globe and still get a good basking spot temperature.

I also highly recommend you remove the particulate (sand) bedding . It's an impaction risk and also will contribute to tank humidity if there are any spillages or splashing and is a perfect place for viruses, bacteria and fungi to thrive , as well as being hard to properly spot clean when the beardies to the toilet.

Hello,

The piece of cardboard had occurred to me--I'm not sure why, I think I'd heard somewhere that if one of them was bullying the other then just being able to see the bully would be enough to put them off their food. I'd never heard of the wooden tops--we should definitely look into them.

As for the sand, do you know of any alternatives that would let Bandit dig at night? We changed to play sand that they never get fed on because she was trying unsuccessfully to dig through her newspaper to burrow. I've heard of people using scraps of blanket in one corner and I was wondering if you knew if that was safe or had any other ideas.

Thank you again for the advice.

 

[Terry15]

You could try using non adhesive shelf liner. It has a spongy backing that stays in place and is easy to wipe up poop and salad. Maybe you could use just a small container of the sand for her to dig.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Well, the enclosure isn't one-hundred percent the way it will ultimately be--for one thing, they will both have a Reptisun 10.0 when the fixture arrives tomorrow. But it's close. You were right, of course, about moving the bigger lizard, and she has always been more adventurous anyway. This morning she glass-surfed until I let her go in the new enclosure, and now she's basking in there like it has always been so.

Bandit, chilling in solitary splendor. He's so relaxed he's doing the arm...

And Banzai, also in solitary splendor, doing the leg:

If I didn't worry so much I'd think they were happy or something.

I recommend you slip a bit of cardboard between the two tanks ? this will reduce the visibility of each beardie to the other and reduce considereably the chance of dominance issues (they use beardie body language and stares to dominate smaller beardies if the little one can see them).

I also recommend if there are mesh tops on the tanks , that you replace the tops with home made plywood tops and the dual lamp dome hoods can then simply be sat on the plywood to shine through a hole , you'll find the tanks are then much easier to maintain a thermal gradient in and you might be able to get away with a lower wattage basking globe and still get a good basking spot temperature.

I also highly recommend you remove the particulate (sand) bedding . It's an impaction risk and also will contribute to tank humidity if there are any spillages or splashing and is a perfect place for viruses, bacteria and fungi to thrive , as well as being hard to properly spot clean when the beardies to the toilet.

Hello,

The piece of cardboard had occurred to me--I'm not sure why, I think I'd heard somewhere that if one of them was bullying the other then just being able to see the bully would be enough to put them off their food. I'd never heard of the wooden tops--we should definitely look into them.

As for the sand, do you know of any alternatives that would let Bandit dig at night? We changed to play sand that they never get fed on because she was trying unsuccessfully to dig through her newspaper to burrow. I've heard of people using scraps of blanket in one corner and I was wondering if you knew if that was safe or had any other ideas.

Thank you again for the advice.

My hatchlings / juvies Peppa and Toothless are in 100L rearing tubs , just paper towels under the food dish and intop the home made heatslab.
My adult beardied Rex has loose 6x4in floor tiles and some paper towels under her food dish and on her homemade heatslab. The tiles are not glued down or grouted, I simply remove soiled tiles and hose them down.
I don't use carpet or particulate beddings for my beardies.

 

[dragonmama2047]

Well, I have to admit right off that the ease of cleaning with tiles appeals to me. We have a hand-held steam cleaner on order right now and I bet it would kill all of the nasties right off with no complications. I never feed them on the sand, so a small dig box full might be okay. Honestly, I don't see him dig that often anymore. If he wants to hide he goes in his cave, and he's even doing that less right now. Right before I moved Banzai out, one or both of them were in that cave hours before bedtime, and now they're back to sleeping on their branches. I should give it some serious thought.

 

[dragonmama2047]

I'm starting to seriously think about tile with a dig box. The sand is a new thing, and it's going to be a pain to take out and replace every time their habitat needs cleaning. My poor husband will probably think I'm crazy changing yet another thing, but he's been nice enough about it so far.

I also bought this: http://www.amazon.com/ABO-Gear-Happy-Habitat-Indoor/dp/B002KWHE1E?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00 while I was at it. It's designed for cats but I saw several recommendations here, and it will let my babies get some real sunlight once the temperatures warm up. (We live in Arizona--it will be hitting a hundred degrees outside by midsummer)

 

[kingofnobbys]

.... excellent news .... now you'll going to have to buy more bugs as both will be doing their best to eat you out of house and home in very short order now they both have their own homes and both are happy and relaxed.

If you haven't been , now is the time for weekly weigh-ins to monitor their growth.

 

[dragonmama2047]

.... excellent news .... now you'll going to have to buy more bugs as both will be doing their best to eat you out of house and home in very short order now they both have their own homes and both are happy and relaxed.

If you haven't been , now is the time for weekly weigh-ins to monitor their growth.

Sounds awesome. I've got a food scale that measures in grams--picked it up for weighing yarn, it's a long story--and I bet it would work perfectly....

And it looks like my Bandit has some catching up to do. He's at 115 grams and Banzai is at 155.

 

[hounder02]

Those are nice setups your little guys have now. I know from experience that having their habitats side-by-side can be a intimidating and taunting for some beardies. You may see some other unusual behaviors. I would suggest putting something between them so they can't see each other should they become aggitated. Happy Beardies to you

 

[dragonmama2047]

Those are nice setups your little guys have now. I know from experience that having their habitats side-by-side can be a intimidating and taunting for some beardies. You may see some other unusual behaviors. I would suggest putting something between them so they can't see each other should they become aggitated. Happy Beardies to you

For now, I've put a piece of cardboard between the two enclosures until I can find a more permanent solution. All I can say is that they don't seem to miss each other at all, and my little Bandit's stress marks have completely gone away. It was long overdue.

 

[dragonmama2047]

I cannot believe the difference I am seeing in my little Bandit. I swear he ate a hundred dubia roaches today.

Tonight he had a bath because he's shedding, then wanted to explore for a while. After a while he looked up at me in what seemed like a meaningful way, helped me pick him up and would not leave my hand to go back in the terrarium for a few minutes.

I am so happy.

 

[hounder02]

I'm so glad to hear that your little ones are doing well. We just got a new little one but she's a he. Ha ha ! They just thought they had a Gigi. He's really pretty but need some TLC. Keep up the good work with your little ones. You should see a lot of improvement in their personalities. Maybe you just thought You had a girl and a boy. LOL