YouTube and cohabitation

[USCgrad]

Ok, I know it has been discussed in great length but after watching a plethora of YouTube vids, it seems like more then a few hobbyists keep small groups of younger dragons together and groups of female dragons together without much problem. My question is if so many are not having issues why is it so bad to have cohabiting dragons? Granted, domoniance but from the updates and seeing breeders have quite a bit of success with the issue, is it just older knowledge, why we advocate against it? Thanks Wayne

 

[Gail]

The ones that have issues don't post videos of dead or dieing dragons after they have been in a fight. It happens and often, you just don't hear about it it much.
There is a post in the ER forum about a two dragons kept together for a few months, one tried to eat the other and ultimately killed it. I myself took in a rescue a few years ago after he killed his tank mate of 4 years.
Many people who cohab really don't understand the danger or don't care. Go back to youtube and search for fighting dragons, you'll be surprised by all the *****s who think its funny when the dragon fight or don't get along.
Can dragon be kept together successfully? sure they can but its best left to experienced breeders who understand the animals and who have room to keep them in groups. If there are three or more in a large enclosure, they are more likely to spread the aggression around so no one dragon gets picked on all the time.

Also keep in mind that many breeders don't keep dragons as pets, they are money machines. As long as they last a few years and produce eggs, thats all that matters. If a breeder who has dozens of dragons looses one, its generally not that big of a deal for them since they have many others.

 

[Spoony]

Cohabing beardies is like cohabing dominant male lions. There will be battles, even if they grow up together. At one point, one will want to be the dominant one and will go to all lengths to prove it and will ultimately severely injure or kill the other. It's not a risk any person who loves beardies as if they were family would take. Someone who's bored with their life and thinks more beardies is fine cuz when you're bored with one you have the other shouldn't have beardies in the first place.

Anyone who thinks beardies need friends are misguided in my opinion. They're not social at all. If you watch breeding videos on youtube, it's a very aggressive act.

 

[dragonov]

....., is it just older knowledge, why we advocate against it? ....

This bit kinda grabbed me, because I sometimes feel there's only room for "one truth" out here on this forum. (Don't get me wrong, still love and appreciate this forum... :lol: )

What I mean is that with some subjects on here everybody repeats what has become common knowledge because everybody said so, but a lot of it has not been based anymore on any experience with it by the ones repeating this as truth. Take the example of the UVB coils. A few years ago, some UVB coils caused trouble both because of faulty production and also because of not using them as directed. Good thing that forums like this one addresses these issues and warns people about that! But afterwards the issues with UVB coils have all been solved by the manufacturers and if used as directed they are a good alternative for tubes, but ask about UVB coils on this forum and the response will mostly be that coils are evil and cause blindness etc. (With people who have never used them being most adamant about it and pointing back at articles dating 5 years back...)

According to the standards on this forum I do about everything wrong with my beardies. (UVB coils are bad, Cohabitation is bad, Sand is bad, Pine is bad, Not sealing grout is bad, You must feed your dragon three times a day as much as they can eat for 10-15 mins...etc.) Still, with the help of this forum and a lot of own research I think I created a good environment for my beardies and my beardies are twice as healthy as when I got them. (I house two females of the same size together with giving them both enough room. I use UVB coils positioned as directed with good UV readings. I have reptile sand as a substrate but feed elsewhere. I've used pine wood for my enclosure because it gets covered anyway. Left my tile adhesive unsealed and both my beardies and me are loving it. I feed my dragons a good portion of live food twice a week and my dragons are full bodied, active and according to the vet healthy as a horse. (I somehow can't imagine a beardie in the wild eating non stop bugs for 45 minutes a day in the wild... :? ))

It's true that a lot of things could be a potential threat to a beardie I suppose. That's probably why they only live for about a year or so in the wild. But putting beardies in a small almost bare tank to protect them from everything makes me cringe a bit too. To me that feels like putting a person in an isolation prison cell to prevent them from hurting themselves. Sure, they might live long because they don't accidentally get hurt by themselves or others, but I do question their "happiness" too...

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like seeing a bit of room left for different views on certain topics every now and then. Bottomline is that we all love beardies on here (why be on here otherwise?) and with that in mind there's a lot possible with some effort. The responses in this thread like "if you cohabit dragons you don't love them" and "if you're bored with your life and think more beardies is fine, you don't deserve them" go a bit far in my humble opinion... 8)

 

[Claudiusx]

Oh what a rebel.

And honestly I've never seen someone say this:

The responses in this thread like "if you cohabit dragons you don't love them" and "if you're bored with your life and think more beardies is fine, you don't deserve them" go a bit far

And trust me, advice given here is still muchly based on experience not hearsay.

At least a couple dragons a week get posted on here with problems, only to be linked to their lighting setup.
Just a few days ago a dragon died from being attacked by its cage mate of two years.
Another dragon died a bit more than a week ago due to being housed on calcium sand.
Pine is toxic to dragons. This is a fact, not an opinion.
And, i've never heard someone say not sealing grout is bad. What i do hear a lot is the recommendation to not grout at all as it keeps things easier to clean.

It is great that you love beardies too, but your perception of this site isn't accurate.

-Brandon

 

[Mistyck]

Oh what a rebel.

And honestly I've never seen someone say this:

The responses in this thread like "if you cohabit dragons you don't love them" and "if you're bored with your life and think more beardies is fine, you don't deserve them" go a bit far

And trust me, advice given here is still muchly based on experience not hearsay.

It is great that you love beardies too, but your perception of this site isn't accurate.

-Brandon

I agree with Brandon.

You (dragonov) are taking your perception of what is said on this forum and in essence belittling the people that have had experience with all different things on this forum. Just because people advocate against cohabitation, doesn't mean that they are saying "you don't love them if you cohabitate". I've seen nowhere where it says that.

If you want to "rebel" and go against the norm on EVERYTHING you do with and for your dragons, then go for it. They're your animals and you have every right to do with them what you want.

I just don't see how you can say that you "love and appreciate" this forum when you're blatantly going against the grain on everything. If you don't like the way things are said on this forum, then please don't let us hold you back from leaving...Seems you're just commenting to say that you've commented. Whether or not you do everything the way that is "ideal" isn't ours to judge, but personally, I find you to be disrespectful to the forum.

 

[Gail]

And honestly I've never seen someone say this:

The responses in this thread like "if you cohabit dragons you don't love them" and "if you're bored with your life and think more beardies is fine, you don't deserve them" go a bit far

-Brandon

Actually this was said on a recent post where a dragon died after its cagemate tried to eat it.

 

[dragonov]

Ok I see, I'm a "disrespectful rebel" who's free to leave... Thx guys, not much need to get personal I thought, but it does kinda go with what I was trying to say. And the quotes you guys never saw someone say on here were in the reply right above mine, that's exactly what I was commenting on...

Alright, I'll get back to the DIY section again and stay out of here... :lol: Have a good one everybody!