Housing bearded dragons?

[morry]

Is it possible to house two eastern bearded dragons from juviniles in a 4 foot tank over there life time?

i would like to get two (i no determining the *** at a young age is hard) but would two males be fine with each other if they were togeather from hatchlings?

best case senario is male & female...


cheers

 

[Beardie_Boi]

i am not sure but they have been known to kill each other and with th male and female i have heard that the female needs to be larger then the male.

 

[morry]

i am not sure but they have been known to kill each other and with th male and female i have heard that the female needs to be larger then the male.

so i say it's a lucky dip ay...

 

[morry]

any other opinions???

 

[reptilefan95]

Yeah two can fit in a 4 by 2 tank just make sure you have two different basking spots and lots of braches and hides if you get hatchlings as soon as they are old enough take them to a vet that see's herps and get him to vent them

 

[Beardieboy]

They should be all right together if they were together since birth or soon after. Personally i Would divide the enclosure in two and then put them together when they are about 8-12 months old. Baby beardies have been know to eat each others tails and feet but if you feed them well there shouldn't be a problem. I have never put two babies together before, but at the moment i have two babies seperated in the same enclosure that will be put together in a few months time.
This is the best way to get goodout comes, however if you get two males you can never put them together when they are adults :cry:

I hope that makes sense. As i said, i have never put two babies together because it is too risky. I think a divider in the tank is easier the having one die. Just make sure if you do this they both stay warm enough.

 

[morry]

They should be all right together if they were together since birth or soon after. Personally i Would divide the enclosure in two and then put them together when they are about 8-12 months old. Baby beardies have been know to eat each others tails and feet but if you feed them well there shouldn't be a problem. I have never put two babies together before, but at the moment i have two babies seperated in the same enclosure that will be put together in a few months time.
This is the best way to get goodout comes, however if you get two males you can never put them together when they are adults :cry:

I hope that makes sense. As i said, i have never put two babies together because it is too risky. I think a divider in the tank is easier the having one die. Just make sure if you do this they both stay warm enough.

hey u say they would be alright if they were togeather from birth, but then later on u say if they end up being male they will kill eash other...

 

[morry]

also when u's say two baskin spots, do u's mean two diferent heat sources and at either end of the enclosure?

or just two different logs for them to purch on?

 

[Dave]

no i wouldnt keep two in a 4x2x2 and even if they are clutch mates they will still fight, they dont care if they are brother/sister etc :lol:

 

[reptilefan95]

Hey Morry,

When i say two different basking spots i mean at the hot end of the tank which would be roughly 2 by 2 by 2 you should have two different basking spot lamps on each side of the hot side of the tank so they can each have one. Dave is right though two in that size tank is still pushing it you would be better to go with a 5 by 2 by 2 or if you already have the tank then just get one or get a trio of pygmy beardies

 

[Lollypop]

According to what u read, 2 adult beardies in that size enclosure should be fine - until u see them fully grown & think - geez, it's squashy.
2 males together is a big no-no. Male/Female is better with no guarantees, & as Dave said, they don't care about the inbreeding!
I have housed 2 juveniles together with no in-fighting until about 6 mths of age - this wasn't a violent "biting toes & tails" thing, it was a dominance thing with the one not eating or moving due to the other one being the boss - & that's 2 females who by rights should be fine?
If you can be VERY observant of your beardies & recognise a problem is occuring, that's half the trick. The other half is doing something immediately should an issue arise between the 2, & removing one should u need to (the one u remove should always be the most dominant, so as not to stress the other one too much with a move). THEN there's the horror stories of people coming home to one dead beardie due to a fight they 'never saw coming'.
So in short:
2 males in that size enclosure - NO, or any size enclosure for that matter
1 male, 1 female together - maybe???? with good observation, but NOT if they're related
2 females together - maybe??? but only with good interaction, observation & knowledge of both female's personalities & 'normal' behaviour.

 

[Dave]

M&F to much breeding, two females might be ok, if you HAD to keep two then i would go with females but they are better left alone except for breeding etc, i have a couple 'holdback' reds that are maybe 5-6months and if they see they will beard and try to bite etc. same with loose substrate for hatchies, your paying money for them and you grow attached to them etc so why risk it?

 

[Beardieboy]

hey u say they would be alright if they were togeather from birth, but then later on u say if they end up being male they will kill eash other...

Sorry for not being clear, What i am meaning to say is-

two males should be alright from birth together but if you separate them and then re introduce them you might have problems. Maybe they will be fine from birth together but i personally wouldn't do it. In the wild they are mainly solitary animals unless they are breeding so you don't know how they will react to each other.

Probably the best thing to do is to get them from a private breeder and talk to the breeder about what they reckon is best - then you'll be getting the info from first hand experience. In all cases co-habitating lizards, more space is better so they don't get too feisty about being crowded.

 

[morry]

ok thanks guys

 

[largeheaded1]

people are divided on this

I have a male and female who have been together since juvies and i have NEVER seen any signs of aggresion, in fact i would hate to split them up, even when i have them out they go everywhere together around on the floor.

they are in a 4x2x2 tank

 

[JasonL]

There are never any certainties with keeping BDs togther, as they all have different characteristics and every enclosure, area, keeper does things differently. Saying that, on average you can keep two females together, and usually a sexed pair, and two males will usually fight. I have seen multiple males kept together with females before BUT...... any dragon kept in captivity will be under some stress at one time or another, adding more will just increase the stress, well for at least those dragons under the dominant one, and there is ALWAYS a dominant one, even if you don't notice it. Over zealous males will ofen wear themselves out literally when kept with females all breeding season, and if they are successful, they will wear the females out too, 150 plus eggs and six clutches in 5 months isn't exactly good for the poor girl.

 

[morry]

yeh i think i might go for black soil beardie's possibly a trio...