What I have and what I can do? Housing beardies

[Shoogs]

Hi I'm a new member to the site although I have been on it many times.
Hands down I want to know if I can house two bearded dragons together, I have done my research on this and asked pet store owners however I continue to receive different responses.

I will have a URS double large tank. 120x47x60cm - 48x18x24inch
which is 90 gallons, more than double the space for one Adult Beardie.
There will only be 1 heat lamp however a number of different basking spots. Plenty of decorations to hide in or on top of.
As it is a glass tank I am trying to minimise stress by adding a back rock wall and covering on the sides so they feel more secure.

Right now I have 1 juvenile Beardie, suspected to be a male which is currently in a 40 gallon tank. I hope to buy a new bearded dragon, same age, and introduce both of them to the new tank at the same time, I assume this will be better instead of introducing a new Beardie to my Beardies tank already known as his home.

I have read you should never house two MALE Beardies together, but then some say if you can but your tank must be large enough so they can isolate themselves in different areas. Female and Male are ok until breeding times and Female and Female are even better off. Although like I said I am suspecting one male already and I want to know if the new guy turns out to be a male should I be prepared for them to try to kill eachother.

Thanks
-Jake

 

[hoppy]

iv never owned beardies but in my opinion better to be safe than sorry. just house them separately just to be safe.
im pretty sure that they are solitary animals anyway. but as I said im no expert so wait and see what others have to say.

 

[Shoogs]

Thanks Hoppy, like I said there are many people saying pretty much the same as you, then there's others that are in the scenario I want and say differently.

 

[Rlpreston]

You need to weigh it up for yourself.

Have some people kept beardies together and had no problems so far? Sure

Have some people housed them together and ended up with injuries, vet bills, deaths etc? Absolutely.

I know which way I would choose but you need to decide yourself if the risk is worth it.

 

[Shoogs]

Mhm, obviously as you said there has been many fatal results of housing two together and then there have been many successful results, I think it may be worth the try, they will be monitored fairly closely for any dominant signs, if worse comes to worse I will have two males that will be housed separately.

 

[OldestMagician]

Is it true that one laying on top of the other is actually a sign of dominance?

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

 

[Shoogs]

Yes, as much as I've researched anyways it's a sign of dominance not like cute family huddling

 

[PythonLegs]

So..100% safe sperate.

Risk of injury or death together.

and you're going with together. Sigh.

 

[saintanger]

if you get another dragon get a female of the same size since yours is a male, 2 males in the one enclosure is riskier than 2 females or a male/ female.

quarantine the new one first this will give you time to watch and learn their personalities, once quarantine is over place both dragons in neutral territory e.g. lounge room floor. watch them closely, see how they interact. if a fight breaks out then don't house them together. if they get along then house them together but watch them closely for the first few weeks. always have a spare enclosure or tub just in case they don't get along and need to be separated. if both dragons are dominant then you will most likely have a problem.

always be aware of the risks involved.

i do house dragons together and have for years, i also breed them. i have a large enclosure with 4 dragons housed together 3 females and 1 male. i have never had a fight or any injury to any of them.

now this will probably stir up some people but i also house 2 older males together aged 6 and 7 years old and have for a few years now. wen i first introduced them into the same enclosure my dominant male did have a go at the new male but caused no damage, male number 2 is very quiet and submissive. they have never had a fight since, they bask together and eat out of the same bowl at the same time.

i believe from my experience housing dragons together successfully has a lot to do with their personality.

i know beardies are solitary dragons but wen they come across another dragon in the wild they don't always fight.

 

[Shoogs]

+Python Legs
Your saying it so directly, I know that you say "risk" but with that third line it's basically saying I've picked the dumbest choice and I'm so ignorant that I'm going to let one kill or severely injure the other so I can learn, not at all.

Like I said above they are both juveniles, in the case that they are both males I will try to create a peaceful non-dominant relationship but if one of them show signs of stress, let alone even attacking, I will take him out.
Once again they will be monitored, especially that first week, and even after months of all going well they will continue to be monitored enough. Feeding is a no-brainer, I feed my current Beardie in a separate 20 gallon now, no reason I will feed em' together.

I think you should really open your mind to things, even though there is risk or a high percentage of something not turning out right doesn't mean it can't be successful at all and shouldn't be attempted.

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+saintanger
Thank you for the comment, its nice to have information from someone who actually has multiple experiences with the given topic instead of going about the "rules".
I will do as you have said above, hopefully all turns out well and I'll let you know if its a success.
Thank you!

 

[dragonlover1]

you mention having a 120x47x60 and it being more than double the size for 1 beardie,no it's not! it is the size for only 1 (central )beardie.If you want to keep more than 1 beardie you need a larger enclosure unless you have pygmy beardies which require less space and are a little more sociable than centrals.

 

[Stevo2]

You need to ask yourself a simple question - are you trying to house 2 together for your benefit or theirs? I have studied Easterns in the wild and the males rarely basked within 20 metres of one another. Do what is best for the lizard and be responsible for their welfare.

 

[ReptileMad_98]

iv'e kept two male beardies in the same 4 foot enclosure for a year and a half now, they've known eqchother from birth with makes it easier. it depends on the personality of the dragon, there all different.

 

[andynic07]

if you get another dragon get a female of the same size since yours is a male, 2 males in the one enclosure is riskier than 2 females or a male/ female.

quarantine the new one first this will give you time to watch and learn their personalities, once quarantine is over place both dragons in neutral territory e.g. lounge room floor. watch them closely, see how they interact. if a fight breaks out then don't house them together. if they get along then house them together but watch them closely for the first few weeks. always have a spare enclosure or tub just in case they don't get along and need to be separated. if both dragons are dominant then you will most likely have a problem.

always be aware of the risks involved.

i do house dragons together and have for years, i also breed them. i have a large enclosure with 4 dragons housed together 3 females and 1 male. i have never had a fight or any injury to any of them.

now this will probably stir up some people but i also house 2 older males together aged 6 and 7 years old and have for a few years now. wen i first introduced them into the same enclosure my dominant male did have a go at the new male but caused no damage, male number 2 is very quiet and submissive. they have never had a fight since, they bask together and eat out of the same bowl at the same time.

i believe from my experience housing dragons together successfully has a lot to do with their personality.

i know beardies are solitary dragons but wen they come across another dragon in the wild they don't always fight.

Would it not be best to keep an eye on them forever rather than the first few weeks? I have read quite a few stories that start with I have kept my two bear dies together successfully for months or years and end with one bit the others toes or feet off. To me it is something that can be done but the only benefit is for the keeper , either they like seeing two together or it takes up less room or it is easier and usually someone like the OP will already have in their head what they want to do but would like someone to back up their thoughts on a forum before actually doing it. I am not putting anyone down for making that decision as we all only keep reptiles for our own pleasure and not for the welfare of the animal.

 

[Chris1]

While it may work due to one animal being really submissive, the submissive animal would be happier housed alone rather than with a dominating cage mate.
The dominating cage mate would probably be happy whether or not it had a cage mate to dominate.

 

[saintanger]

andy, wen keeping dragons together you will always have to keep an eye on them and watch their behaviour towards each other but its the first few weeks that will tell you whether or not one dragon is to dominate and it wont work.
things do change, e.g they have been housed since they were babies then they start fighting and its 2 males or after a few years one decides it wants to attack the other for unknown reasons to us and you have to separate.

some times wen feeding a dragon may accidentaly bite another dragon because the meal worm was clawing on the other dragons foot, the owner comes home and thinks there has been a fight, not knowing it was not intended.

chris at first i did house my older boys on their own, the dominant one does not pick on the submissive one. and the submissive one is actually eating more and more active since being house with another beardie.

 

[kitten_pheonix]

hopefully all turns out well and I'll let you know if its a success.
Thank you!

Kind of like saying lets leave our kids near the pool unattended and hope they don't drown.
Your willing to risk an animal in your care being injured just because you want to and hope they get along?
If you were forced into a small room with someone that has the ability and notion to bite your toes off, dominate you and potentially kill you, would you say you are having a good quality of life? Mind you this is only happening to see if it is a success for someone that cant make sure said potentially aggressive person cant harm you 24/7

 

[andynic07]

Kind of like saying lets leave our kids near the pool unattended and hope they don't drown.
Your willing to risk an animal in your care being injured just because you want to and hope they get along?
If you were forced into a small room with someone that has the ability and notion to bite your toes off, dominate you and potentially kill you, would you say you are having a good quality of life? Mind you this is only happening to see if it is a success for someone that cant make sure said potentially aggressive person cant harm you 24/7

Some people pay good money to be dominated and beaten by someone else.

 

[Cypher69]

+Python Legs
in the case that they are both males I will try to create a peaceful non-dominant relationship but if one of them show signs of stress, let alone even attacking, I will take him out.
Once again they will be monitored, especially that first week, and even after months of all going well they will continue to be monitored enough.

How exactly does one create "a peaceful non-dominant relationship" amongst reptiles?
And as far as monitoring goes...are you talking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

 

[Shoogs]

+dragonlover1
I'm almost certain Im correct, a 40 gallon is the minimum size for an Adult Beardie, although it is the minimum its also the regular for Beardie owners, anyways a 40 gallon is generally 36x18x16inch which is 90x45x40cm and a 90 gallon is 48x18x24inch which is 120x45x60cm.
I've checked the charts for the third time now and am sure you have it wrong.

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+kitten_pheonix
Your argument is invalid, your implying the premise that I wont be watching these beardies at all, lets understand my scenario, I will be on holidays so nothing to occupy my time, the tank is right above my tv unit which is 2 metres from where I am at least 80% of my day. These "kids" wont be unattended, I wont just be in another room waiting for trouble.
Sheesh