My beardie is biting off her sisters foot! Please help!

[BlueGecko]

Hey all,

We have 2 3y.o bearded dragons and in the last week or so the smaller of the two has started attacking the back foot of the larger.

There's only really a weight difference more than a length difference between them, nothing dramatic (coz one like fatty foods more than greens).

We found her with a few toes bloodied and dangling and only realised who was biting when we caught her in the act (we thought it would have been the bluetongue housed with them!).

We've been putting betadine on because a few toes were chewed to the bone (now has fallen off) but if it keeps up I'll have to take her to the vet coz it will never heal.

WHY IS SHE DOING THIS ALL OF A SUDDEN? HOW CAN I STOP HER? The poor girl only has a bloodied stub for a foot and isn't very happy! She's doing a 3-legged limp. PLEASE HELP!

 

[Nellynake]

separate them

 

[BlueGecko]

separate them

I get that but right now I can't because I don't have another tank to put her in. They've been housed together all these years with ZERO incidents. They're fed regularly (unless she's hungrier because its warming up?)

 

[andynic07]

You need to put a divider in the enclosure then if you can not put them in separate enclosures or your bearded dragon will end up with no foot or worse.

 

[Chris1]

Wait, shes already missing a foot and shes still in there???????

Use big tubs to seperate them all, its a disaster waiting to happen!!!

 

[Grogshla]

this is why you should never house dragons together. Seperate them asap

 

[Jarrod_H]

this is why you should never house dragons together. Seperate them asap

Agree

 

[MesseNoire]

Separate all three of them. If you don't have the room for all of them to be separated then sell them or give them away.

 

[BlueGecko]

Separate all three of them. If you don't have the room for all of them to be separated then sell them or give them away.

Considering that it was on advice from this forum that they were housed together in the first place I dont appreciate the hint that I ignored being told not to.

I will separate the aggressor and I appreciate the comments but considering thy have lived together for yeeeears without incident I am not going to give them away! I would have liked someone who has had this happen to suggest why it might happen.

 

[GeckoJosh]

If she has only a stump then she needs vet treatment now, not later

And for goodness sake, go out tomorrow and buy some large storage tubs so you can separate them until you can afford more enclosures, if you cannot afford lights now then a heat mat will suffice for a week or two, any longer than that will cause serious health issues.

 

[sd1981]

Considering that it was on advice from this forum that they were housed together in the first place I dont appreciate the hint that I ignored being told not to.

I will separate the aggressor and I appreciate the comments but considering thy have lived together for yeeeears without incident I am not going to give them away! I would have liked someone who has had this happen to suggest why it might happen.

Ive never had this happen before so I can't say for sure why it happened, but I do know that dominance/submission,Competition for food, competition for a prospective mate (even between females etc) can be all deciding factors, and sometimes they can just be jerks...

As for advise from people on this or any forum, I would take what advise is given and do your own research via other forums, websites, books and contact with breeders etc and then go which way you believe to be the best for you and your pets... I found early that a high amount of posts on any forum doesn't always equate to vast knowledge or "expert status" so be careful with who you take advice from..... This would serve as a good reminder to us all about the potential dangers that can arise from housing in colonies...

I am sorry to hear about your little ones injury and I hope that his/her injuries are not life threatening and that s/he can go on and live a fulfilling life.

 

[BlueGecko]

If she has only a stump then she needs vet treatment now, not later

And for goodness sake, go out tomorrow and buy some large storage tubs so you can separate them until you can afford more enclosures, if you cannot afford lights now then a heat mat will suffice for a week or two, any longer than that will cause serious health issues.

She certainly hasnt just got a stump! She has a couple of mangled toes. Also the reason I havent put her in a tub is coz I cant get the heating for a week. Atm she's in her baby tank when no one's home and alternating the heat rock when they're fed separately.

- - - Updated - - -

Ive never had this happen before so I can't say for sure why it happened, but I do know that dominance/submission,Competition for food, competition for a prospective mate (even between females etc) can be all deciding factors, and sometimes they can just be jerks...

As for advise from people on this or any forum, I would take what advise is given and do your own research via other forums, websites, books and contact with breeders etc and then go which way you believe to be the best for you and your pets... I found early that a high amount of posts on any forum doesn't always equate to vast knowledge or "expert status" so be careful with who you take advice from..... This would serve as a good reminder to us all about the potential dangers that can arise from housing in colonies...

I am sorry to hear about your little ones injury and I hope that his/her injuries are not life threatening and that s/he can go on and live a fulfilling life.

Thanks. Considering theyve been snuggly, well fed and without a male well into adulthood I fear shes just a jerk.. i was clinging onto hope there would be another explanation.

Honestly im not in fear for her life as it hasnt worsened or gotten infected and she is no longer sensitive in the area but will def be keeping a close eye on her!

Believe me we did a lot of research before even buying the first 2 however I suppose its unfortunate noone here was on my first thread back then as what little info we found in books and in particular from the breeders was positive in housing together. We were wary of putting the bluetongue in but since she lives pretty much underground she hasnt been a problem.

 

[GeckoJosh]

She certainly hasnt just got a stump! She has a couple of mangled toes. Also the reason I havent put her in a tub is coz I cant get the heating for a week. Atm she's in her baby tank when no one's home and alternating the heat rock when they're fed separately.

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I am sorry this led me to think otherwise lol

.

WHY IS SHE DOING THIS ALL OF A SUDDEN? HOW CAN I STOP HER? The poor girl only has a bloodied stub for a foot and isn't very happy! She's doing a 3-legged limp. PLEASE HELP!

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Tbh I think you seriously need to rethink you ability to house more than one dragon until your financial situation changes.
At any time dragons can turn on each other so you always need to be prepared for possibly separating them.

Where abouts do you live?, if you are on the Central Coast I can lend you temporary setups so you can separate them for the time being.


I do feel for you as I had the exact same thing happen with 1 of my females that was housed with 2 other girls for over a year, then one day bamn, one was missing half of 3 toes which exposed bone. I initially tried betadine but it only slowed the deterioration, I then saw a reptile vet who prescribed an anti-biotic ointment which really helped.

In my case it had nothing to do with aggression, it was a case of a cricket running over the female victims foot and another pouncing on it and grabbing the foot at the same time.

I cant find any pics of the fresh injury but this is her a few weeks later after appropriate treatment.

 

[Amelia]

Considering that it was on advice from this forum that they were housed together in the first place I dont appreciate the hint that I ignored being told not to.

I will separate the aggressor and I appreciate the comments but considering thy have lived together for yeeeears without incident I am not going to give them away! I would have liked someone who has had this happen to suggest why it might happen.

If you posted a thread on whether to house your dragons together I can say with 99% certainty you'll have had opinions given both for & against, you made your decision & given your current situation it hasn't worked out. Regardless of how many years they've lived with each other without incident that is no longer the case.

Click clacks are not expensive to set up & if your priority list is in the order of safety first you'll separate them. It'll take you a visit to a reptile store, hardware store, some time & some money to work that out. Your first move should be a vet visit.

 

[BlueGecko]

I am sorry this led me to think otherwise lol


- - - Updated - - -

Tbh I think you seriously need to rethink you ability to house more than one dragon until your financial situation changes.
At any time dragons can turn on each other so you always need to be prepared for possibly separating them.

Where abouts do you live?, if you are on the Central Coast I can lend you temporary setups so you can separate them for the time being.


I do feel for you as I had the exact same thing happen with 1 of my females that was housed with 2 other girls for over a year, then one day bamn, one was missing a foot.

Hah yeah I guess I meant a bloodied stump at the end of her foot. I dont really want anyone on here alanysing my financial situation simply because I dont have a spare setup or because I dont get paid weekly. I appreciate the advice given because obviously I dont want to cause her more pain. The reason I asked for help was BECAUSE of it being so unexpected-why wouldn't I have separated them immediately if I had the means?

Thanks to those who offered answers to my questions.

 

[GeckoJosh]

Hah yeah I guess I meant a bloodied stump at the end of her foot. I dont really want anyone on here alanysing my financial situation simply because I dont have a spare setup or because I dont get paid weekly. I appreciate the advice given because obviously I dont want to cause her more pain. The reason I asked for help was BECAUSE of it being so unexpected-why wouldn't I have separated them immediately if I had the means?

Thanks to those who offered answers to my questions.

Sorry I did not mean to give you a hard time, maybe if you explained what housing options are within you means I can help you pick the best one?

 

[saintanger]

hmmm, i have seen people on here who keep different species of dragons/ lizards in large outdoor pits or enclosures with no incidents for many years. and considering blueys and eastern bearded dragons do live in the same area in the wild, i do not see a problem keeping them together in captivity as long as they are kept in a large outdoor pit or enclosure.

i keep water dragons and blue tongues in an outdoor enclosure with no problems. i also keep bearded dragons in pairs and groups and have done for years and never had any missing toes or tails. i can't garente 100% that it wont happen but considering they have a large enclosure and are feed heaps and have separate hides and there are no dominance issues its very unlikely.

wen i put 2 dragons in the same enclosure i do it on a week end and watch them all day to make sure there is no agression or dominance issues, i also supervise all feed times to make sure no accidents happen.

i can afford to house them separately, i have spare heat lights, uvb's, enclosures, tubs, light fittings and kilos of sand but i choose not to as the enclosures they are in are big enough for them.

also do not use a heat rock, i have had a bad experience with one and so have many other people, they fail alot and burn your reptile.

 

[Chris1]

S



Thanks. Considering theyve been snuggly, well fed and without a male well into adulthood I fear shes just a jerk.. i was clinging onto hope there would be another explanation.

a few of my females are jerks, its not uncommon.

And you're right, i see bad advice from people with bugger all experience on aps all the time in regards to housing animals together, but for every comment for it, theres 1 against it.
(this is not aimed at saint anger, i imean those people who have had beardies for 2 weeks and post on every thread that its perfectly ok to house them together cos their babies like to cuddle so all dragons at all stages of life apparently must too)

Hope you manage to seperate them, if youre in the hornsby area i have a bit of spare stuff you can use.

 

[saintanger]

its ok chris, i knew it was not aimed at me as i have been keeping reptiles for many years now. yeah i too see newbies who have owned a reptile less than a month and post that its ok to house them together. i don't think newbies should be giving advice unless they have 2 years experience minimum with the subject in question. might be ok to throw a few dragons in and all is ok for the first few weeks but what about 6 months down the track wen they both turn out to bee males and they are attacking each other.

wen housing any animal together you have to expect the unexpected, not just in reptiles, even owning 2 dogs or 2 cats cat lead to one attacking the other.

 

[sd1981]

wen housing any animal together you have to expect the unexpected, not just in reptiles, even owning 2 dogs or 2 cats cat lead to one attacking the other.

spot on mate, I stopped breeding English Bull Terriers a few years ago due to the unpredictability when introducing 2 individuals, even when the dam is on heat, and they've successfully bred years prior... I won't house any animals together purely for that reason...