Pygmy Bearded Dragon - Both Submissive and Dominant?

[SYNeR]

Hi all,

So I've been noticing something strange. In the video below, you can see my male pygmy dragon head bobs - he does this all the time. You can also see the female arm waving in return:

[video=youtube;EKlQGgrhX4c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKlQGgrhX4c[/video]

However, I have noticed at times they fight
The male will bob his head, and the female will do it in return. They will then begin circling each other and it looks as if they are trying to bite. Finally the male will mount the female and it appears as though she gives in.

I'm guessing I'll have to separate them, but I'm just wondering if anyone has come across this before? My only guess is that the female is submissive, but given the amount the male head bobs, she gets sick of it and in return is being quite defensive.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[LiasisKing]

i am not experienced in this, but from the reading i have done, what you are describing is mating behaviour, head bobbing and arm waving, biting on the neck, am i right ?

again, i am not experienced with pygmys at all, but from my reading thats what i have gathered.

hope i helped,

Kel

 

[giggle]

females head bob back to the male to signify willingness to mate You will notice the female headbob is slower than the male head bob.
Can you take video of their behaviour? I agree with Kel, sounds like mating behaviour to me.

If they were fighting, there would be an actual scuffle. Their communication is pretty subtle. The enthusiasm of their head bob means different things and the time of the year etc. At this time of the year, with mating following... sounds like normal mating behaviour. My female is slowly head bobbing at me at the moment!!!! LOL You will notice the male head bob is jerky, but the females is slow and looks almost lazy.

 

[giggle]

[video=youtube;OjUyHF7HHI0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjUyHF7HHI0&NR=1[/video] here you can see some of the behaviours

 

[giggle]

BTW dragon mating always looks brutal

[video=youtube;u936vK18ZkM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u936vK18ZkM&feature=related[/video]

 

[SYNeR]

Great video, thanks for sharing.

I've definitely noticed the difference in their head bobbing.
The male does it quite sharp, jerky and quick as you mentioned, whereas the female is a bit slower.

My main concern was when they start circling each other and look like they're trying to bite each other, but I'll keep an eye on them.

 

[bigi]

starting to circle each other,
mmmmm are they puffing up their throats?
are you sure they are male and female.
I say this because it sounds like you may have two females, or maybe two males,
have a look at this video i did of my netteds. at the end of it they circle each other
turns out they are all female

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-reptiles-40/cnd-video-122238/

 

[giggle]

Well... sometimes the females arent in the mood either LOL and in the wild they have unlimited space to escape one another. If they didnt want to mate, they could get away. When forced to live together in a small space, the males gunna get randy and the female cant escape.

Some pairs seem fine with being housed together... that can change at any point... and most pairs cant be housed together. Most of the time males and females only get together for a booty call ^_^ I guess making sure of their sex couldnt hurt either. Do you have multiple basking spots and hides? Its really the only way you can house more than one in the same enclosure.

Great video, thanks for sharing.

I've definitely noticed the difference in their head bobbing.
The male does it quite sharp, jerky and quick as you mentioned, whereas the female is a bit slower.

My main concern was when they start circling each other and look like they're trying to bite each other, but I'll keep an eye on them.

 

[didi78au]

pygmy beardys

hi my little guys are doing the same thing head bobbing etc.. glad to see all appears to be normal now just got to wait and see what comes of it..

 

[Exotic_Doc]

Its like this...Male: Hey babe wanna do it? Female:Umm yeaa i guess why not...Male: Sweet as "bites female in the head" Female: Ahhh babe your hurting me stoppppp "Arms frailing frantically"