Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi I was not to sure which forum to post this question in, but I have had many good answers come back from this forum so I will stick with the trusted people here! Ok so I own 2 male bearded dragons who are considerably aggressive towards each other. I was thinking of purchasing a couple of Mali Uromastyx and was told by a few people that Mali's and beardies can live together in the same cage environment. Now I have some doubts about this. However there is a store at west edmonton mall that has a terrarium set up with a Bearded Dragon, Mali Uromastyx, and a Green Iguana. And they seem to be getting along. Anyways back to the question at hand, if this statement is true (Mali's and beardies can live together) then what are the stipulations such as what size does the environment have to be? What size should the animals be? If a bearded dragon is aggressive towards bearded dragons will they be aggressive towards Mali's? Is there any way around this? For instance placing a female Mali with a male Beardy. So those are just a few of my questions I would really appreciate a honest reply. If its not even possible in your opinions then I won't even try and attempt it. But if it is possible please give me some steps to go about the task at hand. Thank you very much for all of your responses.

Rustybeard

That store where you saw malis, bearded dragons and green iguanas in the same setup, is deffinitely very wrong. Unless the enclosure is HUGE, the green iguana is the one that is going to suffer the worse. Green iguanas need much more humidity than bearded dragons or malis, nor do they require any insect or other animal protein in their diet, strickly vegetarians. As green iguanas are more arboreal, it is possible a huge cage can be set up to be more humid near the top, but in truth, such a mix of environments wouldn't work and one or all lizards involved will be highly stressed and most likely die.

Though bearded dragons and malis are from similar conditions, malis do require a higher basking temp and ambient temperature than bearded dragons. Though posible to set up a vivarium for both species, it is best they are kept separately. To keep a bearded dragon and mali in the same enclosure ,you need several basking spots, of different temps and a cage that is at least 5'x3'x2' or more. I personally feel that to set up a vivarium properly and ensure all animals included are stress free and thrive, it should be done by a very experienced person in all species involved. Somebody who is very good at recognizing the signs of stress in bearded dragons and malis, and understand completely their environmental needs.

An aggressive bearded dragon may still be aggressive towards other species, but for the most part, I suspect the aggression in your male bearded dragon is solely due to the fact you have him near another male. Male bearded dragons do not get along and can't be housed together, unless in a very large enclosure, where both can claim their 'territories' (of at least 4'x2'x2' in size per male with duplicate basking spots etc. Much larger enclosures if females are included to form breeding groups).

Some diseases and parasites may also spread from one species to another, which can jeopordize the health of all inhabitants of the cage. Though most parasites and diseases are pretty species specific, some do affect several species. (see the thread below about adenovirus).
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PHLdyPayne