Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I have a full grown bearded dragon in a 55g. I have had him a few years. I am wondering if I can mix him with either a collard lizard, uromastyx, or both. They have similar environmental requirements. Will I run into a problem with my Bearded Dragon being territorial? Is it just not a good idea at all to mix them? Or can it be done? My local petsmart has collard lizards and uromastyx in the same cage but it might just be because they are temporary, and juvenile.

Thanks,
Mike

It's not recommended that you mix species. There could be a problem with fighting, but the main reason is due to sickness. Different species harbor different bacteria from which they are immune. However, other species may not be immune to them, and the constant exposure to high levels of it in a cage can cause sickness or death.

That being said, there are people who try it and are successful. If I were going to try it, I'd at least pick species that lived in the same areas naturally.
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0.10.0 Ball Pythons
0.1.1 Leopard Geckos
0.0.1 Egyptian Tortoise
0.0.1 Bearded Dragons

A standard 55 gal. is only 48" long by 12" deep. That is only half the recommended size for an adult dragon.

Also, Uro's require signicantly higher temps. then Bearded Dragons. They require a basking sopt of 120 when dragons only need 105. Unless you have a huge size enclosure you will never get the conditions right for multiple species forcing them all to endure less than ideal conditions.

I can't speak for Collard lizards as I have never looked up their needs. Either way I wouldn't consider it.

The thing to keep in mind is growth rates.
As adults, some individuals may be incompatible.
The uro grows MUCH slower than a bearded, so unless they are both adults, it's a no-go.
Now, if you get juvenile bearded and uro and put them in the same cage, within 6 months the bearded will be twice the size of the uro and during a 'king of the mountain' session will eat him.
You will come home as I did, with a big spiky tail hanging out of your beareds mouth.
They have since earned the nickname 'land shark' and my bearded's name from that day forth was cain.

No for many reasons.

One, the cage is not even big enough for a bearded dragon. It should have a floor space of 4'x2' or more.

Two: a bearded dragon will eat that collard lizard the first time it can catch it, which probably be when it run into the side of the cage in a frantic effort to get away from your dragon.

Three: just because a pet store crams as many animals into a 10 gal cage as they can..doesn't mean its the correct way to house reptiles. A sad truth is most pet stores have no clue how to care for a dog (short of give it water and dog food), much less the much more demanding needs of exotic pets, such as reptiles. Well, ok, pet store may know how to proper train and care for a dog...but definitely don't know much about anything they sell other than cats and dogs.

Now, all that said, is it possible to house bearded dragons with another type of similar environment animal? Yes it is possible. Do I recommend it, No...not unless you had a few years experience at least, raising and caring for each animal you want to put into the same cage. Creating a natural vivarium with more than one animal, is not an easy task and definitely not a task for a beginner.

Out of the three animals, I would recommend the uro and bearded dragon together. The collard lizard is too small (it is all tail, very small body, and I am pretty sure they don't get as long as a a bearded dragon or uro). Collard lizards are flighty lizards that need alot of open space for running, plus rocky outcrops to hide and bask in/on. They are insect eaters exclusively. Unfortunately that is about all I know about these lizards.

Uros and dragons have similar enough requirements it could be possible to house one with a bearded dragon. If they are the same size and if the cage is sufficiently large enough (ie I wouldn't recommend anything less than 5'x2' of floor with 6'x2' (or 5'x3' would be better) or larger ultimate. This will ensure you can have plenty of multi leveled basking spots reaching as hot as 130 F to ensure both the uro and dragon can reach temps they are comfortable with. Though 130F is way to high for a bearded dragon, provide plenty of lower basking temps in the cage and the dragon will bask within a comfortable range. Hence why the extra size and width of the 5'x3' or even 6'x3' is so much better.

Though it is still possibility of cross contamination of diseases or parasites or bacterial from one species to another, most pathogens are pretty species specific, so the risks are not as high, providing both animals are completely healthy to start with and are maintained in perfect conditions.

Given the need to have extra large cages, cages bigger than needed to house two of the same species together, it is often more feasible to just have separate cages for each type of lizard you want to own. It is more work to have multiple species housed together, great care has to be made to ensure all the requirements of each species is being met and neither animal is stressed by the other or because something is missing in its environment it needs to thrive. Thus why it is important to be very familiar with each specie's requirements and being able to spot early signs of distress and illness in each individual animal.

Deciding to do a bit more research on collard lizards, these are definitely not suited to be housed with bearded dragons (or any other lizard for that matter). They tend to be flighty, grow to about 12-13" with 14" being a very large size. Their temperature range for ambient and basking is pretty much the same as bearded dragons and uros, sort of in between the two. But they would be the bearded dragon's lunch as soon as it moved into reach.
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PHLdyPayne