Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I NEED SOME ADICE: I have a female that I'm trying to move into the same cage with my male. The male is ~1" larger. They are fine out on the floor, etc. but he starts showing his beard, occasionaly head bobs and once he attacked her (grabbed her neck).

She doesn't do anything - just sits there? I think she is slowed down for the winter or still in shock from being shipped to us (2 wks ago).

Are there any tricks to do this safely? I've made sure there's no food around...

Can he hurt her?

Thanks - Aubrey

Well, I wouldn't keep them together permanently. If you are planning to breed them, keep them together, only to breed. Sounds like your male is showing his intent to mate, and this will stress out your female. He can become dominant over her, and basically just become his slave to you know what. How old are they? Are you positive you have one female and one male? Either way, I would plan on their permanent homes being separate, except for breeding time. As far as introducing them, a little time each day should be fine, but keep a close eye, it doesn't take that long for them to mate. Has your new beardie had a fecal sample done? How about the other? If not, I would suggest keeping them completely separate until this is done, just to make sure there are no parasites that can be passed from one to the other. Parasitic infections can remain hidden for a while in beardies, and all new acquisitions should be suspect and quarantined from your other animals until at least 2 clean fecals come back from the vet.

THANKS: The male (Rex) is 13 months & she is 8 months. She came from a highly regarded breeder so I haven't questioned he sex - I will double-check. I plan to have a fecal check (or 2 or 3) but she hasn't pooped yet. She's no eating (breeder said she is brumating)??? We bought her so Rex would have some company and knew that the breeding may happen. Keeping hem seperate defeats our purpose so if it's not meant to be we may have to sell him and get another female....

Thanks again - Aubrey

What is your purpose? You say you wanted her to keep Rex company, but yet you'd be willing to sell him and get another female? So it's not really about making your pet happy, it's about having two pets? I'm confused.

Yes, we want 2 Beardie's in he same cage. I was told that it was more interesting owning a couple (arm waving, head bobbing) but I wasn't aware that this was a sign of dominance and that breeding pairs shouldn't be kept together.

Thanks - Aubrey

Your whole post makes no sense. First its for Rex, who really could care less, then your going to sell him to keep her and it also was cause your think its interesting to watch??

Rex did not need company, male dragons perfer to be alone in the wild, they don't play house. If you want something interesting to watch, don't make it live animals that you can harm doing things that are not in their best interest,

He basically ignores her except when we've put her in his cage a 3 times GOOD GRIEF... WHY?? She's new to you and your home, stressing her like that is not a smart move and she is WAY to young to be put in with a male wanting to mate!

It's so sad to see people buy young sub adults females and then torture them like this! This would be like putting an 8-10 year old human girl in with a sex obsessed teenager.

Separate them adn take some time to learn about dragons before you start harming them. PLEASE!
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www.reptilerooms.com

Why would someone drop so much money on such fine animals without at least learning the basics first..... such as the importance of keeping them quarantined, and not caging males together with females? I shudder to think how things would be handled if these animals did mate and produce a clutch. Would the hatchlings be put in the cage with the parents to see how cute their reaction is?

It makes me sad when pets are treated like merchandise, to be mixed and matched until they suite the owner. Be responsible, love and care for the animals you have, don't trade them in as soon as they don't meet your expectations. If your only concern is having two animals in the same cage to see how cute their little hand waves are, then you should have done a lot more research before investing in them.

Cheri,

I appreciate your passion for these great herps and I admit this is for ME & my family not the Dragons. I will do what it takes to make having pets a positive experience in my house. I did tons of research before buying the female but unfortunately all the advice I got was from various breeders wanting to sell me a dragon. I wish I had known about this forum sooner.

Selling Rex and getting another female doesn't make me a bad person as long as it's a good home,,, as you pointed out he doesn't care anyway.

I assure you the 30m she spent in the cage w/ him (closely supervised) did touch the trauma that she got from being shipped which seems to be an accepted practice.

I am by the way offended by your condesending comments and suggest you get out of tthe house more often.

In all honesty....your first post was misleading to say the least.....and then were a couple more......Cheri was reacting to the misinformation......she never said it made you a bad person to sell your dragon.....but you said you were doing it for the dragon originally but then said you would sell him and get another female.....all fine and well, but be honest up front so others don't take you wrong.

As for another female.....you may just end up in the same boat you're in now......some females are solo dragons, liking no other dragons in their tank.....I have a few like that. If you want to have 2.....keep them both, just have 2 tanks.....you said it's for your family, that way the dragons can enjoy you and you can enjoy them, but they aren't forced to live in a incompatible situation for the dragons. Many of us have multiple dragons, I did before I started breeding.....I just kept them all in seperate tanks and enjoyed them individually.

Good luck with your dragons!
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Tracey
Tracey's Beardies
www.beardiecrazy.com

n/p
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Joel R

Coming Soon!
www.SpikesAndScales.com

First of all, they shouldn't be introduced at all yet.....you need 2-3 months and 3 clean fecals at least 2 weeks apart for quarantine.....you're new addition could have parasites or something else to transmit to your present beardie.

If your female is not mature and ready to be mated, she shouldn't be placed with a male yet either......early egg laying can be hard on her physically.
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Tracey
Tracey's Beardies
www.beardiecrazy.com

Yes, 3 clean fecals would be preferable to 2, that's for sure!

They should both be 18 months old, MINIMUM. The calcium needed to make strong bones while maturing would go to making eggs instead of the femal beardie. It does not defeat the purpose to let them live seperatly. When they mate, it takes about 5 minutes. The rest of the time the male would be after the female to mate again, stressing her out. Most breeders don't allow breeding pairs to live together unless they haver a very large enclosure that allows the female to hide and get away. Even then, she may be too stressed to come out, knowing she'll be pounced on everytime she does. You put them together for mating only, then back to their own homes at the proper age.
Your female may be able to mate now, but at a high health risk. Now THAT'S defeating the purpose. If she gets stressed, coccidia levels rise and as said, calcium is leached from what she needs to become a healthy adult. Patience is a virtue in this case, along with being a responsible owner/breeder.
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www.classylizard.com

Are they both full grown adults? If they are both adults and you make sure they're both clear of parasites (as everyone suggested), they may be able to be housed together all year. The cage must be large enough (approx. 5'x3' is ok) and setup properly (with visual barriers and separate basking areas).

If the male is overly aggressive and constantly going after the female, you should only keep them together during breeding. If they're not full grown adults, you shouldn't put them together yet.

They are sub-adult (He's 13 months & she's 8 months). It's hard to say how aggresive he's being because they haven't been aroundd each other much. He basically ignores her except when we've put her in his cage a 3 times... 1st time he had his beard flared and did some head bobbing, 2nd time he was just watching for a while until she started moving around then he did some serious head bobbing and went after her (grabbed her neck),,, 3rd time just watched for 30 min and started head bobbing (I spoke to him) and he stopped.

Thanks - Aubrey

My advice, keep both the male and female separate in their own tanks. Bearded dragons are very happy alone and with interaction with their owners. Most quality breeders and dragon owners keep their dragons separate at all times, only introducing males and females for the short time needed to breed them. It only takes one or two matings to ensure enough fertile eggs for several clutches in that breeding season since dragons can and do retain sperm.

Your earlier post indicates your female is only 8 months old. She's too young to have babies. 18 months or more is often recommended as the minimal age before breeding females, however some breeders do and have great success breeding females at 14 months of age. As you can see, 8 months is still too young, by all breeder standards.

Interactions between two dragons may be neat to watch. However if that sort of socialization is what you want to see more than ensuring the dragons are healthy in their own enclosures, bearded dragons are not really for you. Get a pair of guinea pigs instead. They have much more social interactions with eachother and their owners than bearded dragons.

Wanting to trade or sell your male just so you can get another female to house with your current female, certainly implies you don't really like or appreciate the dragon you have now. Maybe you should just get rid of both and get a dog for the family to play with. Owning a pet, any pet is a responsibility that is more than just ensuring you are entertained, you alone are in charge of that creature's livelyhood. He/she depends on your for it's survival.

Another thing to consider about having a male and female bearded dragon together to breed, is the cost of taking care of the young. Bearded dragon females can have as much as 100 eggs in a season, spread over several clutches. That's a 100 more mouths to feed upon hatching. Raising 100 baby dragons to an age old enough to find new homes costs alot of money, in the $1000s. Egg laying is also very stressful for female dragons which means to ensure they are healthy, extra supplimentation and food. Then their is incubation of the eggs, feeding and rearing of the young and finding them new homes. It adds up fast. If you are just planing on killing any eggs she lays, they it would be better and cheaper in the long run, to just house them separately right from the start.