Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am looking to aquire 2 female beardies. They will keep my current male company. What size tank will be suitable for the trio? And because it will obviously be 75g or above does anyone know where you can get a hinged screen top for larger aquariums?

Thanks,
Michelle

The right sized tank for what you're looking for, is 2 tanks minimum. The odds are high you'll get some fighting and intimidating, at least one lizard isn't going to get much food, and the male will be annoying the girls as well. Your girls will be overbred, and unless your planning on breeding properly, I wouldn't want fertile eggs. With a single tank, there's almost no way you can breed properly, you'll need a much more extensive setup to deal with the 100 babies you will have to deal with on a yearly basis.

Get them each their own cages, you might get away with housing the two girls together in a big tank, but you really are better off with an apartment-style caging system with each cage on top of the next one. It would take up the same amount of space, but give your lizards a happier overall life I think.

It seems to be a common misconception that beardies want or need company. They do not, they are perfectly happy by themselves. If you want more than one, keep them in seperate cages. Sometimes females can get along together as noted above, but it's not guaranteed, they still may fight, you never know. Be prepared to give them each their own enclosure just in case. The last thing you want is fighting and lost limbs, digits, tails, etc.
-----
1.0.1 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

OK...thanks for the info. The guy who sold him to me suggested more than one. He said they do want company and to go with a one male to two females ratio. But after researching it a little and reading the posts I think my guy will stay alone. I would like to get a second beardie though but I will for sure set up a second enclosure!

Thanks again

Lots of people do things lots of different ways. Maybe that guy has kept them that way with no problems, and so he feels confident recommending it to others. If he's a breeder he's also probably far more prepared to deal with the hundreds of babies that will result than most common pet owners are.

They can be fun and social when put together, but when forced to live in the same enclosure dominance issues can arise. There are people who have put dragon's together only to have them fight and cause injury to each other. It's a gamble, and in the end you make the choice what's best for your lizards. I think when it comes to my pets I'd rather be 100% safe than take that chance, looks like you feel that way too.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. Beardies are addictive, I myself recently had to get another, it's hard to stop at one!
-----
1.0.1 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

>>OK...thanks for the info. The guy who sold him to me suggested more than one. He said they do want company and to go with a one male to two females ratio. But after researching it a little and reading the posts I think my guy will stay alone. I would like to get a second beardie though but I will for sure set up a second enclosure!
>>
>>Thanks again
-----
Rob Talkington