Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is a follow up to a previous posting about keeping a male and female together. First, I'm not interested in breeding. In fact, when I adopted my dragons I had to sign an agreement that if they did indeed breed, I would destroy the eggs. Since I presume they are siblings I guess it would be best.
My question is, everything I read about beardies says they are social animals and enjoy each other's company. The two I have certainly like to "stack" and constantly stay close to each other. Is a 4 foot long, by 2 feet high, by two feet deep cage big enough to make sure each has enough "personal space" when they are full grown?
Also, as someone who keeps snakes too, this reminds me of the constant debate among herpers about keeping pairs of same species snakes together versus separately. Although I know this smacks of athropomorphism, it would seem the beardies would like a little company rather than complete isolation.
Comments?
Thanks to all for your help on behalf of a nervous newbie.

In my personal opinion i think its not generally a good idea to keep reptiles together. That "stacking" behavior you mention is actually a form of passive aggression that can with time lead to lack of appetite, illness and sometimes death.

having said that, there are some cases where a particular pair of beardies becomes very strongly attached to each other and actually suffers when seperated.

I guess it is best to treat each case individually, keep an eye on both beardies, make sure that they both are eating and both get plenty of time in a nice hot basking spot. Make sure that you provide more than one prime basking spot in the tank so that the more submissive of the two still gets to stay warm. And of course, seperate them immediately if you see any problems occuring.

As far as tank size, that size tank sounds perfect for one adult beardie, but i would probably go with something bigger for two.

good luck!

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1.0 green iguana-Deitrich
1.1 Common Boa-Un-Named, Ursula
1.0 Ball Python-Anabell (go figure!)
1.0 Red Tegu-Uteg
1.0 Albino Cal King-Pig
0.1 Mexican Black King-Morticia
1.1 Bearded Dragons-Unnamed, Hanabil
1.0 Albino San Diego Gopher-Unnamed
0.1 Hermans tort-Esio
1.1 JCP-Milton, Medusa
1.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn-Unnamed
0.1 Snow Corn-Unnamed
1.0 Hypo Okeetee Corn-Unnamed
0.1 Motley Okeetee-Unnamed
1.0 Western Hoggie-Wyrm
0.0.1 Rose Hair Taruntla-Unnamed
2.0 Leopard Geckos-Reptar, Pogo
4.1 cats-Tucker,Poe,Abhib,Emerald, Felicity
0.1 Bullmastiff-Asha

You're setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration. Don't put them together unless breeding and 4x2 for 2 adult beardies is cruel.

I have two juvi females that had been together since a very young age and were the same size. All was well, they never fought over food, basking areas, etc. One day I looked and found one of my females with three bite wounds. I got lucky b/c I have seen many beardies missing tails, toes, and legs! Someone should post pics of their rescues with missing limbs. That always keeps me from trying mine together again.

Just my experience. Good luck.

marilee
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0.2 Bearded Dragons (Dezirae & Artimis)
0.2 Dogs (Timex & Brady)
1.0 Sulcata (Speedy)
1.1 Hamsters
1.2 Horses (Joey, Joi & Crystal)
0.2 Beta Fish

I have been reading about bearded dragons for about 3 years now and I don't recall ever reading they were considered social creatures. I have however, ready that they are very docile with humans, often quite happy sitting on a lap or shoulder for long periods. The stacking thing in pictures is often 'setup' with the owner placing the dragons ontop of eachother.

In cages with one basking spot, the bearded dragons crowd underneath the heat, often climbing one over the other to do so. There are too many risks keeping dragons together in a small cage (compared to the great outdoors any cage is too small, no matter how roomy). In the wild dragons do come together, typically to mate and the young may stick around with eachother for protection but mostly, they are separate. Bearded dragons are nothing like say, mice who always live in colonies consisting of a male and several females or females with babies.

Also, there is alot of stress on the female to be bred, whether you keep the eggs or not. A 4'x2' cage is the minimum size for a single adult bearded dragon. It would be best to keep the dragons separated once they reach 6 months of age, or sooner if they show any signs of stress or aggression.
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PHLdyPayne

Well this isn't going to be a popular opinion and will probably be ill recieved by most in the beardie community....

I had a pair that were housed together for a year and were never aggressive to oneanother and the male would actually let the female go and get her fill then eat what was left... I would of course have to add more for him generally but that was ok too... He was sucha gentleman... I have also heard this is the case with several other people I know..... I have also had a pair together that had to be seperated because the male was stressing the female out really bad to the point of going off food. It greatly depends on the personality of the beardies your kepping.... and you have to keep an eye on them because the pair I had to seperate I didn't even see the aggression for at least a month... just be very carefull... as far as the cage size.... the pair I had housed together for a year were in that size cage and did just fine...

The thing you should realize however, is that they will breed and your feamle will lay eggs and this is a great strain on her... be ready to handle all the things that go along with a gravid female.... and really is all the health issues that can go along with a gravid feamle worth the risk just to keep them together? That is something you have to decide for yourself as I know that people will do what they want no matter what... that's why I say inform them but don't browbeat them.... Good luck with whatever you decide to do and keep us posted about how things turn out....

Later,
Robert
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Don't choose your friends by show,
feathers float but perils lay low!