Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i bought a male about 6 weeks ago and put him in the tank with the female she was maybe 2 to 3 inches longer than the male.
they hit it off great with in the first 20 minutes the were head bobbin and gettin it on or so i thought. they kept on for about a month and it looked like she was getting pregnant. so at the end of the fourth week she seemed to stop eating and started moving alot digging and pacing. and the i found her with about a inch and a half of his tail in her mouth just chewin, He was letting her do it ??? so i put her in the dirt tub to lay her egss....never happend. so almost a week later i put her back in the normal tank with him, then i had surgery and didn't see them myself for about 4 days wen i went to see them his tail was about twice as big as normal and chewed up major infection and swelling. i seperated them and tried fixing him but he died. they had plenty of food during the whole time over a dozen crickets a day and their veggies?
only other issues are that shes almost 6 years old and he maybe a year i figured there could be fertile issues but not cannablism. should i not even bother to try and mate her or just not leave couples in the tank together the whole time.
thanks for any input
mike

I've seen posts from people who ask questions about mating.

The general response I've heard is that put them together to mate and then separate them again. Bearded's aren't really the pack type and are generally loners.

The book I'm reading on them also says to put them together only to mate, and to watch them until they do so, then once the "deed is done" to take the one you put in the cage (like if you put the male in the females or vice versa) out.

I'm deeply sorry for your loss, and it is not like you knew something bad would happen.

I also wish you a speedy recovery with your post surgery time.
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2 Mali Uromastyx-Ares & Apollo
2 Bearded Dragons- Draco & Hades
1 Saharan Uromastyx-Iris
1 Leopard Gecko-Kalypso
1 Tokay Gecko-Sid Vicious
1 Tarantula-Peter Parker
1 Amazon Red Head Parrot-Pancho
1 African Gray Parrot-Keya
1 Dog-Cheeka
3 Fish-no names
1 Beta Fish-also no name
1 Zebra Finch-Beeps

I hope this is a hoax. Why would you put them back together after one had attacked the other?

no hoax, i thought it was a freak occurance and the first time wasn't that bad i've had reptile all my life and they have all had the fights and everything heals and was ok. i just didn't catch this fight early enough

First thing, it isnt' a good ideal to put dragons together who are 2-3 inches difference in size. Also, they should not be left together longer than necessary after mating. When she was chewing on the male's tail, the injury should have been treated with anti-biotics right away. Though I understand you were sick and away, whoever was watching your dragon should have let you know the injury was getting worse. It was also bad to leave them together. Oh one last point, 6 years is pretty much the end of the breeding period for bearded dragons.
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PHLdyPayne

I'm so sorry about your beardie, I've have three breeding pair and they all stay together, the only time they are seperated is when the female lays her eggs, I will remove the male for about two weeks to let her get back up to good health{laying eggs can take a lot out of them] and if the male was left with her they would resume mating again, Sometimes the females will start some tifts with the males, you have to watch them closely, this usually will happen right before they start breeding again, I think they are trying to get the males rowled-up for breeding. again i am very sorry for your loss!

thanks for everyones help, i guess i'll just have to keep them seperate most of the time and i won't even bother trying to mate her again.
thanks again