Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all. I wanted to ask everyone's advice about my two lads, Sam and Ella. I've had them since about August, and I've finally determined that both are males. They've shared a large, modified display case (about 2x3x4 ft., two floors for added square footage) for the past few months, and seem to get along. There has been a noticeable upswing in aggressive behavior in the past few weeks, with Sam finally figuring out he's bigger than Ella. However, with some arm-waving everything's over quickly, and no-one is ever injured or even goes off their feed.

So, do folks think they can continue to co-exist, given the size of their cage? Is there any particular level of aggression where I should draw the line and separate them? The sad part is, I can't afford another adult beardie cage, especially considering the expense of lighting, so separation would mean finding a new home for one of them.

I couldn't figure out how to attach photos of them and their set-up, but I do have a Yahoo photo album called SamAndElla at:
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/pogona/lst
SamAndElla

Keeping 2 male beardies together, no matter what size the tank is, is disastrous. They will begin to fight more and more as they get older, which may eventually end in serious injuries and maybe death. The smaller will not get as much food and not as good of a basking spot, causing his health to diminish. Seperate them ASAP! There is no way it can work (no matter how much you want it to!!!)
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1.1 Beardies (Pedro and Honey)

i've seen males together that have had no issues. so long as the aggressor is not so ill tempered. However, i do agree with you that they should be seperated because all it takes is one day where you are at work and one of them is all riped up and dead.
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon

Agree, ditto, don't push your luck.

first of all....your link....didn't work for me.

AND, I've heard and have seen more than one adult male bearded caged together. It can happen but is rare. It all depends on the two of them. If the aggressor is to wild and the passive one becomes testy....you may have a serious situation on your hands. Such as dismemberment or death. Thats just worst case seniaro. Keep a good eye on them.

what your best and cheapest bet will be is to (and remember i was unable to actually see what your cage set up is like) put a divider in your large cage. the divider will be one where they can't see each other. you'll need two basking lights and make the divider so that, and i'm assuming you have fluorescent UVB bulbs, the divider is just below the bulb so that both dragons get the needed light.

this is what i do with my male and female in a 2'X 4'X 2' cage. Every once in a while they are ok to be together. Most of the time my male will attack my female....well not attack...let's just say he's a breeding machine.

If dragons 'fight' too much this can lead to stress, illness, lack of eating, and unfortunatly death.

hopes this helps some!
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon

Ok, I'll try again to link to a picture. The photo is from when we had just made the set-up, it's since been modified so that there's two basking bulbs (one per each level) as well as a Mega-Ray combo UV/basking bulb which is focused on the skull. So except for the UV, they can spend time out of each other's sight. Interestingly, for those who may have dragons in smaller cages, they've chosen one corner to defecate in, and ONLY ever mess there. Makes clean-up really straightforward.

Thanks for the advice so far. I'm not so attached to them that I wouldn't consider letting one go to a good home, but who would want a 16" (that's the smaller of the two, and of course both are still growing) male dragon of "common" parentage? So that's the quandary I'm in...

Unfortunately everyone is right. There is no space large enough to keep two males safe and happy. Try dividing the cage or finding a good home for one of them
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Anerythristic Corn
0.0.1 Red Tegu
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

you may want to remove the dead cow in that cage...just kidding, nice decor. divide that cage in half.
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon