Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So after much searching i'm still left with the big question, Do i keep our new beardie alone or is it possible (with a big enough enclosure) to keep several beardies together?

From what i know of animal nature and other herps i assume multiple females is probably no problem, and mixing sexes obviously isn't a problem providing you're prepared for breeding. I also would assume that multiple males might not be a good idea or is it fine once they sort out the heirarchy and have lots of basking spots and space???

We would love to have a small colony but have no desire at this point to breed. We picked up a beautiful little baby male and he'll be well cared for and have as much space as he'll ever need throughout his life, would it be a bad idea to get him another male or a couple of females to interact with?

I thought i read of people doing this with no problem, that being so social they might enjoy it but i really can't find much info one way or the other...

Thoughts??

From what i know of animal nature and other herps i assume multiple females is probably no problem, and mixing sexes obviously isn't a problem providing you're prepared for breeding.

Miss sexing is an extreme problem. Breeding at too small of a size can kill a female. Also, Dragons can grow at different rates. If you get a pair of hatchlings, the dominant one will grow much faster and bully the smaller resulting in unneeded stress.

I thought i read of people doing this with no problem, that being so social they might enjoy it but i really can't find much info one way or the other...

Reptiles in general are not social creatures. This also includes Beardies. In the wild, the only contact that dragons will usually have is during breeding season. Males will combat for females and breed. They then go their separate ways.

The notion that they "enjoy" company is an owner's inaccurate preseption of common behavior or the reptile not having much of a choice.

In some cases, two female Dragons can be housed together if their living conditions are above and beyond ideal. This is strictly recommended for Dragons who are confirmed female, and of the same size. Be sure if housing more then one Beardie you provide multiple basking sites. As far as size of enclosure; you should provide double the size a single adult Beardie needs. I would suggest a 4' x 6' - this provides the pair to have their own space.

As long as their is no obvious aggression, it is completely ok to allow both of your pet dragons out for upervised “playtime.” At the first site of conflict, immediately separate the two to their respective enclosures.

Interesting, i'd always sort of heard of beardies being put forward as a "social" sort of herp, or one that people could keep in a colony type setting.

I have many years of experience with many different herps, just new to the beardie thing. The GF finally broke me down and honestly i couldn't be happier though, he's a cute and quite interesting little bugger. Over the years i'd always sort of had the incorrect thought of them as "beginners pets" which of course really isn't true for any herps imo, they all have their own unique charm and needs.

So basically beardies socially are pretty much just like most other herps and just kept solo or paired up if of the proper size and age to breed? At least as far as males go anyways. I see many pictures of multiples in enclosures but i suppose it's mainly a one male situation?

I guess i was hoping it might be possible to confidently and peacefully keep more than one male once they've sorted out a heirarchy.

I have heard ( on this site) of people having kept more than one together for years with no problems, but it didnt last, one would injure the other...even one persons whose one beardie cam up missing and was afraid the other ate it....luckily it just escaped and was found later...I have two and was even advised to keep them out of sight of eachother until the little one was bigger and well settled in...because of possible stress...
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