Young Beardies Had a Fight

[Rincewind]

I have two beardies that are between 3 and 4 months old. They are housed together in one viv. They have been ok with each other but last night i saw one of them do an arm wave only for the other one to come up to her and bite her foot as she is waving. I was just horrified when i saw this as i thought she was going to bite her toe off as i have heard of this before. Luckily there was no damage done but now i am worrying that they will fight again and do some seriouse damage to each other!

They are both females (so i read/was told/thought they would be ok)

Will they be ok together and is there any thing i can do to try and stop them from fighting?

Any help would be great

Thanks

Joe

[kerri4776]

Sexing young bearded dragons (below 6-12 months of age) can be a little hard if you've not had much experience at sexing them. u might should seperate them. we kept 2 together and one got alot bigger than the other and we seperated them and u could tell that the smaleer one started growing more.

[NicoleRussell]

how long have they been togther? What is the cage setup like? Particularly basking points, lighting, temps and diet. Everyone has a different system and perhaps a change might help.
Basically though, I agree with Kerri--if you see agression or a big size difference developing you should seperate them.
There is always one more assertive lizard in a cage. One will usually even appear more robust---pecking orders develop. All this is normal. It becomes unhealthy when one animal ceases to thrive as a result of another animal. If you begin to note one not basking enough---being chased from the food dish--any type of serious violence like what you have witnessed---seperation is usually in order.

[NicoleRussell]

Well they have been together for about 2 weeks now. They have one basking spot but they can both bask there at the same time. Its 100F at the basking site. UV light runs the length of the cage.

HOW LARGE IS THE CAGE? wHEN TWO LIZARDS SHARE A CAGE THEY NEED TWO BASKING POINTS AT OPPPOSITE ENDS---AND TWO FEED BOWLS CLOSE TO THOSE POINTS. WHERE ARE YOU MEASURING TH ETEMPS? AT THE HIGHEST POINT? IF SO BUMP IT UP TO 120

i'm having trouble with the veg because they wont eat hardly any. All i have seen them eat is one small peice of dandelion each.

TRY COLLARD GREENS,SWISS CHARD, BOK CHOY, ETC
CUT THEM UP SO EACH PIECE WILL FIT IN THE DRAGONS MOUTH...
BABY DRAGONS SOMETIMES SHOW LITTLE INTEREST IN GREENS. KEEP TRYING.

There has been no fighting since, which is good. When it happened the one that bit licked the other ones foot like he was tasting it before he bit. Could have she done it because she was hungry??

IT'S HARD TO SAY---WERE THERE INSECTS IN THE CAGE WHEN THIS HAPPENED? dO YOU PUT THE INSECTS IN BOWLS OR DO THEY RUN FREE?

I have not got the room to put another beardie viv in the house. I only got two as i was told/thought/read that they could happily be housed together. If it comes to them being separated then i will have to sell one of them i think.

WHEN YOU GET TWO + LIZARDS THERE IS ALWAYS A CHANCE THEY WILL NOT GET ALONG---I HAVE SEEN IT MANY TIMES AND FOR NO APPARENT REASON. YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO SEPERATE THEM OR JUST GET ONE.
FOR NOW--SINCE YOU CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER CAGE--EACH ANIMAL NEEDS A "SPOT" TO CALL THEIR OWN WITHIN THE ONE YOU HAVE. TWO BASKING POINTS--ONE AT EACH END---ONE NO HIGHER THEN THE OTHER SHOULD HELP. WHAT TYPE OF UVB BULB ARE YOU USING?

	Ultra Violet Radiation B Ultra Violet Radiation B

[Ed_r]

Would definately seperate them. While they can be social animals, each animal has its own personality and may not play well with others.

[JuliusSqueezer]

This is why every dragon rescue I have ever been to has a multitude of 3 legged dragons, tailless dragons etc. Unless they are actively breeding, they really shouldn't be housed together. Sure there are some that get along as best as we can tell...but the risk outweighs the advantange.

[Rincewind]

Thanks Nicole for your help i am going to go out and get another viv and put it in my bedroom. I thought about selling one but i just can't bring my self to do it i just love them both way tooo much lol. Thanks again Nicole. Also thanks to Ed_r and Kerri

Juliussqueezer i don't think there was any need to speak down to me. I came here for advice not to be told that the way I'm keeping my beardies is to blame for "multitude of 3 legged dragons, tailless dragons etc." I housed them the way i did because i was told that i could, I went out before i got them and bought a book on beardies and i read that i could house them together with no problems. It is not my fault therefore that I got it wrong. If people are doing things wrong tell them how to put it right.

[NicoleRussell]

Jules may sound harsh but he always means well--he is always taking in rescues therefore he sees the dark side to everyone's husbandry. Sometime's it's hard to see things like this constantly and not get a little miffed. What he is saying is basically the correct advice. The thing is if you attempt to house two lizards of any species together the best thing to do it follow the dual basking site rule first---then if any problems arise seperate immediately. If they are aggressive even with their own little corner of the world then basically bad things will most likely occur when you are not home or are not observing.
Since you had one site in one cage and expressed you had no choice but to house them together I tried to give you options regarding this setup.
Usually with lizards you have to observe them initially---each day and check for behavioral problems that may point to seperation. Especially with beardies. It seems they either get along very well or they do some pretty serious damage if they don't...and some people don't see the signs until that damage has occurred. Then they might end up with people like jules because they can't be placed
Good luck and keep us posted!

[Rincewind]

I see what your saying Nicole but I don't think there is any need to be annoyed at me as I have come here for help and am willing to do all I can to make them comfortable. The people to be miffed at are the ones that can't be bothered to get help and just let there animals suffer.

Joe