2 Juvenile Dragons

[onlinemads]

Hello!

I recently purchased 2 bearded dragons from the pet store. I have always wanted one and planned on getting one when my boyfriend and I move out in a couple of weeks, and we had tickets to attend a reptile expo where I was hoping to find a white morph. But then we went to the pet store to pick up a few things for our geckos and I saw their bearded dragons were 50% off. I knew it was impulsive but they were so precious and I thought I would be able to save quite a bit of money because reptiles at expos are generally pretty expensive. There were only 2 juveniles in the tank (which the animal lover in me could not handle separating) and my boyfriend mentioned that he would purchase the other one and we could keep them together.

But I'm worried...the other day I noticed one of them had a cut on their tail, and I realized I didn't even think to check out if they had any marks on them so I have no clue if this was from while they were still at the pet store. I was nervous maybe one of them was aggressive with the other and even though I have never seen any bad behavior from either of them, I can't stop thinking about it.

So I am wondering, have people had positive experiences with keeping 2 bearded dragons together? Or even keeping 2 males together? I am unsure of their sexes yet (but I have think one is male and one is female, but i am scared just in case they both end up male), and right now they are hanging out in a 25 gallon tank until we move and i would like to build them their own tank by re purposing an old entertainment center I have. They genuinely seem fine together, and I was hoping that because they have been housed together previously and will grow up together it will be okay but I would hate myself forever if something bad happened to one of them.

I uploaded a picture of them where they look fine, they lay on top of each other all the time which I hope is a good sign. They wave to each other a lot and I have never seen and head bobbing but I am sure because they are just little ones there is no real aggression yet, compared to adults.

Any stories or advice would be super appreciated!!

 

[SwaysMommy01]

I don’t have much experience on bearded dragons I just purchased my first one not too long ago but after months of research on them 1 thing that certainly stuck out 2 males can’t be housed together if your not sure of the sexes I would separate them till you do. Females on the other hand can be housed in the same enclosure. Also how long does the one dragon lay on the other dragon just make sure that the dragon on top isn’t preventing the other one from eating keep an eye on that.. I hope someone with more experience answers your questions on here that has more experience than I do.

 

[JumpinJellyfish]

If you're able to house them in separate tanks, that's your best bet regardless of their sexes. If you're new to keeping them, you certainly don't need them mating/breeding. But even two females would be best in their own enclosures.

 

[onlinemads]

So after I posted this I had lots of issues. As I have never had bearded dragons before I am learning as I go, and I didn't see any issues until I educated myself more. One of them was dark all the time and where I thought this was just how he looked, I realized this was because he was hella stressed. Then one day, I saw the one who was dark all the time flare up and open his mouth and they wrestled for a second. I separated them and returned him to the tank a little later and just knew this wasn't going to work out. I was more than devastated, the other one had a stuck shed resulting from the cut he had and I knew I just needed to take him back. So after a good 8 hours of sobbing I finally made it to the store to take him back where I learned that he was going to be taken to the vet (the same office that my family uses for their dogs) for the stuck shed and then he would go up for adoption. I didn't have the space to separate them right now but I am moving out in a few weeks so my boyfriend and I decided that if we was still there for adoption after we moved and were settled, we would go back and get him. I was so so so upset at first but I see such a difference in the other dragon that i kept at home, he lightened up a lot. I took him to the vet for a general check up yesterday and the vet actually told me that plenty of people keep males together and it works out just fine. Especially ones that grew up together as babies, but there are the few unlucky ones that really just prefer to be kept alone. The vet tech actually told me that his family had many bearded dragons while he was growing up and any issues they saw in keeping males together ended in them separating them for a few weeks and then reintroducing them again and it was completely fine.

Long story short, dont be impulsive and buy two if you dont have the space to separate them.

Now I am struggling because I believe my boy is struggling with impaction. I swear I am feeling like I can do nothing right. Part of me is regretting getting them at all because I feel like all i have done is torture them.

 

[JumpinJellyfish]

Awww, but you should be proud of trying to do right by them. Can you explain more about the suspected impaction? What substrate do you use, what are your tank temps, what brand/type of UVB, and what is the beardie eating? Maybe we can suggest some adjustments or remedies based on that info. :0)

 

[onlinemads]

Awww, but you should be proud of trying to do right by them. Can you explain more about the suspected impaction? What substrate do you use, what are your tank temps, what brand/type of UVB, and what is the beardie eating? Maybe we can suggest some adjustments or remedies based on that info. :0)

I think he passed mostly everything today. The vet told me I could feed him meal worms so I did, about 15-20 and it was the biggest mistake I ever made. I noticed he hadn’t gone to the bathroom in a day or so and then he had those meal worms, when I got home last night he was bloated and when I woke up this morning and he was double bloated. I soaked him and then gave him olive oil before work, when I came home he had gone poop and I soaked him again with the olive oil. About an hour after that he pooped just tons of chunks of meal worms and then an hour and a half after that he went poo again. I think we are nearing the end of getting everything out of his system hopefully.


He is in a 25 gallon

Cool side is 80-85 degrees
Warm side is 95-100 degrees

I have a UVB strip and a could bulb

He isn’t into veggies yet but I keep offering them. He eats about 15 crickets a day.

 

[SwaysMommy01]

I hope he feels better and hope everything works out !!. I was told never to feed meal worms cause their very hard to digest I feed my bearded dragon who is 8’ only small light brown crickets and small Dubia roaches the breeder I got mine from said don’t feed him mealworms if I’m going to feed him worms I haven’t tried them with him yet she said very small hornworms or very small silkworms.

 

[SwaysMommy01]

My guy is finicky with veggies too I feed him kale and he likes collard greens .. try collard greens with shredded carrot or soft squash.

 

[JumpinJellyfish]

Agreed. Keep offering the greens and veggies, and try different combinations/textures. Some like the squash shredded, some like it cut up small - experiment a bit. You can always feed the uneaten salad at the end of the day to any feeder roaches or crickets you have.
Whew! Sounds like he's clearing out the mealworms, thank goodness! You can try roaches snd crickets, as mentioned (sized no bigger than the space between hus eyes), and BSFL are also an excellent staple feeder. Silkworms are very good, and hornworms are a great treat and they provide bonus hydration. Just be aware they grow *fast*. That little 1 inch worm is 4 inches in no time.
Your temps sound good - watch the cool side - you don't want it any higher, and that smallish sized tank can easily overheat.
Your baby will appreciate the efforts you're making. Good luck!