new bd darkens its color?

[raydeon]

hi i just purchased two 3-4 months old bd from dachiu and they are currently in a 55 gallon tank with all the needed lightings, heats, roaches.

the female appears to be normal color, eating a lot. the male, however, darkens its color all the time except for when bathing in warm water. and ive noticed that hes not eating as much as the female does.（maybe only 1/3 of how much the female does）.

hes shedding on its tail if this infomation helps.

is he normal? thank you!

 

[Augie]

Color changing is usually one of two things: body temperature regulation or stress.

Body temperature - mine darkens her skin when I turn her light off for the night. It's just natural.

Stress - I would guess this is the case in your situation for two reasons: they are less than 2 weeks in a new environment and you have them housed together. When they are young this is usually ok, but as they get older one will dominate the other, taking the best basking spot, eating more or all of the food, and of course attacking and potentially harming the other. You should consider moving them into different enclosures.

Other more experienced owners and those that have multiple dragons may want to chime in, but that would be my recommendation.

 

[raydeon]

they should be around the same age as the seller claimed. they are female and male so i dont think there should be any territorial agression?

will the shedding stresses him out? oh, he seems pretty agile when chasing roaches.

 

[Augie]

http://reptilefacts.tumblr.com/post/82462304005/bearded-dragons-and-cohabitation

Please read that article. I have to warn you tho: while they're isn't any blood in the photos, there are pics of dragons with missing limbs so it's a little graphic. Unfortunately it's also true. We have to keep in mind that while we love these animals, they are not domesticated and rely heavily on their instincts, which isn't a 100% bad thing.

 

[raydeon]

thx for the infomation.

one extra info i want to provide : they are basking side by side, and sometimes female on the top other times male on the time. meaning they are getting along pretty well, no?

thx again

 

[Augie]

No. That is a sign of dominance and can make the dragon on the bottom sick. The link I provided explains that. I'd recommend reading it.

 

[raydeon]

ya im reading the article. but like i said, i dont think one is dominating the other because they always switch position as in one is not always on the top of they other?

thx

 

[raydeon]

ok the article kinda scared me a bit. the seller should have warned me ...