Waving

[Tlynnjohnson]

Hello everyone! Yesterday I adopted a second bearded dragon (Syrax), likely a juvenile around 2 months old or so. I already had a bearded dragon that I adopted back in August (Saphira) who is likely now 6 months old or so. They are in separate enclosures across the room from eachother. Their terrariums face eachother so they have a lot of visibility and I’ve noticed today they are both arm waving quite a bit. Saphira has never exhibited this behavior at all, from what I recall she may have done it once right after I adopted her but otherwise I’ve never seen her do it. I know that of course transitioning to a new terrarium is always stressful, and likely having another dragon within view might cause some stress as well but do you think that they are both waving as a form of just recognizing each others presence or is this something I should be concerned about? Also I should note that from what I can tell they both seem to be females, but I’m not 100% sure. Saphira has always had great temperament, she enjoys being held and often sleeps on me at night. I held Syrax for a bit in the store and her temperament also seems very calm and sweet. Thanks for any advice!

 

[Sadie]

Hello everyone! Yesterday I adopted a second bearded dragon (Syrax), likely a juvenile around 2 months old or so. I already had a bearded dragon that I adopted back in August (Saphira) who is likely now 6 months old or so. They are in separate enclosures across the room from eachother. Their terrariums face eachother so they have a lot of visibility and I’ve noticed today they are both arm waving quite a bit. Saphira has never exhibited this behavior at all, from what I recall she may have done it once right after I adopted her but otherwise I’ve never seen her do it. I know that of course transitioning to a new terrarium is always stressful, and likely having another dragon within view might cause some stress as well but do you think that they are both waving as a form of just recognizing each others presence or is this something I should be concerned about? Also I should note that from what I can tell they both seem to be females, but I’m not 100% sure. Saphira has always had great temperament, she enjoys being held and often sleeps on me at night. I held Syrax for a bit in the store and her temperament also seems very calm and sweet. Thanks for any advice!

Arm waving is a sign of mating ritual - it means a sign of submission - please do not put them together and the 2 month old is a baby still and wont become a juvenile till around 5-6 months old - they should not be able to see each other - as they get older it will stress them out more -- I recommend you get the tanks so they cannot see each other - since we dont know the true sex and wont be able to till they are at least 6 months old keep them apart- males will fight till one is dead - female / male the male will want to breed and two females they may or may not fight but they should never be kept together - they are a dominant animal -- for the ones set up I see only a dome on top of the tank -- please get a long tube fixture like the others - that long tube fixtures placement is determined by the screen on the tank - if its a fine mesh like a screen door it needs to be unobstructed- screens block 30% of the UVB rays - if the screen is a wide hole type in can stay there but they require certain distance also determined by placement - also I only see stick ons for temp gauges -- that is giving air temp ONLY please get 2 digital probe thermometers for each tank - you want surface basking temps of 105-110 for the baby and for the 6 month old I would get temps around 95-100 as they get older they do not like real hot temps- please get the UVB fixture as soon as you can if your using a coil they are NO good and will cause all kinds of health issues - MBD being one of them - if you need more help please ask - but we need to get the one UVB fixture properly placed for the tank this is crucial to the dragons health

 

[Tlynnjohnson]

Arm waving is a sign of mating ritual - it means a sign of submission - please do not put them together and the 2 month old is a baby still and wont become a juvenile till around 5-6 months old - they should not be able to see each other - as they get older it will stress them out more -- I recommend you get the tanks so they cannot see each other - since we dont know the true sex and wont be able to till they are at least 6 months old keep them apart- males will fight till one is dead - female / male the male will want to breed and two females they may or may not fight but they should never be kept together - they are a dominant animal -- for the ones set up I see only a dome on top of the tank -- please get a long tube fixture like the others - that long tube fixtures placement is determined by the screen on the tank - if its a fine mesh like a screen door it needs to be unobstructed- screens block 30% of the UVB rays - if the screen is a wide hole type in can stay there but they require certain distance also determined by placement - also I only see stick ons for temp gauges -- that is giving air temp ONLY please get 2 digital probe thermometers for each tank - you want surface basking temps of 105-110 for the baby and for the 6 month old I would get temps around 95-100 as they get older they do not like real hot temps- please get the UVB fixture as soon as you can if your using a coil they are NO good and will cause all kinds of health issues - MBD being one of them - if you need more help please ask - but we need to get the one UVB fixture properly placed for the tank this is crucial to the dragons health

Hi - thank you for responding. I’ve done a lot of research and am aware that two males should never be kept together, a male and a female may likely breed, and 2 females usually won’t have any problems but if deciding to house them together need adequate terrarium size and to be monitored very closely. All of those reasons, and also the fact that I want to ensure my new baby is healthy and comfortable are the reasons that I’ve housed them separately for the time being. Also, with regard to the lighting concerns I realized the picture may not do justice to the setup that I have. I do have full length tube UVB (Arcadia) for both of their terrariums. The basking lights/ and ceramic heat emitter provide perfect temps as I do have a digital probe thermometer that I utilize to monitor that regularly. I certainly appreciate all the concern, but by all other accounts my babies are healthy, eating and pooping regularly and are very active!

 

[Sadie]

Hi - thank you for responding. I’ve done a lot of research and am aware that two males should never be kept together, a male and a female may likely breed, and 2 females usually won’t have any problems but if deciding to house them together need adequate terrarium size and to be monitored very closely. All of those reasons, and also the fact that I want to ensure my new baby is healthy and comfortable are the reasons that I’ve housed them separately for the time being. Also, with regard to the lighting concerns I realized the picture may not do justice to the setup that I have. I do have full length tube UVB (Arcadia) for both of their terrariums. The basking lights/ and ceramic heat emitter provide perfect temps as I do have a digital probe thermometer that I utilize to monitor that regularly. I certainly appreciate all the concern, but by all other accounts my babies are healthy, eating and pooping regularly and are very active!

Good to hear --- the UVB sitting on the fine mesh needs to be unobstructed- that screen is blocking 30% of the rays - w/ NO screen / or bulb exposed distance should be 12-15 inches directly above a piece of basking decor- the other tank w/ the wide hole type can sit on top - the screen looks thick so leaving it on top I would watch closely for signs of illness or behavior changes - distance should be 8-10 inches w/ a piece of decor directly under it--