Can you keep two female bearded dragons in the same enclosure?

[luckylukey]

Would 2 female beardies around the same size and age be able to live together in a 6x2x2 or 6x2x3 enclosure? Some sites and people say no, others say it should be fine if you monitor them, make sure both get food, etc. I’m thinking they’d have at least 3 or 4 hides to pick from, different basking spots and I’d separate them for insect feedings if they fight over food or something like that.

So, yes or no? What do you guys think?

[Hugsplox]

I wouldn’t keep two together regardless of sex. Yea it’s true, a pair of males are more likely to fight over dominance, food, territory, etc, but females are also known to fight over the same things on occasion. You also have to worry about if they’re both getting enough heat and UVB, as the dominate female will probably take the best basking spot, leaving the other to get what it can get. Keeping them together just causes unneeded stress in my opinion, and considering bearded dragons do most of their growing the first year of their life, I think the risks are more than the rewards.

Now, if you’re dead set on keeping two together, keeping two females is way safer than two males, but still that doesn’t prevent any of the issues I mentioned above. End of the day, I wouldn’t recommend cohabitating.

[luckylukey]

I wouldn’t keep two together regardless of sex. Yea it’s true, a pair of males are more likely to fight over dominance, food, territory, etc, but females are also known to fight over the same things on occasion. You also have to worry about if they’re both getting enough heat and UVB, as the dominate female will probably take the best basking spot, leaving the other to get what it can get. Keeping them together just causes unneeded stress in my opinion, and considering bearded dragons do most of their growing the first year of their life, I think the risks are more than the rewards.

Now, if you’re dead set on keeping two together, keeping two females is way safer than two males, but still that doesn’t prevent any of the issues I mentioned above. End of the day, I wouldn’t recommend cohabitating.

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the reply!

One more thing, do you think 3x2x2 is large enough for one dragon? I'm considering splitting the enclosure into two to keep them more safely.

[Erie_herps]

I actually think it can be beneficial to house bearded dragons together. I don't know if two females can be safely cohabitated or if that's a large enough enclosure, but if you have enough hides and basking areas it can work well.

[Hugsplox]

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the reply!

One more thing, do you think 3x2x2 is large enough for one dragon? I'm considering splitting the enclosure into two to keep them more safely.

As long as you can maintain a good temprature gradient (they needed higher temps when they're little than when they're full grown) you should be okay, most people thought myself included will recommend a 4x2x2 for an adult, but losing a foot probably won't hurt. I kept all mine in 4x2x2 enclosures, and to be honest I never really felt like they made use of all the room. Obviously bigger is better, but I just didn't see them making use of it like I thought they would.

[Bogertophis]

I've only kept one bearded dragon- a young adult male rescue- but I think 3 x 2 x 2 is okay for young dragons, & too small for an adult. 2' height might be too much, also, because the UVB lights they require get less effective as the distance increases. Just a heads up...

I know that breeders or retailers often have the babies kept together but just so you know, some of them usually end up being unsalable (or dead) because some dragons will chew off the feet or tails of other dragons. I don't know what age that stops, but dragons are predators first, & buddies second.

One other thought: I seem to recall seeing photos of groups of beardies raised by the author* outside in a warm climate in HUGE enclosed areas (with bales of hay to bask on- if that gives you a sense of the space). I think the safety of co-habbing has a lot to do with how much space & cover they have, "much more" being highly preferred.

*May I recommend: General Care & Maintenance of Bearded Dragons, by Phillippe de Vosjoli & Robert Mailloux (You can buy this used for a couple bucks online)

There may be other, more recent, books out there too, that I'm not personally aware of (it's been years since I had the dragon), but doing more research never hurts. And I don't have my copy of this any longer, as I had no plans for another dragon & figured someone else needed this more than my bookshelf did.

[Hugsplox]

I've only kept one bearded dragon- a young adult male rescue- but I think 3 x 2 x 2 is okay for young dragons, & too small for an adult. 2' height might be too much, also, because the UVB lights they require get less effective as the distance increases. Just a heads up...

I know that breeders or retailers often have the babies kept together but just so you know, some of them usually end up being unsalable (or dead) because some dragons will chew off the feet or tails of other dragons. I don't know what age that stops, but dragons are predators first, & buddies second.

One other thought: I seem to recall seeing photos of groups of beardies raised by the author* outside in a warm climate in HUGE enclosed areas (with bales of hay to bask on- if that gives you a sense of the space). *May I recommend: General Care & Maintenance of Bearded Dragons, by Phillippe de Vosjoli & Robert Mailloux (You can buy this used for a couple bucks online)

There may be other, more recent, books out there too, that I'm not personally aware of (it's been years since I had the dragon), but doing more research never hurts. And I don't have my copy of this any longer, as I had no plans for another dragon & figured someone else needed this more than my bookshelf did.

I apologize for my short and typo filled response earlier, I was trying to get you some info before walking out the door. Just to piggy-back off what Boger said, she is correct (as if I need to say that ever lol) in her concern over the height of the enclosure and your method of providing UVB. For me, I used MVBs for heat and some UVB, but my main source was a tub UVB fixture that hung inside the enclosure. The good thing about the height is you can put together some great climbing opportunities for your dragon, but also means you’ll need a stronger UVB bulb to make sure your animals are getting what they need.

Remember that tube UVBs work better than coils, and that anything you put between the bulb and the animal reduces the amount of UVB that your dragons are getting. Meaning if you sit your light on top of a mesh lid, they’ll get less than if you hung the fixture inside the enclosure. As a disclaimer, I’m talking strictly about UVB fixtures, I prefer and it’s safter to put any heating elements outside the enclosure on top of a mesh lid, or at a minimum inside a fixture cage so your animal can’t burn itself on a hot bulb.

You do see a lot of breeders and a lot of stores keeping multiple hatchlings and very young dragons together, and you’ll see them laying on top of each other under basking lamps. This looks cute to us, but that’s them displaying dominance behaviors, stealing the heat and UVB from the dragons underneath them. That behavior never really stops, and only becomes more violent as they get bigger. As I said before, dragons do most of their growing the first year of their life, so you really don’t want two competing over anything, whether that be light, heat, food, or space.

[luckylukey]

I apologize for my short and typo filled response earlier, I was trying to get you some info before walking out the door. Just to piggy-back off what Boger said, she is correct (as if I need to say that ever lol) in her concern over the height of the enclosure and your method of providing UVB. For me, I used MVBs for heat and some UVB, but my main source was a tub UVB fixture that hung inside the enclosure. The good thing about the height is you can put together some great climbing opportunities for your dragon, but also means you’ll need a stronger UVB bulb to make sure your animals are getting what they need.

Remember that tube UVBs work better than coils, and that anything you put between the bulb and the animal reduces the amount of UVB that your dragons are getting. Meaning if you sit your light on top of a mesh lid, they’ll get less than if you hung the fixture inside the enclosure. As a disclaimer, I’m talking strictly about UVB fixtures, I prefer and it’s safter to put any heating elements outside the enclosure on top of a mesh lid, or at a minimum inside a fixture cage so your animal can’t burn itself on a hot bulb.

You do see a lot of breeders and a lot of stores keeping multiple hatchlings and very young dragons together, and you’ll see them laying on top of each other under basking lamps. This looks cute to us, but that’s them displaying dominance behaviors, stealing the heat and UVB from the dragons underneath them. That behavior never really stops, and only becomes more violent as they get bigger. As I said before, dragons do most of their growing the first year of their life, so you really don’t want two competing over anything, whether that be light, heat, food, or space.

My enclosure is pvc and made with a mesh panel at the back of the top of the enclosure. As for UVB I’m going to be using an Arcadia 14% T5 that’s about 3 or 4ft atop the mesh, hopefully that won’t be an issue. I’ll be adding as much climbing opportunity as I can for 2ft of height.

I’ve decided I’m just going to use the entire enclosure to house one beardie, less hassle and it just feels way safer that way. I was planning to keep one in the 6x2x2 at first when I purchased it but I live at home and my mom keeps hassling me about how she thinks it’s unnecessary to have all that space for one lizard and that it’s also too expensive for just one haha(even tho it’s not her space or money).

Guess I’m just going to have to show her a picture of a beardie eating it’s roommate or one that’s had it’s tail chewed off to make her understand that they don’t want buddies. It’s a sad reality, but yeah… don’t want to put my beardie in any danger.

Thanks(again) for all the info, I really do appreciate it!

[Bogertophis]

My enclosure is pvc and made with a mesh panel at the back of the top of the enclosure. As for UVB I’m going to be using an Arcadia 14% T5 that’s about 3 or 4ft atop the mesh, hopefully that won’t be an issue...

As far as I know, a UVB light that's 3-4' away from the dragon's body is way too far away to help (prevent MBD). Please think more about that. Or did you mean it's 3-4' long?

Also, I'd personally never use a PVC enclosure for a bearded dragon, because they need good air circulation & dry air. They carry lots of bacteria+ & with the warmth & any humidity, you might be inviting health problems. Also depends on how big your mesh panel is, but I'm being cautious.

[Hugsplox]

As far as I know, a UVB light that's 3-4' away from the dragon's body is way too far away to help (prevent MBD). Please think more about that. Or did you mean it's 3-4' long?

Also, I'd personally never use a PVC enclosure for a bearded dragon, because they need good air circulation & dry air. They carry lots of bacteria+ & with the warmth & any humidity, you might be inviting health problems. Also depends on how big your mesh panel is, but I'm being cautious.

T5s are I think right around 34 inches long, so length wise you'll be fine but I want to echo Boger's comment about the height. The further your bulb is the less UVB your animal gets. Now those T5s are great for dragons, and at 14% are super strong so you can adjuster the height as needed, but I think 3-4 feet is a little much.