How To Introduce Two Bearded Dragons? - Tempers, Tantrums

Bearded dragons are great to own as pets, but there’s a thing or two which you should know on how to introduce two bearded dragons to one another. This is never going to be an easy thing to do and will take its time to do successfully. If these factors are met correctly, bearded dragon can be introduced and live happily and healthily. However, it’s not always the best option for your pet. It’s never guaranteed the two dragons will mix.

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Table of Contents

There are 5 main factors that you will need to take into consideration before introducing two bearded dragon to one another, these are; Temperament, Habitat, Size, Sex, Age.

Temperament

Both the bearded dragons must not be aggressive by nature. When introducing two bearded dragons, you’ll need to be 100% sure they are both relatively relaxed by nature. Bearded dragons will commonly create a hierarchy naturally, so unless you can avoid this happening, one of your bearded dragons will always become the more dominant one.

The trouble starts here that the more dominant one will always have the first picking for food. Commonly you may see the dominant one will feed first and won’t let the other feed until after it has finished. Sometimes they will even fight which causes a lot of stress for the loosing party. Stress is one of the main reasons why bearded dragons stop eating, so never want this situation to arise.

Habitat

As a rough guide, each bearded dragon needs between 40-55 gallons of space to itself. This is the absolute minimum you should offer your two dragons. Even at this size it can still feel very limited for your dragons.

For two adult bearded dragons you will ideally need an enclosure sized at least 125 gallons. Baby bearded dragons can be housed in smaller enclosures to start off with, but these will need to be upgraded as they grow in size.

Bearded dragons love somewhere to hide. They also like hides as a space to chill out, uninterrupted. Having enough hides inside the enclosure will be crucial to their happiness. They will need their own space where they can avoid each other if they need too.

As well as this they will also need a separate basking spot each, so they are not competing for one spot. One way bearded dragons like to show authority is by climbing on top of each other. Although this may look cute and playful, it’s actually a sign of dominance. To eradicate this behaviour you will need to incorporate the two basking spot on varying levels.

Finally you will need to allow for two separate feeding areas, one for each dragon. Bearded dragons will rarely share food, so two dragons eating from the same spot doesn’t commonly happen. Food is a one of the main reasons for aggression for pet bearded dragons, closely followed by territory.

Size

Since bearded dragons are territorial and can become aggressive towards each other, you want them to be a similar size when introducing them to one another. Putting a smaller bearded dragon in with a bigger bearded dragon may put the smaller one at risk of abuse. The bigger more powerful one will assert its dominance over the other and may even cause it to stop eating, become injured, or sometimes even kill the smaller dragon.

You will need to closely monitor both their behaviours towards each other. This will need to be every hour for at least 5-10 minutes. If you see any signs of aggression between the two, they will need to be separated immediately.

Sex

Knowing the gender of your bearded dragon will be crucial. Getting this mix wrong could result in two bearded dragons becoming introduced to each other when they shouldn’t.

Males should not be housed or even introduced to each other. Males naturally have aggressive temperaments and will always fight. It’s their instinct to try over throw one another for territory, food and females. There’s not much which males won’t fight over, so it’s best to keep these away from each other.

Females on the other hand are much more relaxed and for the most part will actually cohabit very well. Females will sometimes become aggressive towards each other but are much less competitive than males are.

In the wild there may be several female bearded dragons for every male dragon. Similar to lions, there will only ever be one male in the family. Any more than this and they will fight for the top position in their hierarchy. Males commonly won’t stop until their opponent is killed and can no longer cause a threat.

Age

The age of the two bearded dragons will play a huge part in their ability to live together. With age, comes size. You should never, under any circumstances house a baby bearded dragon with an adult. Older bearded dragons will undoubtably bully the smaller, younger dragon, takes its food from them and can sometimes even see them as food themselves.

An attack with two different aged bearded dragons is almost inevitable. Whether or not the attacks will be life threatening, you can almost guarantee it will lead to slower growth through lack of eating and stress.

One Final Factor……

There is actually a 6th factor you will need to consider and monitor when answering “how to introduce two bearded dragons” which is Diseases and Illnesses.

Diseases can spread through reptiles very quickly and can causes serious health issues for all parties. It’s important that you never introduce new bearded dragons too existing pets straight away. You will need to quarantine them for the first few weeks to make sure they have healthy with no diseases and illnesses.

Introducing Two Bearded Dragons After These Factors Have Been Considered

First of all, you should allow some time for your two bearded dragons to get to know each other. You don’t want to put them into the same enclosure straight away, so introduce them to one another slowly.

You can achieve this by introducing them to each other in a separate environment For example, a play pen. Having a separate play pen will ensure that there is no territory being defended. Both dragons will be a little confused to start off with, but over time will become more relaxed.

Introducing them at a young age will also help them to get along better. At a young age they will not be strong enough to seriously hurt one another, and are more likely to cohabit well as a result. Growing at different rates will also mean not one will become the more dominant.

After some time doing this, and you feel they are getting along well, you can then introduce them into the same enclosure. You will need to completely change the interior of the enclosure so neither dragon will be defensive over territory.

Monitoring them closely over the next few weeks will ensure both their safety. If you see any signs of aggression, you will have to remove one and place them back into their own enclosure.

Conclusion

We hope this has cleared up some confusion on “How to introduce two bearded dragons”. We know this can be a stressful task for both human and reptile. But once they’re inhabited together and getting along fine, you should have no fear in their safety from this pint forward.

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