Will A Male Bearded Dragon Kill A Female? [Expert’s Opinion]
As we are social animals, we often think keeping two pets together will make them happy. Whenever we see only one pet, we immediately come to the conclusion that it is suffering from loneliness. The same goes for bearded dragons. Many new bearded dragon owners often think if they can keep both a male and female bearded dragon together. Is it really possible? Can a male and female bearded dragons live together?
A male bearded dragon will most probably kill a female bearded dragon. According to many owners, there are horrible stories of male bearded dragons hurting the female ones, in worst case, killing her. Bearded dragons tend to be very dominant and solitary animals, that’s why they prefer to live alone.
Why bearded dragons can’t live with each other? There are many reasons behind that. In the rest of the article, I’ll explain each of these reasons in detail along with some other frequently asked questions. So, keep on reading.
Experts Share Opinion
I wanted to know what experts think of keeping male and female bearded dragons together. So, I posted on a famous bearded dragon Facebook group regarding if bearded dragons can live together. Fortunately, the admins of the group gave me a precise answer.
Here’s the response I got:
As you can see, the admins clearly forbade keeping a male and female bearded dragon together. The reason being: bearded dragons are very dominant, especially the male ones. One bearded dragon can’t stand the other in a small enclosure.
Why Male & Female Bearded Dragons Fight?
There are many reasons behind the fight between two bearded dragons. In this section, I’ll discuss some of the most prominent reasons. Hopefully, the explanations will shed clear light on why bearded dragons shouldn’t live together.
Males Are More Dominant Than Females
Male bearded dragons tend to be much more dominant and aggressive than their female counterparts. This is one of the most prominent reasons why male and female beardies fight.
As male bearded dragons are very dominant, they don’t want any other competitor inside their territory. As a result, when you keep both male and female or two bearded dragons in a small enclosure, they both see each other as an intruder in their space.
Consequently, fighting breaks out to see who is the winner. That’s why it is never recommended to keep two bearded dragons together.
The Male Beardie Can Bully The Female
As I have already said male bearded dragons are much more dominant than the females, you can easily guess that the male will constantly harass the female. It’s just like your high school all over again. The big boys always bullied the little ones, right? The same happens if you keep a male and a female bearded dragon inside the same enclosure.
There is a difference between bullying and fighting. When fighting, the male will try to kill or seriously hurt the female bearded dragon. However, when bullying, the male will constantly harass the female bearded dragon by biting at its tail, trying to rise upon her, or trying to mate with her without her consent.
Eventually, bullying can lead to a serious fight between the male and the female bearded dragon.
Competition For Food
Bearded dragons are originally from the Australian desert. In the desert, there is a very shortage of food. So, the animals have to be very competitive about their food. The same happens for bearded dragons.
Though the captive bearded dragons are in no way related to the wild ones from Australia, they are still very competitive about food.
So, if there are two bearded dragons inside a single enclosure, they will most likely fight over the food. If there is only one feeding bowl, then the chances of fighting will rise even higher. This is just their natural instinct, you can’t do anything about it.
Competition To Access Basking Area
As bearded dragons are competitive about their food, they are also very competitive about the basking place. If there is only one suitable basking place in the enclosure, then both bearded dragons can fight each other to bask. All of these behavior boils down to their highly territorial nature.
Is There Any Way To Keep Multiple Bearded Dragons Together?
It is always discouraged to keep more than one bearded dragon in a single enclosure. Serious accidents can happen if you keep two males or one male and a female beardie in a single habitat. However, if you seriously need to keep two bearded dragons in a single enclosure, you can provided that you follow some rules.
Before explaining the rules, let me clear that I am not in any way encouraging you or giving you permission to keep multiple bearded dragons together. This is just if you need to keep 2 bearded dragons temporarily in a single enclosure. This will not work permanently. You must find a way to keep both of the bearded dragons in separate enclosure eventually. Also, even if you follow all these rules, there are no guarantee that your bearded dragons will not fight. So, proceed with your own discretion.
- Ensure the enclosure is enough spacious for two bearded dragons. I’ve already said multiple times that bearded dragons are very territorial. So, if you keep multiple bearded dragons in a small habitat, no one can prevent their fighting. So, make sure the habitat is enough spacious for both of the bearded dragon.
- Make sure there are at least two feeding bowls and basking spots in the enclosure. It will ensure the beardies won’t fight each other over food or basking place.
- Keep enough hiding places inside the enclosure. So, even if one bearded dragon tries to be dominant over the other, the submissive one can hide from the attacks.
Why Does My Male Bearded Dragon Attack My Female?
Male bearded dragons attack female bearded dragons because they are very dominant and territorial. As male bearded dragons are territorial by nature, they try to fight any other bearded dragon in their enclosure. Also, the male may try to mate with the female without any consent, which can eventually lead to fighting.
Will A Male & Female Bearded Dragon Fight?
A male and female bearded dragon will most likely fight as they are very territorial and dominant. They can fight over territory, food, or basking place.
Will A Male Bearded Dragon Eat The Female’s Eggs?
In wild, a male bearded dragon can eat the female’s eggs if there is a shortage of food. Even the female can eat her infertile eggs when food gets too scarce. From eating the infertile eggs, the female gets some of her energy back to survive another day.
Final Words
So, there you have it. A male bearded dragon will most likely kill a female one if they are kept together in a single enclosure. The main reason behind this is the dominant nature of the bearded dragon. There is nothing you can do about it.
You might think that your bearded dragon is getting lonely inside the enclosure. But that’s not the case because beardies are solitary animals and they like to be alone. So, there is no need for you to keep both male and female bearded dragon in a single enclosure.
About Author
Hello, I’m Muntaseer Rahman, the owner of AcuarioPets.com. I’m passionate about aquarium pets like shrimps, snails, crabs, and crayfish. I’ve created this website to share my expertise and help you provide better care for these amazing pets.
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