# Female Bearded Dragon - Help! (Pic included)



## Spammy (Dec 22, 2010)

Hey guys,

My female bearded dragon of just over 1 years old was driving me nuts for a week solid, glass dancing. So I decided to buy am adult male beardie and at first it stopped all the glass dancing and she calmed down. Great!

But today, a few days after introducing them - she's really lethargic and sloppy with her head down.
I did notice them mating and the male beardie bobbing his head since he's been in there. Now my female is bobbing her head really slowly.

Please advise anyone - worried about her, she's normally lively and doesn't take any crap and I don't like seeing her like this.

Thanks

Ian

Izzy(female) on left
Eddy (male) on right


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## Spammy (Dec 22, 2010)

** he is now biting her arm!


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## Jess2308 (May 12, 2009)

Spammy said:


> ** he is now biting her arm!


Ummm... Take him out??? 

Clearly he is stressing her. Did you quarentine him before introducing them?


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## Spammy (Dec 22, 2010)

Jess2308 said:


> Ummm... Take him out???
> 
> Clearly he is stressing her. Did you quarentine him before introducing them?


Quarantine? Nope, what does that consist of?

Should I take him back to the pet store - or should I see how they get on for a couple days more?


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## Jess2308 (May 12, 2009)

Spammy said:


> Quarantine? Nope, what does that consist of?
> 
> Should I take him back to the pet store - or should I see how they get on for a couple days more?


You should always keep new animals quarentined (in a seperate viv for your beadie) for a week or two to make sure it has no diseases. The new one could well have introduced a disease or parasite to your female. I woud return the male and take your female to the vet.


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## Spammy (Dec 22, 2010)

Jess2308 said:


> You should always keep new animals quarentined (in a seperate viv for your beadie) for a week or two to make sure it has no diseases. The new one could well have introduced a disease or parasite to your female. I woud return the male and take your female to the vet.


he would of been quarantined in the reptile shop wouldn't he as he was alone - if she was to catch something, then she would?


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## Jess2308 (May 12, 2009)

Spammy said:


> he would of been quarantined in the reptile shop wouldn't he as he was alone - if she was to catch something, then she would?


If he came from a pet shop its highly unlikely he has been in any kind of quarentine. You should ALWAYS quarentine new animals as a matter of course.


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## jennifer88 (Dec 18, 2010)

Quarantine should actually be for 3 months, this gives any diseases or parasites enough time to show themselves. You have been extremely irresponsible by doing this. Why on earth did you think it was a good idea buying a male to go with her? 
Males and females should only be put together to mate and then separated the rest of the time. Males can pester the females to mate constantly and this will put a huge strain on the female. That's if they don't just attack each other that is.
Beardies do not need company at all. They are solitary.
He is attacking her, her health is obviously suffering and she is not happy. So do what should be obviously the right thing, and take him out asap. Before one of them ends up seriously hurt or worse.


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## morsel (Dec 22, 2010)

Quarantine or not, a male is likely to cause more stress. Maybe even to the point of killing her. If she was constantly at the glass, even before the male was introduced then you ought to describe your set up. Temperature gradient, basking temperature, UV light, thermostat etc. This might begin to help look for solutions.


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## morsel (Dec 22, 2010)

jennifer88 said:


> Quarantine should actually be for 3 months, this gives any diseases or parasites enough time to show themselves. You have been extremely irresponsible by doing this. Why on earth did you think it was a good idea buying a male to go with her?
> Males and females should only be put together to mate and then separated the rest of the time. Males can pester the females to mate constantly and this will put a huge strain on the female. That's if they don't just attack each other that is.
> Beardies do not need company at all. They are solitary.
> He is attacking her, her health is obviously suffering and she is not happy. So do what should be obviously the right thing, and take him out asap. Before one of them ends up seriously hurt or worse.


Beardies are social animals.


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## Spammy (Dec 22, 2010)

morsel said:


> Quarantine or not, a male is likely to cause more stress. Maybe even to the point of killing her. If she was constantly at the glass, even before the male was introduced then you ought to describe your set up. Temperature gradient, basking temperature, UV light, thermostat etc. This might begin to help look for solutions.


I took her to the vet and she perked up and the vet said she looks great.

The reason for the glass dancing was because she is coming into season and looking for someone to mate with.

She hasn't got any signs of parasite or whatever you lot were going on about.

Overall he said to keep a good eye on them both, as she is giving as good as she gets.

Thanks for your comments guys anyway.


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## Spammy (Dec 22, 2010)




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## jennifer88 (Dec 18, 2010)

morsel said:


> Beardies are social animals.


Where on earth did you get that information from? Beardies are naturally solitary. In the wild they only come together to mate or fight over territory.

Two females can co habit but there is always the risk that they will fight.

What makes you think they are social?

To the OP, are you ready for the hundreds of eggs you are going to end up with? The market is flooded with normal morph beardies and people are having a hard time giving them away let alone selling them.
Are you also ready for your female to become stressed, over bred and possibly die?

Also from the picture it looks as if one of them has an overshot bottom jaw. This is a sign of MBD, you should have it checked out. If that is the female then that is yet another reason to separate and not let her breed.


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## Spammy (Dec 22, 2010)

jennifer88 said:


> Where on earth did you get that information from? Beardies are naturally solitary. In the wild they only come together to mate or fight over territory.
> 
> Two females can co habit but there is always the risk that they will fight.
> 
> ...


Omg, you really are something aren't you. There is no documented facts about bearded dragons - hence why everyone has their own far fetched oppinions.

I have a number of reptile shops that can take newly born hatchlings and or eggs. I don't know why that has got anything thing to do with you anyway!


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2010)

Spammy said:


> Omg, you really are something aren't you. There is no documented facts about bearded dragons - hence why everyone has their own far fetched oppinions.


There is plenty of documented information on Bearded Dragons and other species of the _Pogona_ genus, a lot of this is kept in research papers which aren't often found so easily by simply googling for them.

Jeniffer88 wasn't aware that there are pet shops and specialist reptile stores that can take your hatchlings, you didn't specify this previously. Although these local stores can take hatchlings, have they actually guaranteed to you that they will? You might be in a rather sticky situation if the stores won't take them and you can't pass them on.

Where Bearded Dragons are concerned, the only problem isn't necessarily fighting. Dominance that one Dragon may have over another can be a problem which can result in the weakest specimen being denied access to food and basking spots. The end result if of course: a dead or diseased lizard.


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## Laura&Lee (Oct 25, 2008)

jennifer88 said:


> where on earth did you get that information from? Beardies are naturally solitary. In the wild they only come together to mate or fight over territory.
> 
> Two females can co habit but there is always the risk that they will fight.
> 
> ...


totally agree with these comments i have breed beardies however no longer breed as the comments above say i know keep mine as pets. The 3 females live in a 9 ft tank and 2 males live alone. We have an aggressive male and he had to be spilt from female as they will kill female, i personally would spilt them before he really harms her. Also she may have 20 - 80 eggs just to warn you very expensive to house them once born and feed.


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## Laura&Lee (Oct 25, 2008)

*Jeniffer88 wasn't aware that there are pet shops and specialist reptile stores that can take your hatchlings, you didn't specify this previously. Although these local stores can take hatchlings, have they actually guaranteed to you that they will? You might be in a rather sticky situation if the stores won't take them and you can't pass them on. *

SORRY BUT I RANG APPROX 5 REPTILE/PET SHOPS AND EVERYONE REFUSED AS THEY SAID WE HAVE TOO MANY BEARDIES AT THE MOMENT THAT ARE NOT SELLING. THEY MAY TAKE THEM FOR FREE IF THEY HAVE SPACE BUT THIS IS THE REALITY OF IT. WE HAD LAST CLUTCH IN MARCH AND NO MORE


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## metame (Sep 25, 2009)

jennifer88 said:


> Where on earth did you get that information from? Beardies are naturally solitary. In the wild they only come together to mate or fight over territory.
> 
> Two females can co habit but there is always the risk that they will fight.
> 
> ...


*agrees*


Spammy said:


> Omg, you really are something aren't you. There is no documented facts about bearded dragons - hence why everyone has their own far fetched oppinions.
> 
> I have a number of reptile shops that can take newly born hatchlings and or eggs. *I don't know why that has got anything thing to do with you anyway!*


uhh, you asked and people were trying to help?


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## WillowMyst (Jan 13, 2011)

Spammy said:


> ** he is now biting her arm!


Sigh.... I have been reading this thread, am I am wondering WHY you thought that buying a MALE was the answer to the problem with your female? The "Glass Dancing" could be a show of MANY things... is the tank too warm, too cold?? is the lighting correct? Or is your Beardie Just BORD??
My first Bearded Dragon would run back in forth in his home when I would enter the room... Since I handle my beardies a LOT this was his way of saying COME GET ME.

As for you just putting a Male in with a female.... 
THIS is what keeps me busy.. people who are irresponsible with their Bearded Dragons... Breeding is not just put them together and DONE... First off, you need to be SURE your female is HEALTHY enough to take the STRESS of being mated... and *yes* I said *STRESS*!! Bearded Dragon mating is *NOT* pretty... A male can get *QUITE* aggressive during the "Act". I have seen females have bits of skin missing after being bred. Also it is important to make sure you have prepared for when the egg come..... do you have a sep. "lay box", incubator?? and what will you do when they hatch?? Do you have a set up for the babies complete with lighting inc. UVB, heat, etc. DO you have IN WRITING that the store will take your babies.. and DO YOU TRUST THEM to find them good homes?? (People are SHOCKED when I tell them what I require of the person who is thinking of adopting one of my foster lizards..... personally I think if more places did the same we'd have better cared for beardies! Just my opinion)

I just rescued a female beardie this past weekend, she was bred over and over.... (apparently she (the owner) told the store she was selling the babies to that she had 5 females and 3 males and thats how she was getting so many lil' ones. ) The female is 5.5 years.... Way over weight, carries scars on her neck and back from bites from males. AND get this,,, I found her in a Local pet shop which was voted *best* in their area. She was brought in by the owner and put up as consignment. She was at that shop from Sept. till the day I picked her up, Jan. 8th. They tried to sell her as a BREEDER lizard for $200.00 USD..... I could not afford that at the time.. but I would make it a point to stop to see her when I was in the area. Finely when I was in on Sat. She looked SO lethargic that I wanted to get her out of there... I called everyone I knew and we were able to pool enough money to buy her.
It wasn't until I took her out of her house that I saw... her enclosure had *NOT* been cleaned since the *LAST* time I was there to visit *TWO WEEKS PRIOR*( the feces was still on her basking log !! She had 2 night time heat bulbs and a 150V basking bulb *NOT A UVB bulb*. When I asked about the UVB bulb I was told... "We didn't realized to woman didn't have one in the enclosure" OMG&G... you mean to tell me that since SEPT. NO ONE thought to check her lighting???
She is home now... and getting better slowly. (If I would have left her she'd been sold to be bred...) Now she has a happy place to retire 
Since I am on Social Security Disability I don't make as much money as I did when I could work, BUT I am responsible to these lizards to make sure they are cared for. I have THREE Females.... EACH one has her own 75 gal. enclosure... and all have Proper Lights INC. UVB and heat sources. My Male ALSO has his own home. He is not faced towards the Gals since he get "Perked Up" Which stresses him (he was in BAD shape from MBD when I rescued him. With my vets help he is doing ok but will never be as healthy as a lizard that was cared for correctly from the start.) 
The gals get to spend time together with me hanging out on the sofa... and are closely watched for any sign of dominance. My Male does Ok with my one female so they will each take a shoulder and spend some time out with me.

It makes me sad that the Bearded Dragon is becoming the Next iguana..... Over bred, over sold, and people are UNDER educated.... People think about the Money... not the Lizard.

PLEASE give us rescuers a Chance to find happy homes for the lizards who have been mistreated..... there are already breeders who Care about the lizards and KNOW how to breed them correctly...... don't add more to the Mix.

:mad2Don't even get me started that most home breeders (people who just decide to breed their lizard for the heck of it.. or for money) have no clue about the history of the beardie they are breeding)


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## Nattie08 (Jan 21, 2011)

WillowMyst said:


> Sigh.... I have been reading this thread, am I am wondering WHY you thought that buying a MALE was the answer to the problem with your female? The "Glass Dancing" could be a show of MANY things... is the tank too warm, too cold?? is the lighting correct? Or is your Beardie Just BORD??
> My first Bearded Dragon would run back in forth in his home when I would enter the room... Since I handle my beardies a LOT this was his way of saying COME GET ME.
> 
> As for you just putting a Male in with a female....
> ...


What a great post.....I have 7 young beardies at the moment that I would love to find 'forever' homes for as they have feet missing and tails missing etc due to the inappropriate care from the breeder. Not enough people were buying them and they were all housed together and so began nipping each other. If you don't have the knowledge to look after 1 beardie how on earth are you going to look after tens of them? Do you even have an incubator set up and viv space for the babies? No pet shop will have them the day they are born...where are you going to put them all??? Just take the male out now and hope people will be willing to take the babies.....or at least the ones that survive your EXPERT care! No wonder people don't agree with others keeping reptiles when there are things like this going on


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## 0123456789 (Feb 17, 2011)

http://www.petforums.co.uk/lizards/148338-leopard-gecko-bearded-dragon.html

Please can you check out my thread any opinions appreciated takk 
Tom


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## sunny1962 (Apr 14, 2011)

Spammy said:


> ** he is now biting her arm!


hi she could be egg bound i dont know what date u put your message up as im a knew member i had a feamale that past recently and she was egg bound you will also find that she will be more quiet as he will dominate her if they have a orange tint round there yeys they have gone into mating mode and you may get babbys i had the same problem if you got him from pet shop then he will not carry deseas but if you got him from someone els be a bit carfull the glass tapping means they wont feeding or wont to come out and run around if you dont have dogs or cats this is safe for short times hope ive helpt sonia


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## loulou87 (Jan 18, 2011)

seperate them immediately, in honesty why did you think it was a good idea to get a male to join her? did you research? i doubt it else you would have seen that they are naturally solitary and prefer to be alone. Also you now have a problem as i guess both are adults? so she may be gravid? Also you need a new set up for your male to keep them seperate. Even reputable breeders dont keep their mating pairs together all the time. 

SEPERATE THEM thats the only solution

And the glass dancing is normally an attention seeking thing, it normally stops when they have settled a little. 

Can you tell me about your set up please?


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## loulou87 (Jan 18, 2011)

i commented before reading the other posts. i hope you would listen to other members considering you are the one who asked for advice. its quite clear you have researched very little and your vet sounds like a complete moron- any vet my rep goes to is qualified and the first thing they would say if presented with your situation is that they need to be seperated. The fact you said you vet said'she glass danced as she was in season is the biggest load of balls ive heard. 1. a rep vet knows beardies dont have seasons. 

Im trying to be calm, in this post but im furious that you blatently made it up and wont lsten to well given advice from other members. they dont try to inconvienence you, they are trying to help you so you have two healthy beardies.


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## GemmyLou (May 16, 2011)

I have 3 beardies 2 females and a male!
we housed one of the females with the male for a year and didnt have any problems until they mated and thats when i found that the male wanted her all the time! So to be honest putting a male and female in together isnt a problem unless they are mating!
If you want to keep the male beardie just house them seperatly!
Also you may want to get a nesting box as she could be pregnant after mating and will need somewhere to lay..completely up to you if you want to incubate or not. If you want any help about the pregnancy and eggs if it does turn out she is gravid i am happy to help as iv just hatched my 2nd clutch!


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## Ancllo (May 8, 2009)

My ex and i made the naive mistake of keeping males and females together...lets say our female beardie was near enough savaged by the male, he pulled scales of the back of her head and sides. If you're running the risk of mating the expect the expense that comes with it. We worked it out and around 1500 to 2000 pound to rear a healthy clutch of eggs.

If you do get eggs my advice would be to destroy them in the most humane way possible - freezing them i do believe (do correct me). Glass dancing is noisy, but maybe the beardie just wants to be interacted with?

As for coming into season? I didnt think the reptlian reproductive system worked in that way? I know they have an optimum breeding season, but one of ours became gravid in January, hardly great breeding conditions (although the temp was ofcourse regulated within the viv).

Do your research PLEASE! Yes beardies are incredibly forgiving and can put up with a lot, but that doesnt mean they deserve to be treated like c*** through ignorance.


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