housing multiple bearded dragons together?

9 beardies in a 4x2x2??? Sheesh...

I wouldn't take any advice from the local "expert" if he thinks 9 beardies will fit into a 4x2!

Fighting is NOT rare....it is the norm, rather than the exception. Even if they co-habitate peacefully for a year, or 2 years, there is ALWAYS a chance that they suddenly decide a roommate is not okay. Even if you never see a fight, there are always more subtle signs of dominance. Dragons basking on top of one another is one of them. It's not cute...it's passive aggression!

Please visit http://www.beardeddragon.org/ They have the best and most up to date caresheets, AND if you browse the forums, you'll find loads of examples of the horror stories that happen when two dragons are housed together!

I'm all for a second dragon..just make sure he has his own enclosure!

The guy who suggested 9 in that size viv - don't go there again he talks sh1te.

4x2x2 is the minimum recommended size for a single adult bearded dragon.

5x2x2 is the minimum for a male female adult pair. A pair should only ever be kept in the same vivarium for the purposes of breeding

2 males will not always fight but once they near maturity one will become dominant and the other will become weaker and normally die. Dominance in bearded dragons is not necessarily shown by physical aggression it can be very subtle head bobbing, press ups or arm gestures.

It's not just housing 2 males together that causes problems, 2 females will still try to be the dominant one so can be as bad as males.

A male female pair housed together causes the female to be over mated and suffer as a result ultimately she will die younger than she should

As you say it's ultimately your choice, if you enjoy animal cruelty then go ahead if not take my advice

there is the possiblity of fighting (and the possiblity is an ever present one how eva long the beardies are kept together) this is why it is not recommended to keep males together as a fight may break out at anytime (even if its a smallish chance). they are also (in the wild) solitary animals except when mating.

the new reptile shop owner sounds like a class A moron. i would just ignore anythin he says and i have to say 4x2x2 seems a bit small for 2 beardies, in the UK most places recommend 4x2x2 for just a single beardie.

and MHO in the substrate debate is, solid substrates like tile and slate, i mean this species lives in a hardrock desert (not a sandy desert) they dont live on large amounts of sand in the wild why should they at home, there not evolved to deal with it and at the end of the day why risk impaction

As the previous 2 have said if you get 2 males one will dominate the other and stress it out a lot, possible ending in death. get a female mate. its just about big enough for 2. The shop owner is clueless, The reason why they put loads of them in one cage is because they will sell them, but long term its not a good idea to have more than a trio of lizards in that size of viv. Its upto you but take the advice here and the lizards will be happier and not stressed, and neither will you.

9 dragons in a 50ft would not be ok he should be shut dwn giving advice like that just trying to sell more dragons evil people