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Why does my male bearded dragon keep biting my female?
These guys are about 3 years old now, and have always lived together. Recently, I moved them from Daytona to Tallahassee, Florida. They have been fine until now. My male's beard is black (which I know is a sign of courtship), but it STAYS black. He has also been biting my female on the cheek, and she has been acting more sluggish than usual. They are both eating just fine. I give them greens, crickets and super worms. Actually, this behavior seemed to start after I began to give them super worms. They weren't getting taken care of in Daytona (someone else was watching them) and they had lost weight, so I was trying to get some protein in them. Could that be a contributing factor? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.
4 Answers
- 7 years agoFavorite Answer
Separate them ASAP. Yeah, I know, you've kept them together for 3 years... But at this age it is not safe at all. The female will be over-hassled by the male and the stress can make her very sick. As said, lots can be the cause, but moving and then being kept together can cause a ton of stress. Beardies are not social animals. Your female may end up pregnant and over-mated and really it's just not good, especially if you aren't prepared or weren't counting on having a gravid dragon. A lot can go wrong, it's not something to just do without preparations like knowing a nearby vet and how to tell if a female is egg bound or other pregnancy problems. It's just not safe, and taking such risks with your pets isn't ever worth it. Good luck.
Source(s): Owner of 2 beardies, plus other various reptiles. - BenLv 47 years ago
A black beard can be a sign of courtship, but it can also be a sign of aggression or dominance. It's also a common fear response as well, so it's more than just courtship.
It sounds like the relocation stress has caused a little rift between the two and brought out some dominant behavior in the male. Quite honestly, if he is causing physical harm or discomfort to the female, the two need to be separated. This could be something that they eventually get over, but if not, your female could suffer from being malnourished due to not getting enough food, UVB or basking time. It's almost always not a good idea to keep more than beardy in an enclosure because it almost always leads to one of the dragon's suffering while one exhibits dominant behavior. Separating them is the only way to guarantee the safety of both of them. Good luck!
- 7 years ago
There could be a number of different reasons.
The food supply, the size of the cage, the kind of food, the lighting, the treatment of the dragons themselves, the unfamiliarness of their new surroundings, the stress of the move, or the courting behaviors (it varies from dragon to dragon).
Pay attention to these things, if something is off try to fix it. It will probably get better.
Source(s): Beardie owner - 7 years ago
Keep them separated. They shouldn't be together especially if he is hurting her. The move could also be stressing them. I just made a bearded dragon group if you would like to join! It's called bearded dragon lovers.