A pair of bearded dragons may peacefully share a cage, but for the best chance at success, it's best to keep them singly. If breeding is your goal, then you must house a pair together, at least temporarily. Doing so exposes the female to potential health concerns and will force you to invest time, effort and money to care for any hatchlings the pair produces.
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Safe Sex
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Bearded dragons may carry and transmit a number of parasites and diseases. To prevent them from getting each other sick, you must keep both lizards isolated until your veterinarian can ensure they are healthy. To do so, your veterinarian will likely conduct a physical examination, draw blood and collect stool samples for analysis. The vet will then prescribe medications to treat any problems. Days or weeks later, your vet will collect additional samples to ascertain the regimen̵7;s efficacy. While healthy lizards may be ready for cohabitation in as little as a month, the quarantine process may take three months or longer for lizards with severe infestations or advanced disease.
Shacking Up
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When you house multiple lizards in the same enclosure, you must observe each closely. Make sure they both have ample space, food and access to basking opportunities. You must ensure that the male is not harassing the female too much -- if he does, you must separate him to prevent stressing the female. Observe your lizards frequently after placing them together; even if they get along well at first, they can become incompatible at any time. Because of the increased amount of labor involved in monitoring communally housed animals, and the risks conferred to the female, the best choice is to keep males and females separate, introducing them for brief sessions only.
Love Hurts
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Breeding is not a delicate endeavor for bearded dragons. Males aggressively pursue females in their attempts to mount them and mate. During the process, the males may scratch or bite the females to subdue them. Sometimes, these bites are serious, requiring veterinary attention. If you cannot accept the possibility that your beautiful female dragon may acquire such blemishes and are not willing to provide the necessary care, you must house them individually.
Platonic Pogonas
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Unfortunately, many people set out to breed bearded dragons without fully considering the ramifications. A healthy female may deposit 100 eggs or more in a single breeding season. You will need to incubate them, care for the post-partum mother and feed the resulting offspring -- all of which requires a lot of time, money and effort. If you do not intend to breed bearded dragons but are committed to housing multiple animals together, choose two females, rather than a mixed-gender pair. Males should never be housed communally, as they may fight and injure each other.
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