Bearded Dragon Behaviour

[Nicole85]

[b]Okay. I have 3 bearded dragons. Razor is our adult beardie, Minko is our Juvenile and we have a hatchling. the adult and juvenile are males and we dont have them housed together due to the fact Razor is a loner doesnt really like being bothered. Minko We have housed with the hatchling. They seem to get along Fine. Minko doesnt try to dominate him or bully him.

But this morning when i checked on them the hatchling was laying on the heat and Minko was laying on top of it. He wasnt hurting him. so i seperated them because i usually Mist them with water 2 times a day and about an hour later he was lightly rubbing it with his nose on its side.

Is this a form of affection?

Im not sure. I know he isnt trying to fight it. Hes just very clingy to the hatchling. Im not sure if its because he used to be housed with a beardie before and when we got him he was alone and now hes just happy again or what??:huh:

[BambooZoo]

Hi Nicole. I just separated a pair that came to me, 2 males, 2 years of age, had lived together all their lives. There was no bullying going on. both are "special". the one is about 9 inches from snout to end of tail. The other is about 4 inches snout to tail.

I was seeing the same kinds of things. Little guy getting stepped on often. Big one laying on top of him, etc.

While no one really believes it is affection, it is a form of security. When I have had a pair together I have also found that one will play guardian at night too. Also a security issue for them. Be very aware that the hatchling could get eaten at some time. But in my house they do seem to like company of some sort.

Pat

[Nicole85]

Thanks that helped alot. I wasnt sure what it was.

[bloodysafety]

Wild populations often live in groups. They rely on each other for survival.
I believe it is affection; if you don't care about something then why protect it when, in this case, it has nothing to offer in return? when people say that animals are not capable of emotion I get really upset. that's like comparing a car to a hot air balloon. just because the hot air balloon works differently than a car does not mean that the balloon is not a vehicle. My point: Just because a creatures brain is different than ours, and we cannot quantify their mental status (as of yet), does not mean that they are incapable.
We as a species need to get off our high horse. After all, we're animals too. I could go on forever but I won't....<br><br>Post edited by: bloodysafety, at: 2008/06/26 04:14

[BambooZoo]

Well said. I do feel they get lonely being in an environment by themselves usually. It can be a long 10 years or more. As you may be aware very few live alone in my house.

[dee]

bloodysafety wrote:

Wild populations often live in groups. They rely on each other for survival.
I believe it is affection; if you don't care about something then why protect it when, in this case, it has nothing to offer in return?

woohh!! I don't think that that is what Bamboozoo was saying at all.
To me the thing here is that beardies do live in groups but it doesn't mean that shit doesn't go on between them like an older of the group laying on a younger one for heat and cush and the owner/s don't even think thats happening at all. Beardies are like Ig's in the fact that when young they depend on each other for survival [instinct not affection] the key word here being SURVIVAL. Iguana hacthlings will stay together in the wild for the first 18 months of their lives, but it doesn't mean that they all are safe from the high archie of the group. Lots of times the new kids on the block will get layed on, pushed out of the food area and in some cases bullied [and this is all before they even begin to reach adult hood, where things get real drastic..]
Now I know that as adults things do change between the species,as in alot of beardies can be housed in the same enclosure, in most cases, as to where it is not recommmended for the Ig's..
I feel your need to think that it is the case of affection, but in most species that I have researched I don't think that that is the case.

Now I do agree with your way of thinking that they do have a functional brain, can and do learn things, but I don't think that a soft spot in their heart is one of them..
Just my point on the matter..

[Nicole85]

Well, im not sure what it is. All day yesterday and yesterday Night Minko layed at one end and the hatchling stayed near the sticks and rocks at the complete other end. Ive never seen this done any beardie ive seen rarely leave eachothers side. :S

[Nicole85]

I do keep a close eye on them. I check on them every hour or so to make sure minko isnt getting to clingy. My biggest fear is when im at work and something happen then.

[Vendetta]

Nicole85 wrote:

I do keep a close eye on them. I check on them every hour or so to make sure minko isnt getting to clingy. My biggest fear is when im at work and something happen then.

This is just a personal opinion, but if you have any doubts on their nature at all, then why risk the danger?

[Nicole85]

Good Question,

We originally got hatchling to be caged with Minko and if things didnt work out between them we we're going to seperate them.

Its not that i doubt things will or wont work out. Its that his behavors are different from what i seen. So im confused as to what hes trying to indicated. Like one minute he takes all kinds of interest in the hatchling and hes watching him, the next he will just kinda doing his own thing. Where as when ive done this before i knew right away whether it was going to work out between them or not. So im not sure what Minko is trying to indicate. Hatchling doesnt seem to be intimidated by Minko. when Minko is near the hatchling doesnt stand a defensive ground. So im not at this point what to expect.

When we got Minko we tried putting Minko with our other beardie Razor and we knew within the first few seconds razor didnt want the company. With Minko its the complete opposite.

Post edited by: Nicole85, at: 2008/06/26 18:19<br><br>Post edited by: Nicole85, at: 2008/06/26 18:21