Expert: Joe Zarnick - 3/1/2011

Question
I had 2 bearded dragons.  They were approximately 7 months old. They have been at our home for about 4 months (so from 3 months-7).  1 just passed away last night.  I am worried about the other one. He is definitely the more robust of the two. More active, ate well, runs, very healthy color and etc.  The one that passed spent alot of time under her rock and I believe was lacking vitamins and uvb/uva light to help absorb what vitamins we did get her to eat.  Do bearded dragons become attached if they have been with the same friend for more than 4 months?  Will my bigger one start to get lonely?  If so, what do I do?  And, will he become so lonely that he will stop eating, getting lethargic and etc?  Thank you so much in advance for any help you can offer.

Answer
Hello, Bearded Dragons cannot be housed together. At some point they become territorial against one another. They will fight and the consequences can be dire. When more than one bearded dragon is house together, one may experience stress do to the other eating most of the food or taking up too much of the basking spot. this may have been the problem with your dragon. Your bearded dragon that you still have will not become lonely. Bearded dragons love having their own open space. They also enjoy being handled by their owners, he should be fine alone and do not attempt to get him another "buddy". I hope everything goes well, let me know how he does.