Baby beardie not shedding

[Chicksy]

Hi all,

I'm new here and a brand new beardie owner. I have 2 male babies (2 months old) which my boyfriend bought me for Christmas. They're both from the same clutch of eggs so they're brothers. The thing is, one is significantly bigger than the other. The smaller of the two (Rodney) went for a couple of days where he didn't really eat much and seemed a bit lethargic. He started eating again yesterday though and is more lively than he was. The bigger one (Del) is really thriving. He looks to be almost double the size of Rodney and he has a very healthy appetite. Del started a shed a couple of weeks ago which is 99% done, just a bit left in his tale. Rodney however doesn't seem to be showing any signs of shedding whatsoever. I would have thought that since Del shed and they're the same age that they would shed at the same time? I'm getting a little concerned about Rodney. Here is a pic I took of this evening of them both. Rodney is on Del's back and you can really notice the size difference. I haven't noticed them fighting or squabbling over food or anything so I don't think it's a dominance/intimidation issue really but as I said I'm new to the world of beardies so I don't know for sure! They seem happy together though. I feed them small crickets twice daily (dusted) and they've had mealworms also but not for a day or so. Any expert opinions out there? Thanks!

 

[PatsyB]

Bearded dragons are solitary animals and don't do well with friends. They all grow at different rates but when they are housed together there is going to be dominance issues that make one grow at a slower rate than the other. I suggest separating them as soon as possible. In the mean time, feed them separately to make sure that the smaller one is actually getting food.

 

[Chicksy]

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately I'm not in a position to separate them at the moment, I have nowhere to move one of them to. I have made sure that Rodney is getting food and he is eating again normally. If anything, it seems that physically Rodney exerts as much dominance over Del as the other way around-he often lies or stands on top of him. They both seem happy enough otherwise, it was just the lack of shedding I was concerned over a bit.

The pet shop my boyfriend bought them from has a very good reputation for looking after it's animals well and the owner of the shop has two beardies himself which live in the same viv and they've been fine together for 7 years.

 

[PatsyB]

Well as far as the shedding goes. They all grow at different rates. Even though they are the same age and brothers they aren't going to hit the same milestones at the same time.

Petstores, even good ones, house them together because it's a temporary situation and they expect them to sell fast. I've seen too many dragons turn on each other for no reason. My rescue Dolly is missing half her tail from a tank mate. My friend has a dragon who is missing the legs, feet and part of his tail from his brother that he was housed with. Another friend was feeding her dragons and the bigger one saw the smaller one as good and bit it. I have a boy and a girl and when they were younger they used to be okay being out at the same time. One day when my boy turned 9 mo, he just jumped at her and tried to bite her. Luckily I saw it about to happen and grabbed her.

So keep a real close eye on them.

 

[Chicksy]

I'll definitely keep a close eye on them. If there are any signs of fighting or aggression I'll make plans to separate them. It's just not possible at the moment.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Chicksy]

Well as of this evening Rodney has started to shed! So looks like I was worried for nothing. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Glad to hear that Rodney has started to shed.... Just start putting together the funds/space/equipment to separate them as it will come a time to do so.. Housing them together successfully is pretty rare...and if you do indeed have 2 males they will fight.. Dominance is there already just a matter of when.. some have luck with females together but not males as their hormones will chime in soon.
Keep us updated and keep up the good work.