Girlfriend

Question
I have a male bearded dragon from a breeder that a I got a breeder show and he's so tame. I got him around 9 months I believe and I have had him for 3 years. He's got a large space...I'm a big guy and can't move it myself. He's 15" from head to tail. QUESTION: I'm not looking to "mate" but think it would be good for him to have someone else in the cage. There is a breeder's convention coming up next week and I was thinking about buying a female. Thoughts? I know Males are REALLY aggressive, but he's so non-aggressive and it's been a few years, I think one would be okay. Thoughts? Mine is so easy to handle...which I know they are...but I think putting 2 in there would be overkill.

Answer
Hey there, as calm and tame as your bearded dragon may seem to be it is completely different when introducing a female into the equation. Males and females can only be together for short periods for breeding purposes. They cannot in any situation be housed together. The simplest way to explain it is that males will always want to mate when females will only want to during the right season. This will result in fights and can end up in injury or death. So please do not house a male and female together because whatever way you see it, it will not work out. I know you think he could use a buddy or "girlfriend" but in this case for bearded dragons it would be a poor decision. When I first started out I had the same idea but for breeding. I kept my female with my male for too long and they ended up fighting. Luckily, my female came out of it with a nipped tail. If you buy another bearded dragon, keep them separate and safe. Best of luck to you and happy new year!