Bearded dragons are not conventional pets and if you are getting one, your first question should be if they can co-exist with your other pets if you have any.
So, do bearded dragons and hamsters get along? The answer is absolutely not. Bearded dragons are omnivores that can feed on small animals such as worms, cockroaches, mice, and hamsters. Hence, unless you want your hamster to be eaten, they should never be in the same room together.
Read along for more details!
Do Bearded Dragons and Hamsters Get Along Together?
Bearded dragons have eight species in total and it is a fact that these animals accept a wide variety of food.
Bearded dragons are omnivores. These pet animals can eat both plant-based and animal-based food. This includes all types of insects and rodents too. Young bearded dragons that are in their growing ages tend to be more carnivores than adult bearded dragons. Adult bearded dragons tend to be more herbivores.
Keeping hamsters and bearded dragons in the same room is a no-go. Unless you want the hamster dead, refrain from putting both animals in the same room. In fact, some people even use baby hamsters to feed their bearded dragons.
Bearded dragons can get along with some animals like lizards, tortoises, turtles, and snakes. However, keeping them with a hamster is a bad idea and it can turn fatal for the latter.
Do Bearded Dragons Like Hamsters?
A bearded dragon’s diet comprises 75% of animals. They often feed on small creatures like insects, crickets, cockroaches, mice, etc.
So, the answer to your question is yes. Bearded dragons do like hamsters but as a snack. You should never put the two pets next to each other under any circumstances. Your beardie can eat up the whole hamster in one bite.
MUST READ: Are Beardies Ticklish?
In fact, large reptiles in general like to eat small rodents. For some reptiles, mice and hamsters are their primary stable source of nutrition. Out in the wild, bearded dragons are active predators of mice and rats.
Can Bearded Dragons and Hamsters Be Housed Together?
Bearded dragons and hamsters can be housed together but only after ensuring that they do not live in the same room. If you put them together in the same room, your bearded dragon will not hesitate to seize any chance and eat your hamster.
Hamsters are defenseless and they are not fast or strong enough to escape a bearded dragon’s catch. So, for your pet hamster’s safety, you should make sure that there is no contact between them if you decide to put them both in the same house.
If you are putting them in the same room, then you have to put them in two separate glass tanks away from each other.
Do Bearded Dragons Eat Hamsters?
A bearded dragon holds the capacity to eat animals like little insects, crickets, cockroaches, hamsters as well as mice.
Bearded dragons hold the capacity to eat a hamster provided that the bearded dragon is fully grown up. Baby bearded dragons cannot swallow a hamster.
Although bearded dragons can eat a hamster if they see one, it is not the best food option for them. A hamster has a strong bone structure and a bearded dragon can not efficiently digest a creature with a bone structure. Hence, you should not feed them hamsters.
Your bearded dragon can have digestive issues if they try to swallow hamsters. It can also cause negative side effects on their health and immune system.
Are Bearded Dragons Easier to Take Care of Than Hamsters?
Taking Care of a Bearded Dragon
Everyone at some point in their life wants a pet, especially kids. Bearded dragons could be one of the best options for reptile lovers.
The only thing you have to ensure that your child stays away from the poop of the animal. Every animal’s poop contains bacteria, be it a hamster or a bearded dragon. However, bearded dragons are clean animals. They poop in a separate enclosure. Keeping a bearded dragon’s enclosure clean is a must and is a simple job.
To ensure that your bearded dragon is not scared or stressed out, you should keep an eye on its spikes. When they are scared, their soft spikes turn into hard muscles as a defense mechanism and that could hurt you. But once they get used to you, they will not be afraid to get closer to you or even crawl up on your shoulders.
Bearded dragons require very little care and attention. You just need to wash them up thrice a week, pick up their little poop, and feed them once a day. That’s it!
Taking Care of a Hamster
Hamsters are cute little animals that qualify as pets. Taking care of a hamster isn’t that tough but once you get one, understanding the animal becomes imperative.
Hamsters require a clean room with plenty of space. They should be kept in an aquarium that has a wire mesh at the top that facilitates ventilation. You should ensure that the hamster remains far from the kitchen area to make sure that the cooking fumes do not reach the little rodent.
MUST READ: Do Hamsters Eat Poop? [Is It Normal]
You should also make sure that you have a lot of toys for the hamster. Not all toys require to be fancy though. Getting a hamster ball will prove to be a good idea.
Feeding the hamster is a big task as a hamster often stores food in its mouth and runs in the whole room. You should feed it as it says on the packet.
A hamster always requires fresh water for drinking and you will need to clear its poop and urine with soap and water regularly to keep the little rodent healthy.
A hamster also requires a lot of exercise for a healthy and fit life. You should make sure that the hamster always has something to chew upon which will strengthen its teeth.
Overall, if we look at it, we find that a hamster takes more maintenance than a bearded dragon, and rearing a bearded dragon as a pet is much easier than rearing a Hamster.
Related Questions
Do Beardies Need a Companion?
Humans tend to project their feelings on animals and often, many bearded dragon owners think that maybe their pet needs company. However, these lizards are different from humans. The minds of reptiles function differently, they function in a tribe-like manner. They don’t need to form bonds.
Bearded dragons are well adapted to survive alone. They value peace and like to be on their own. If bearded dragon owners get them a friend of their same breed then they might start to compete for resources.
If you witness a bearded dragon sitting on another beardie, it doesn’t mean that they are cuddling or showing their affection. Rather, it shows that they are competing and the one on the top is proving to be the dominant one out of the two.
Can Two Bearded Dragons Be Kept Together?
Yes, two bearded dragons can be kept together in the same enclosure but there is a chance that they might start to compete for resources.
Three major instances can take place when a bearded dragon is kept with another beardie:-
- If the Beardies are male and female, there is a high probability that they might breed. However, once they have bred they should be separated.
- The beardies might spend most of their time competing on the food and the sunlight without attacking or bothering each other.
- If the males or the females get too aggressive at times then they might attack each other, especially when they are stressed.
Hence, it would be better if you kept the two or more bearded dragons away from each other, in different enclosures, providing them with their resources.
What Animal Kills a Bearded Dragon?
Bearded dragons have a lot of known and ferocious predators. These include birds of prey, foxes, feral cats, black-headed pythons, gull-billed terns, dingo, and goannas.
Even an ordinary house cat holds the capacity to eat up a wild bearded dragon. Although you might have heard stories about dogs and bearded dragons getting along, there will always be a risk of your dog eating the bearded dragon.
What Do Bearded Dragons Eat?
Bearded dragons are omnivores which means that they can eat a wide range of foods. They need an animal-based source of protein in their diet such as cockroaches, crickets, spiders, earthworms, mealworms, king worms, flies, Dubai roaches, and even mice and rats.
As they mature, they prefer eating more vegetables such as carrots, pepper, zucchini, sweet potatoes, etc.
Conclusion
Typically, bearded dragons and hamsters cannot live under the same roof. You can have both pets in the same house but in different rooms to maintain peace.
Bearded dragons are omnivorous animals and they love to remain alone. They often like the whole space to themselves. i hope that you were able to learn something from this article!