Understanding Bearded Dragons
23 Mar 2010
The bearded dragon is a member of the family Agamidae and is one of the most common agamid lizards found and originated in the continent of Australia. They are called “bearded” because of their ability to expand their skin around the throat as a defense mechanism. If something poses a threat against a bearded dragon and its territory, it will respond by increasing its normal body size and flaring out its skin. This lizard is usually tan to somewhat yellow in color, has spines around its throat, head, and the sides of its body, and has a tail that can be as long as its entire body. Though it is difficult to tell if a bearded dragon is a male or a female during its younger or hatchling stages, you will be able to tell the difference once they get older and their bodily features become more pronounced. For instance, male bearded dragons have larger heads as well as larger and darker beards. You can also distinguish between the two sexes through the femoral pores found on the underside of the male.
As mentioned previously, bearded dragons are found in central Australia where they live among the deserts and woodlands of the continent. A bearded dragon would normally spend the day in bushes, trees, and sometimes on rocks to sunbathe. But once the heat becomes too extreme, it would dig and bury itself underground to keep its body temperature balanced. In terms of diet, the bearded dragon is an omnivore since it normally eats insects, smaller mammals or lizards, as well as fruits, plants, and flowers. Some people who keep bearded dragons as pets would feed them chopped meat, mice, earthworms, and the like, but normally they would provide a separate tank for feeding time.
Bearded dragons are cold-blooded animals and depend on its environment for supplemental heat in order to promote proper digestion. Normally the suitable temperature for these reptiles would be around 70 to 85 °F during the daytime and somewhere in between 70 to 75° at night. Once the bearded lizard’s body temperature is cold, it won’t be able to properly digest its food and will eventually become ill. This is why if you are keeping a bearded dragon as a pet, it is important to keep its cage or tank’s temperature balanced to prevent it from getting sick, and you’ll be able to do this by setting the cage’s thermometer at a temperature the dragon would usually be suited in. The primary source of heat for a bearded dragon should be placed in proper areas of the cage with another heat source prepared during the evenings.
One of the things that you can do to be able to take care of your pet bearded dragon more effectively is to know how to read its body language and behavioral patterns. For example, if you’re keeping more than one male and one female, it will show off dominance by frequently displaying its beard. It would even open its mouth wide to frighten those that threaten or startle them. Normally bearded dragons would begin mating between 8 to 18 months, and when successful, the female can lay up to 20 eggs per clutch.
