If you’ve got a bearded dragon or you're planning to get one, it’s important to have an understanding of various bearded dragon behaviors you may see so you can understand what your dragon is trying to tell you and know when it’s time to call your vet. However, since bearded dragons are exotic creatures, figuring out what they need is not always intuitive. They're also sometimes illegally captured for the pet industry.Understanding bearded dragon behavior is key to keeping your pet happy and healthy. The biggest threats to bearded dragons are habitat loss and degradation due to land clearing and cattle grazing.
Researchers recently discovered that bearded dragons have primitive venom glands, though the venom has little effect on people. At the same time they expand their bodies by inhaling air, making them seem larger than life, and may emit a low hiss. When threatened or alarmed bearded dragons puff out their beards and face intruders with an open mouth. They're also hosts to several types of internal parasites and mites.īearded dragon. They’re said to hold this position for 30 minutes at a time! 3 Threats to bearded dragonsīearded dragons are eaten by birds, goannas, snakes, dingoes and feral cats and foxes. What does a bearded dragon do when there’s no standing water to drink? During light rain, this clever lizard will stand on its front limbs, its head and tail sloping down so that water runs towards its mouth. They’re omnivorous lizards: they eat fruits and leaves, invertebrates (such as ants and beetles) and small vertebrates, including other lizards. 1īearded dragons are primarily diurnal (day active), though in summer they’re busiest in the early morning and late afternoon.
There's some evidence that females can store sperm to fertilise eggs after she lays the first clutch. The female lays a clutch of around 10 to 30 eggs in a burrow, which is then filled to hide the nest. Bearded dragons have an intricate system of communication: they bob their head or whole body as a sign of dominance and wave their forearms to show submission!Ī bearded dragon emerging from a hole at Ethabuka Reserve, Qld. After this winter cooling period, bearded dragons emerge and males start strutting their stuff! They flare their beards, bite each other’s tails and bob their heads. In colder months, bearded dragons can enter a state of ‘torpor’ or hibernation. From here they can see predators, prey and mates, all the while soaking up some sun. They're often seen basking on tree stumps, fence posts, branches or boulders. Photo Albert Wright.īearded dragons live in woodlands, coastal dunes, heathland, tropical savannahs and deserts. This is in stark contrast to the Pogona minor minima subspecies, which is only found on a handful of islands off the Western Australian coast.Ī Central Bearded Dragon in a tree. The Dwarf or Western Bearded Dragon (Pogona minor minor) also has a wide distribution: it's found across most of Western Australia, the western half of South Australia and the Southwest of the Northern Territory. It's relatively resilient to agricultural development, and occurs in areas now urbanised. The Eastern Bearded Dragon is widespread, found in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. Where do bearded dragons live?īearded dragons are found across Australia, typically in arid or semi-arid environments.
Photo Annette Ruzicka.īearded dragons are terrestrial and can run with speed they're also adept climbers, scaling trees with ease. These colour changes can be rapid: the Australian Museum reports that one specimen changed from yellow to black in just a few minutes!Ī bearded dragon at Bon Bon Reserve. They can change colour when aggressive or threatened and also regulate their body temperature through changing their colour: they become lighter in hot weather and darker in cool weather. Depending on the species, bearded dragons are coloured grey, orange, light brown, brown or black. Males are typically brighter in colour than females. Most species have a tail that’s as long as their body.Ī Dwarf Bearded Dragon at Charles Darwin Reserve. Larger species grow to 60cm long from head to tail tip, but the Pygmy Bearded Dragon ( Pogona henrylawsoni) is only 30cm long. Sharp spikes run along the sides of their bodies and their throats. All have a flat body, a broad head and stout legs.
There are several species of bearded dragon in Australia.