Known for being territorial, adult bearded dragons may display their aggression to defend their turf from other males, fight for food, or compete for a female. The beard, which both males and females have, is an important way the lizards communicate. When threatened, a bearded dragon will open its mouth, raise its chin, and puff out its beard to make itself appear bigger.
This display may also be accompanied by a hiss. Bearded dragons also communicate by changing the color of their beards and bobbing their heads.
A quick head bob may signal dominance, whereas a slow bob and an arm wave is a sign of submission. With a change of seasons, some bearded dragons may go through brumation, a type of hibernation, in which they stop eating and only drink water sporadically. This dormant phase usually occurs in the fall or winter as the light changes and temperatures drop.
To catch the attention of a female, a male bearded dragon embarks on a showy ritual of courtship, pounding his feet into the ground and waving his arms and bobbing his head.
The male will pursue the female and bite the back of her neck when mating. Female bearded dragons are believed to have the unusual capacity to store sperm , which enables some to lay two separate clutches of 11 to 30 eggs from a single mating. The sex of bearded dragon embryos can be changed by the incubation temperature. If the temperature is unusually high while embryos with male chromosomes are developing, they will instead develop as females. Warmer temperatures during development also make bearded dragons slower learners.
They shouldn't lose weight or stop eating entirely, so keep a close eye on them and get in touch with your vet if they're losing weight. Read more tips on caring for your bearded dragon, download our bearded dragon care sheet or start your search for a bearded dragon to rehome.
Information on keeping a non-domestic animal as a pet, plus care sheets for more common species. We've teamed up with ExoticDirect to offer you a 10 percent discount on your exotic pet insurance! Share this Caring for your bearded dragon. Print Caring for your bearded dragon. Did you find this useful?
Reptiles and other exotic pets Information on keeping a non-domestic animal as a pet, plus care sheets for more common species. The species basks to maintain preferred body temperature. Like other Bearded Dragons, this species is an adept climber, and can usually be found on tree stumps, tree branches, boulders and fence posts.
From the elevated position the lizard will bask in the sunlight and keep an eye out for potential predators, prey, rivals and mates. During extremely hot periods, individuals may remain perched above ground for long periods. For example, on one occasion a male remained perched in the same tree 3 m above the ground for three weeks. When alarmed the lizard faces the intruder with mouth wide open and beard puffed out to make the jaw appear larger.
The dragon inhales air rapidly to expand the body, making the spiked sides of the animal appear rigid and the overall size seem greater to the aggressor. The lizards can undergo rapid colour change. For example, one specimen changed from predominantly all yellow to almost completely black in no more than a few minutes. Mature males often change the colour of their lower jaw beard from the normal colouration to black.
Apart from a low hiss when threatened, Bearded Dragons do not vocalise. Communication is achieved through posturing, colour display, head bobbing and arm waving. A distinct hierarchy can be seen when these usually solitary lizards congregate at prime basking sites and at times of abundant food. Dominant animals will head bob and inflate the beard when challenged as a sign of fitness. Submission is signalled by waving the forearm, which generally defuses the confrontation, however if one does not back down the animals will then circle each other and a standoff or fight will ensue.
Head bobbing is expressed by different animals for different social reasons; a slow bowing is often used by adult females to signal submission to a male, a fast bob combined with an inflated and blackened beard is used by males to signal dominance.
Violent 'whole body' bobbing is used by males just before mating. Arm waving is used by both sexes; males use waving to show submission to a dominant male, females will arm wave to show responsiveness to a male, combined with a slow head bob. Males engage in combat involving beard flaring, signalling, circling and tail biting to establish mating rights after the winter cooling period. Mating occurs in the spring, whereby the male grips the female with his jaws and holds onto her by a fold of skin on the neck before copulating.
Like all dragon lizards, Bearded Dragons are egg-layers. In south-eastern New South Wales, females are gravid with eggs in mid-spring around November. On the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, females lay their eggs in mid-spring. The clutch sizes ranges eggs.
In captivity, individual females have laid up to four clutches in one "season" 15 October June at intervals as short as 13 days. There is evidence to suggest that females can store sperm, with records of two clutches being produced from one mating.
The eggs are laid in a burrow dug by the female who then back-fills the entrance to conceal the nest. An excavated nest had a slight deviation approximately two-thirds the distance from the opening and had a slightly rounded egg chamber. Nevertheless, after hot days they can be frequently seen out on roads.
The Central bearded dragon is an excellent climber, often found perched in bushes as well as on branches of trees and fence posts, spending as much time perching as it does on the ground. They are not social animals, though sometimes they congregate into groups to feed and bask.
Gathering in groups, they follow certain hierarchy: when basking, usually the highest-ranking individuals take the sunniest and highest spots and the rest of the group gets lower spots. Females often use their beard for aggression displays while males will display their beard during the mating season as a part of courtship ritual. The Central bearded dragon is an opportunistic omnivore who is not very choosey about food. The dragon has stomach which is able to accommodate large amount of food.
These dragons feed upon small rodents, lizards, insects, spiders well as plants. These animals have polygynous mating system, where a male mates with more than one female.
Breeding takes place in summer - from September to March. Usually, a female excavates a burrow, laying about 24 eggs at a time in one clutch with up to 9 clutches per year.
When the eggs are laid, the female buries them and leaves. The babies hatch out after days, depending on temperature of the incubation. Hatchlings are inches 7. They are independent from the very beginning of their lives, reaching sexual maturity at the age of years.
Captive breeding, pet trading, occasional involvement in scientific research as well as diseases and infections are among major threats to the population of this species. The species is classified as Least Concern LC.
Nowadays, these animals are among most popular pet species. Being introduced to the USA as pet species in the s, they can be found in nearly all big pet stores.
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