Bearded dragons are very cute and interesting pet lizards. They are very popular for their behaviors and actions that excite people and make beardies entertaining. Bearded dragons use these behaviors to communicate with each other, and sometimes – with us! Let’s review some of the interesting bearded dragon behaviors and their meanings!
Bearded dragon arm waving
Bearded dragons might wave to other bearded dragons from time to time. Rarely, they might wave at you. Arm waving is more usual with babies and females. While it might look cute, the real reason why they are doing it is to convey a special message.
Bearded dragons wave to other bearded dragons to tell them that they pose no threat and that they don’t want to dominate. They usually wave to other larger and dominant bearded dragons that can otherwise injure them. Hatchling bearded dragons do it to show submission.
To wave its hand, bearded dragon will raise its upper body and stand on back and one front leg. Then, it will extend its arm and move it in a circle.
Bearded dragon head bobbing or head-jerking
Head bobbing is another interesting thing that bearded dragons do. Head bobbing is often not a positive sign – bearded dragon is showing that he is a leader and ruler of the territory.
Bearded dragons start bobbing their heads when a new male enters their territory – for example if you add another male to a vivarium. This can also happen when a male bearded dragon wants to court a female.
If there are two males bobbing their heads while approaching each other, it means that one of them is waiting for other one to back down.
If two males bob their heads and nobody backs down, that might turn into a fight to determine a ruler. Sometimes, one male doesn’t want to fight – it becomes submissive and runs away.
Bearded dragons often climb higher, like a branch or platform so that everyone watching can see them bobbing their heads.
When bobbing a head, bearded dragon does it from in an interesting way – moving up and down. It also looks like a bearded dragon is doing pushups. Its beard also changes the color – become darker, up to black.
Please note that there are two types of head bobs – one showing dominance and other one submissive. Males often perform dominant head bobs, by rapidly moving their heads and shaking their bodies. Submissive head bob is slower, and is usually coupled with a wave.
Bearded dragon inflating the beard
When a bearded dragon is inflating its beard, it is not happy. The beard is their most famous feature, and for a special reason. Whenever a bearded dragon feels threatened or in danger, it will puff up its beard to protect itself. This is a natural defense mechanism that they use to scare off predators or other bearded dragons fighting for their territory.
While bearded dragons are harmless, they do this to look bigger and powerful in enemies’ eyes. Bearded dragon’s beard also darkens in color and becomes dark bluish to black.
It also looks like its beards has sharp spikes. Males are more often seen doing this, but females also have beards that can inflate (even though they are smaller and usually lighter in color).
When bearded dragons inflate their beards, they open their mouths and sometimes even hiss! That is impressive. Never touch your dragon with a flared beard.
But do bearded dragons inflate their beards only to scare off predators? There can be a random beard puffing, and it is normal in both females and males. Your bearded dragon might be inflating its beard while shedding, and puffing up the beard helps to get rid of the old skin on the beard.
Another reason why your bearded dragon can inflate its beard randomly is to do a morning stretch. While stretching, their might puff out the beard a few times, to stretch the tendons in the jaw. What can be better than a morning stretch for a positive day start?
Bearded dragon eye bulging
Eye bulging in a bearded dragon is another funny behavior that you might notice. Bearded dragons have a very good peripheral and colored vision, and their eyes are located on the sides of their heads.
Nobody knows why exactly they do it, but the most popular belief is that they stretch their skin around the eyes. This can happen before, during and after shedding. Don’t worry about your bearded dragon bulging its eyes for a short time- it is normal.
But if it doesn’t go within an hour or few, think about other reasons. Bearded dragons can get this bulgy eye look if they develop swollen and sore eyes because of the sand substrate getting in their eyes.
If your bearded dragon seems to struggle with opening its eyes for few hours, it could be pieces of sand substrate in its eyes.
Flush its eyes with reptile eye drops like this to remove any foreign pieces. It could also be a bacterial infection, especially if your bearded dragon has eye discharge – use the antibacterial drops to clean their eyes. If it doesn’t help, see your vet.
Bearded dragon panting/open mouth
You might notice your bearded dragon gaping or opening its mouth while breathing. There can be two reasons why your bearded dragon is panting.
- This might look strange, but don’t worry – your bearded dragon is panting because of high temperatures when basking. When the temperatures get too high, bearded dragons start panting to cool themselves down. This can be a sign of overheating – make sure he or she has a spot to cool down and that the temperatures are not overly high in the vivarium.
- Bearded dragons might also gape and keep their mouths open if they have a respiratory infection, mouth infection or lung damage. If your bearded dragon is panting not due to high temperatures and does it often, it might be a time to visit your vet.
Bearded dragon curling its tail
Most of the time, a bearded dragon’s tail is flat on the ground. But there can be times when you see your bearded dragon curling its tail up in the air while it is walking, or standing with a raised upper body.
Tail curling in bearded dragons is a sign that it is alert and watching its surroundings. It is more common in groups.
Your bearded dragon can go on doing it for few hours a day. If it thinks that something is worth extra attention, it will turn its head to the side and observe with one eye for a better view.
Bearded dragons licking
Licking is a normal behavior in bearded dragons. They do it when tasting and grabbing the food with the tongue, which allows them to identify which foods they are eating. But a bearded dragon might also use its tongue to lick something else – another lizard or the substrate.
Yes, lizards do sometimes lick each other to show submission or acceptance. For example, two male bearded dragons might challenge each other by bobbing their heads. When they approach each other, they will bob their heads until someone backs down.
If a bearded dragon backs down, it might lick an alpha (ruler) male’s beard or side of the head to show submission.
But it can also be the other way round – an alpha male might lick submissive dragon’s head and then do a head bob to urge it to give up. So amusing, isn’t it?
A bearded dragon might also lick the substrate before bobbing its head to try showing its power and readiness to fight.
You can read a full post on bearded dragon licking behavior in this post.
Bearded dragon killing and cannibalism
While bearded dragons are cute and kind lizards, they might kill and eat other bearded dragons or other lizards if there is a need.
Cannibalism happens when bearded dragons are caged in a large group with limited sources of food. It also happens when larger bearded dragons are housed with smaller lizards.
The chances of cannibalism are even higher when a group of bearded dragons of different ages live together in a overcrowded, hot place with no food.
Bigger bearded dragons will eat smaller beardies and other lizards if they are hungry. Even small bearded dragons housed in groups fight for their lives and bite each other’s tail tips and toes off if they get hungry.
Bearded dragons of same sizes don’t attempt eating each other. So if you have housed babies or bearded dragons of different sizes, monitor them carefully. Or not housing them together at all is the best choice.
Bearded dragons are mostly solitary lizards, and keeping them alone is the best practice.
Bearded dragons fighting for the best basking spot
If you have few bearded dragons living together, you might see them battling for the highest basking spot. Often an alpha male is the one who has conquered the highest spot.
Bearded dragon thermoregulation, or basking
Thermoregulation is a very important part of bearded dragons’ lives. When basking, bearded dragons go under the direct sunlight, or heat lamps. To speed up the body heating, they flatten themselves on the ground or a branch.
For thermoregulation, they hide in cooler spots or move to a different side of their vivarium to cool down. That’s why it is important to have a cool spot in the vivarium – it is hard for bearded dragons to cool themselves naturally in a hot spot.
Bearded dragons laying on each other, or ‘stacking’
If you are keeping few bearded dragons of the same age or size in one vivarium, you might see them laying on top of each other, stacked up. This is an adorable way they socialize, but it can also cause problems.
Sometimes bearded dragons lay on each other if there is no enough space, for example under a basking lamp or fixture.
Bearded dragons laying on top will get more basking light and can seriously crush ones underneath. Try to limit this activity by providing them with more space.
