A Few Interesting Facts about Bearded Dragons

With Bearded Dragons fast becoming popular pets, here’s some interesting information on this wonderful exotic pet.

Bearded Dragons come from Australia and the Aborigines, Australia’s native people, call them “japantarra” or “mantalyarrpa.”

Not surprisingly, they get their names from the “beards” they show in displays of aggression and mating.

These hardy animals can live from seven to ten years or more if well looked after.

Animal trade has been banned by the Australian government in the 1960s, and this includes the export of bearded dragons out of the county. Most of the bearded dragons found in the US pet trade have been bred from captivity most likely from parents taken out of Australia before the ban, or smuggled out after. Due to the increasing popularity of bearded dragons, more and more breeders can now be found in the US.

Although a bearded dragon’s natural habitat are the deserts of Australia, a lot of them would have never lived in the sand. They are more likely to be found in places that has a compacted combination of soil and sand. There are species that can be found in the more forested areas where packed soil and leaves are the usual substrate. They are semi-arboreal and they love perching on rocks and low-lying branches or stumps of trees to bask in the heat of the sun. They need this heat to regulate their body temperatures as they are cold-blooded animals, like all other reptiles.

Bearded dragons wave their arms and bob their heads as means of communicating with other bearded dragons. They use this in several different situations that it’s hard to tell exactly what they mean. But so far, it’s been found out that less dominant and less aggressive males or females will wave their arms to show submission to more aggressive and dominant males. These dominant males will bob their heads to show aggression.   Female bearded dragons will wave their arms to respond to males if they are willing to mate.

They don’t need exercise, at least not in the way a dog would need walking every now and then. With a large enough enclosure, it can give itself adequate exercise without any help from you. Of course you can pick it up and handle it from time to time. Bearded dragons are very docile animals, in the wild, it’s their natural tendency to stay still and hope predators go away which is why you can easily pick them up. When they get used to being handled, they actually get to enjoy it.

 When you get your own bearded dragon, you’ll learn more about it. They have certain quirks and behaviors that you just have to see for yourself. They are just fantastic!