Friday, April 25, 2014

Strange Behaviors



Strange Behaviors

Spike Decided to Sleep Like This

Strange, But Normal Behaviors

Bearded dragons get their name from their ability to puff the skin under their chin into a "beard," as well as darken it. In the wild, this is a defense mechanism to make themselves appear bigger. This can be a sign of dominance over a cage mate, but it is normal for bearded dragons to stretch out their "beards" for no reason. We will cover other entertaining behaviors that may be strange, but these behaviors are not signs of illness.

You may catch your bearded dragon with is mouth wide open while they are under the basking lamp. Since bearded dragons are cold-blooded and cannot sweat, they open their mouths in a gaping fashion to let out excess heat and regulate their body temperature.

Bearded dragons are known to bob their head up and down. Head bobbing can either be a sign of dominance or submission, where the faster the head bob, the more threatening the gesture is meant to be. Males will bob their heads quickly at each other to show dominance over their territory, while males may bob their head at females during breeding as well. 

Arguably the most entertaining of a bearded dragon's strange behaviors is their ability to wave their arms. A bearded dragon will slowly raise and lower their front arm in an arc, sometimes they will do this repeatedly. Arm waving can mean multiple things: the bearded dragon could be showing submission to a larger animal, including another bearded dragon; they sometimes wave their arm to another bearded dragon to acknowledge their presence; they could also be saying 'thank you' after a meal. My bearded dragons will repeatedly wave their arms when they meet someone they don't see on a daily basis.

Your bearded dragon will change color over time as they shed, but they may sometimes be darker than normal. Bearded dragons will darken their skin when they are cold; they will also darken their skin if they feel threatened or stressed.

When your bearded dragon is shedding, they may run around their habitat and rub against any surface they find in order to loosen their skin. Shedding is also accompanied by the eye bulging behavior.

Bearded dragons will sleep in the most bizarre ways, but they are all perfectly normal. They will sleep standing up against the glass; they will hang half of their body off of a suspended object; they will shove themselves into small spaces. Your bearded dragon will find the most seemingly uncomfortable ways to sleep, but be completely cozy all night.

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1 comment:

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