Here you will find information on Bearded Dragon behaviour as you will see some are quite strange.

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If you are thinking of purchasing a lizard and would like to be able hold your pet, their really is not much of a better choice in the pet trade than a Bearded Dragon. Bearded Dragons will actively look to sit or perch on you and are happy to sit on your shoulder as you move around. Not particulary skittish unless alerted by a sudden noise or frightened, owning a Bearded Dragon is a very enjoyable experience.

Behavioural Traits

Bearded Dragons have a few strange behavioural traits some of which you may never witness. This page explains what it all means for when you do.

Arm Waving

Three examples of arm waving... how funny and cute! Arm waving is mainly shown by females when a male is present or by the young as a submissive gesture. This is not a very common behaviour but all Bearded Dragons can perform arm waving. Young Bearded Dragons may wave at each other and you. When I first got Spike home she waved at those of us watching and never did this again.

Head Bobbing

For those who have not seen a Bearded Dragon head bobbing check out this video

Head Bobbing can be passive, submissive or dominant behaviour. Commonly displayed by males this can be done rather rapidly. A male may also display their blackened beard. Females mainly participate in head bobbing when confronted by a male behaving in this way. Waving may also occur during a session of head bobbing, females will often wave when a male is present. The sight of multiple Bearded Dragons waving, head bobbing and the display of beards is very amusing and shows the complex social interaction that occurrs between Beardies.

Gaping

Gaping is performed by Bearded Dragons to regulate their body temperature. This should not be confused with aggressive behaviour where if a Bearded Dragon wants to scare a threat off it may flare its beard, blow up and stand up high.

Beard Display

The beard is used during mating and aggressive displays. Males display the beard more frequently, especially for courtship. Females will, however, display their beard as a sign of aggression also. The beard turns dark to jet-black and inflates during the display. They may also open their mouth in addition to inflating the beard to appear more intimidating.

Bulging Eyes

Surely the weirdest behaviour by far, Bearded Dragons eyes will occasionally bulge like a frog, the real reason for this is not known. There is no need to worry about this behaviour and this only continues briefly.

If you have a question about Bearded Dragons behaviour

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