My friend just bought one of thsese lizards, funniest thing in the freakin' world. It rips around in its cage at like mach 1 and bobs its head all the time, I'm trying to get my friend to name is Quagmire.
Bearded dragon
- Thread starter LAYZORBEEMZ
- Start date
It's stressed out if it's behaving like that. Tell your friend not to handle it for a few days, to just let it be for a bit until it adjusts to it's new environment.
I've always said that if I were going to own a reptile, a beardie would be it. I think they are so goddamn neat.
Here's some info for your friend:
http://www.beardeddragon.org/
Here's some info for your friend:
http://www.beardeddragon.org/
Well he doesn't bob his head all the time, most of the time he goes under his heat lamp and opens his mouth and curls his tail up like a scorpion.
I owned a beardie for 7 years and they are definitely an experience. The gaping they do under heat lamps is to thermoregulate their body temps so they don't overheat. Tell your friend to make sure he has a cool place to get to to hide from the heat as well, at least 20deg. cooler than his basking spot.
The tail curl is an attention indicator. It means that he is at full attention, ready to move if necessary. It can mean he might be agitated or threatened, or just generally energetic. If he develops shakes in this posture (involuntary tics, not head bobs or arm waves), he is stressing out so make sure to cover his tank or obscure his vision outside so he will eventually relax. He may also wave his arms as well.
The arm wave is a submissive attitude he takes depending on his moods. If he is intimidated by something or someone, generally he will stay very still. If he decides the threat is dominant, he will gently wave one arm in a circular motion, followed by the other. It's a passive gesture that means literally "I am not an enemy, I won't hurt you, please don't hurt me!!!" Female beardies do this a lot.
The head bob is a dominance posture they take during mating times or for general assertiveness. Usually when they do this, the beard goes jet black or dark colored and they vigorously bob their heads in either jerky, rapid bobs or deep, deliberate bobs. They will also run the length of the tank in this manner, displaying to whomever's watching that they are the kings of their domains.
When I got Drake (my lizard, hence my namesake) acclimated to me (which took all of 1 hour), he would sit on my shoulder and rest his neck against maine and fall asleep when it was bedtime, or ride my shoulder when my wife and I went places (Best Buy used to love having us visit with him). We also got him a harness and leash, which came in very handy when he would get a little rambunctious and jump from my shoulder with little to no warning.
Yup, he was a handfull, God rest him.
The tail curl is an attention indicator. It means that he is at full attention, ready to move if necessary. It can mean he might be agitated or threatened, or just generally energetic. If he develops shakes in this posture (involuntary tics, not head bobs or arm waves), he is stressing out so make sure to cover his tank or obscure his vision outside so he will eventually relax. He may also wave his arms as well.
The arm wave is a submissive attitude he takes depending on his moods. If he is intimidated by something or someone, generally he will stay very still. If he decides the threat is dominant, he will gently wave one arm in a circular motion, followed by the other. It's a passive gesture that means literally "I am not an enemy, I won't hurt you, please don't hurt me!!!" Female beardies do this a lot.
The head bob is a dominance posture they take during mating times or for general assertiveness. Usually when they do this, the beard goes jet black or dark colored and they vigorously bob their heads in either jerky, rapid bobs or deep, deliberate bobs. They will also run the length of the tank in this manner, displaying to whomever's watching that they are the kings of their domains.
When I got Drake (my lizard, hence my namesake) acclimated to me (which took all of 1 hour), he would sit on my shoulder and rest his neck against maine and fall asleep when it was bedtime, or ride my shoulder when my wife and I went places (Best Buy used to love having us visit with him). We also got him a harness and leash, which came in very handy when he would get a little rambunctious and jump from my shoulder with little to no warning.
Yup, he was a handfull, God rest him.
DreamerTheresa;1391494 said:
One must really stay attentive too cage detail as dragons stink the high hell if ignored too long lol...FYI
Make sure you're friend gets on some reptile forums as generally husbandry books are way outdated and recomend "proven harmfull" advice such as using heat rocks:-(
He's joined a forum I know that and he has done a tone of research on beardies because he wants him to grow really big and healthy. The dragon is in a pretty decent sized tank, it's big enough for a adult male to live in and yes it has a cool area so he's not under his heat lamp 24/7, his water and food things are in the cool area. My friend has a digital thermometer so he can keep track of the temperature of the tank so the little guy doesn't overheat.
http://forums.kingsnake.com/forum.php?catid=43
This is one of the best forums out there. If you roll back to the lead forum page it has a ton of forums and links for other reptiles as well. People answer quick and are not snotty about giving advice.
Thread Hijack...
Gabby, you got any other "hots" in your collection? Vipers kick ass but are way touchy for me to keep one I hear.
This is one of the best forums out there. If you roll back to the lead forum page it has a ton of forums and links for other reptiles as well. People answer quick and are not snotty about giving advice.
Thread Hijack...
Gabby, you got any other "hots" in your collection? Vipers kick ass but are way touchy for me to keep one I hear.
I absolutely love bearded dragons, I've had atleast 30 different ones..
You DEFINITELY need to have a nice cool spot for him to cool off, they open their mouths and stick their tongues out just slightly like a dog to cool off, if they do manually move it (hate to say it, but some are just too stupid; just like humans it's the luck of the draw) to a cooler spot, but NEVER try to put it in the fridge or something..
you can give them a nice soaking in the sink with luke warm water to help loosen up stuck skin, but be careful, most beardies will poop when they come in contact with water, so it's not recommended to have a water dish with your beardie, as they will use it as a toilet, and if you have more than one and don't catch it, they'll drink from it.
Instead feed lots of leavy green veggies, baby carrots (sliced, thin, not chopped), crickets, and the occasional wax worm. Try not to feed it any meal worms, as their shells are quite tough and hard to digest. The occasional pinkie mouse or if your beardie is large enough (mine were), a hopper or even a small mouse. I prefer feeding it live mice, but if you're not into that kinda thing you can buy frozen pinkies, or even just spritz their food with liquid reptile vitamins.
Make sure you have wood chunks, or dried grape vines, etc for them to climb on, avoid sandy substrates, unless they're edible; as they can get impacted in your beardie's colon and lead to starvation and eventually death. It's not necessary, but you can also have an under-tank heating pad, or a small heat rock for belly-heat. You must also have a UVB lamp to ensure proper calcium digestion. Failure to do so can lead to all kinds of metabolic bone diseases and criple your poor dragon...
Bobbing is a male thing, and when accompanied with a black "beard" (how they got their names), then the make is being aggressive, or wants to mate, in which case if he's with another male, he will usually attack or fight, so it's recommended to separate any males after they start exhibiting such behavior. However you can have as many females in there as you'd like. Females and juveniles will usually "wave". Females as a sign of submission, and juveniles as a sign of communication. Males will occassionally wave, but only when they don't want to fight, or they submit, in which case they'll bob up and down slightly, yet quickly and then haul ass out of there, so make sure you have them in their tanks, unless you want to move the couch or the fridge if he runs under there...
ONE THING you must remember is NEVER EVER keep different sized beardies in the same tank. If a baby is small enough, he WILL GET EATEN; cannibalism with smaller beardies is their one fault in my eyes. Otherwise, feed your dragons, clean their tanks and pay attention to them, and you'll love them. They each have their own personallity and their own traits. The more they are handled the nicer they will be. They will even rest on your arm, on a window, or hang out with the family dog. My beardies (Except one) always loved to be petted like a dog and hand fed, so you can also do the same. Any other questions, just feel free to ask..
enjoy!
You DEFINITELY need to have a nice cool spot for him to cool off, they open their mouths and stick their tongues out just slightly like a dog to cool off, if they do manually move it (hate to say it, but some are just too stupid; just like humans it's the luck of the draw) to a cooler spot, but NEVER try to put it in the fridge or something..
you can give them a nice soaking in the sink with luke warm water to help loosen up stuck skin, but be careful, most beardies will poop when they come in contact with water, so it's not recommended to have a water dish with your beardie, as they will use it as a toilet, and if you have more than one and don't catch it, they'll drink from it.
Instead feed lots of leavy green veggies, baby carrots (sliced, thin, not chopped), crickets, and the occasional wax worm. Try not to feed it any meal worms, as their shells are quite tough and hard to digest. The occasional pinkie mouse or if your beardie is large enough (mine were), a hopper or even a small mouse. I prefer feeding it live mice, but if you're not into that kinda thing you can buy frozen pinkies, or even just spritz their food with liquid reptile vitamins.
Make sure you have wood chunks, or dried grape vines, etc for them to climb on, avoid sandy substrates, unless they're edible; as they can get impacted in your beardie's colon and lead to starvation and eventually death. It's not necessary, but you can also have an under-tank heating pad, or a small heat rock for belly-heat. You must also have a UVB lamp to ensure proper calcium digestion. Failure to do so can lead to all kinds of metabolic bone diseases and criple your poor dragon...
Bobbing is a male thing, and when accompanied with a black "beard" (how they got their names), then the make is being aggressive, or wants to mate, in which case if he's with another male, he will usually attack or fight, so it's recommended to separate any males after they start exhibiting such behavior. However you can have as many females in there as you'd like. Females and juveniles will usually "wave". Females as a sign of submission, and juveniles as a sign of communication. Males will occassionally wave, but only when they don't want to fight, or they submit, in which case they'll bob up and down slightly, yet quickly and then haul ass out of there, so make sure you have them in their tanks, unless you want to move the couch or the fridge if he runs under there...
ONE THING you must remember is NEVER EVER keep different sized beardies in the same tank. If a baby is small enough, he WILL GET EATEN; cannibalism with smaller beardies is their one fault in my eyes. Otherwise, feed your dragons, clean their tanks and pay attention to them, and you'll love them. They each have their own personallity and their own traits. The more they are handled the nicer they will be. They will even rest on your arm, on a window, or hang out with the family dog. My beardies (Except one) always loved to be petted like a dog and hand fed, so you can also do the same. Any other questions, just feel free to ask..
enjoy!