Bearded Dragon Behavior Tips

Video Transcript

"Next thing we are going to glance over really quickly is behavior in a bearded dragon. Now as a baby he should be a little flighty, he should be active; he should be more than willing to run around. He should run from you when you go to get him out of enclosure. If he is laying around not doing a whole lot and spending a lot of time sitting in his water bowel, these are behaviors that indicate health problems that need to be looked at. Also bearded dragons often do what is called venting, he'll open up his mouth, he'll open up his mouth just a little bit and he'll look like he is almost panting. What that is, is he's actually letting off excess heat, ok. Reptiles don't sweat, so they have to be able to regulate their temperature one way or another. And that's how they do it lots of the times. They'll sit out in an open area with his mouth wide and gaping looking kind of up in the air, letting the heat rise out of it. Don't be overly concerned. However, if he is doing that too much or if his mouth is hanging limply rather than being opened, this can be indications of problems such as: too much heating or possibly even mouth rot. So be sure to watch for discoloration. Take these behaviors as times to get a closer look at your reptile's overall health. As your reptile, your bearded dragon gets older and starts to reach sexual maturity a lot of them will start doing other various behaviors such as arm waving, with the females will take their little hands and they will wave them at you. What that is is a breeding response. She's trying to get an adult male to come and breed with her. The males will do what's called head bobbing. He'll bob his head up and down, nod at you a little bit. That's a territorial device. He's telling other bearded dragons this is his territory. Stay out of it."