First of all I am going to tell you a little bit about bearded dragons.
The bearded dragon (also known as Pogona vitticeps) is ONE of the 300 species of agamid lizard. They are naturally found in the desert of Southeastern Australia. The adults of this species usually grow to be around 2 feet in length, with the tail counting for mostly half of the body weight. Females are typically smaller than the males. They have smaller heads, thinner legs and tails, and wider bodies.
Bearded dragons come in a variety of colors such as; brown, grey, reddish-brown, red, yellow, white and orange. They are capable of undergoing very slight changes in the shade of their color to help regulate temperature. These specialized scales are along there neck, throat, head, back, and there tail.
When a Bearded Dragon feels threatened, it will flatten its body, puff out its throat, and open its mouth to make it appear larger. This is how they got their name because it looks like a beard and since it flattens out and looks bigger that’s how it got the dragon part of its name.
Now I am going to tell you a little bit about the Bearded Dragon’s history. Bearded Dragons didn’t commonly appear in the United States until the 1990’s but since then their popularity has grown exponentially.
They are a very easy pet, their easy to maintain, they have gentle dispositions (when not threatened), grow to a relatively manageable size, are extremely hardy, and can live to be over 10 years of age. One behavioral trait is their arm waving. Hatchling and baby beardies will sometimes sit and wave their arm. The reason they wave is to introduce themselves as non-threatening to other dragons. It can appear as if they are waving “Hello” to you.
When they get too hot, bearded dragons will actually bask with their mouths wide open, almost like a panting dog. Although male-male combat is often observed among sexually mature individuals, bearded dragons are in fact a social lizard, and interact favorably with others of their species and with humans as well.
Thank you for your time my fellow youngzine friends. There will be more of where this came from.
Until then good bye.
