All About Bearded Dragons

Bearded dragon is the common name of a genus of lizard that has seven species. These lizards are characterized by spiny that are located in the throat, thus the name bearded dragon. Bearded dragons have a very friendly attitude towards person and therefore they are kept as pets. This article will discuss all about bearded dragons and the basic essential information that you need to know about them.



On thing that you need to know all about bearded dragon is that its natural habitat is in rocky deserts and semi-arid woodlands of Australia. The most common specie that is kept as pet is the Pogona vitticeps or the central/inland bearded dragon. They have a life span of about 10 to 20 years and they can adults can grow into a length of 16-22 inches and a weight of 350-600 grams.



The scales which in their throat which is the distinguishing characteristic of bearded dragons can expand when threatened. They also can change their colors like a chameleon when competing with other males, or as a response to stimuli like a temperature change. Moreover, you can tell a male bearded dragon from a female one by looking at the pre-anal between the back legs. Males have more pronounced pores while females tend to have less noticeable ones.



Bearded dragons are omnivores so they eat pretty much anything from leafy greens, vegetables, crickets, worms, berries, fruits, and some can even eat small mice. However, there are some foods that are not recommended for bearded dragons when they are kept as pets. These include insects captured in the wild as they may be exposed to insecticides or viruses, avocado and rhubarb, foods that contain high amounts of oxalates like spinach, kale and cabbage as they can disrupt calcium absorption, citrus fruits, and bananas as well.



Finally, for those who are planning on getting a bearded dragon as a pet, they should prepare an enclosure that should serve as a habitat for the lizard. The enclosure should mimic the natural habitat of the bearded dragon and therefore it should be heated with a heating pad and a heating lamp. These are the basic stuff that you need to know all about bearded dragons.