Common Name: Inland Bearded Dragon Scientific Name: Pongona vitticeps
LEAST CONCERN Inland Bearded Dragon Distribution: Central Australia Habitat: Desert and Scrub Length: 45-60cm Weight: 300-500g Diet: Omnivorous
There are seven species of bearded dragons, and the inland beaded dragon is one of them and the most popular pet. They originally came from Australia and fortunately they now have strict rules on exporting live animals, so almost all pet bearded dragons are captive bred. They are named for the specialised, spiny scales under their throats which can expand to create a beard-like shape. These scales are darker in males compared to females, particularly during the breeding period. Males also use their beards during dominance displays, and open their mouths wide to make the display more intimidating bearded dragons have big mouths! Head bobbing is another sign of dominance. In contrast, an arm waving behaviour where they raise one foreleg and wave in a slow circular motion is a submissive behaviour that a female or smaller male would make in response to a dominance display. Bearded dragons are usually mild tempered and docile, which makes them suitable pets. They are also curious and diurnal (active in the day) so they can be entertaining in the right environment. As they are cold-blooded animals they rely on their surroundings for warmth, in the wild they would be able to move to different areas to cool off or warm up, so in captivity they must have a heat gradient to mimic this. As omnivores, they eat a wide variety of foods, including chopped meat, pinkie mice, locusts, worms, fruit and leafy greens. Because they often live in desert habitats they have large stomachs which allows the dragon to eat as much as possible when food is available. Females lay 20 eggs at a time and the young dragons hatch after 55-75 days and live independently from their parents. They are ready to breed themselves after 18 months.