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This months Feature Pet is the Bearded Dragon

By Liz Palika MSN I received a phone call a few weeks ago from a young Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, a Southern California military base not far from my home. Having just received orders to go overseas, he was concerned about his three juvenile bearded dragons. When he told his wife he had to leave, she responded, "Those @#$%! lizards have to go, too!"

Luckily, when the Marine called us, my husband and I had an empty cage. Usually, the enclosures we use for our reptile rescue operation are occupied by homeless, unwanted turtles and tortoises, but when we have a free cage or two, we'll take in other reptile species. I was excited to see these new arrivals. I've always been fascinated by bearded dragons, and now I had the chance to observe them up close..

Bearded dragons have a unique and fascinating habit: They wave to each other. When a "beardie" is in a cage with others, he may lift a front leg and move it in a circular motion, so it looks as if he's waving to say hello! Beardies, of course, can't tell us why they do this, but most researchers think it's an appeasement gesture that a subordinate lizard makes to a larger, dominant lizard.. All bearded dragons originated in Australia, though there are now very stringent laws restricting the exportation of wildlife from that country. The bearded dragons bred in captivity today are either descendants of dragons exported prior to these restrictions, or they're animals smuggled illegally out of Australia.

The bearded dragon most often bred in captivity and kept as a pet in Europe and the United States goes by the name "Pogona vitticeps". It gets its nickname from a throat pouch (gular) that expands when the lizard is excited. This pouch is fringed with small protuberances that resemble the hair of a man's beard. The pouch darkens to nearly black when the lizard extends or inflates it, and it definitely looks like a beard! Beardies are normally a silvery gray color, with a darker pattern on the back and legs. However, in Australia, many lizards have evolved with reds, browns, and golds in order to blend into the native rocks and sand. Breeders are using those natural colors to produce similar brightly hued beardies in captivity. These attractive and startlingly colorful lizards are in great demand as pets. Although the brightly colored lizards are more expensive than the traditionally colored ones, youngsters can typically be bought for less than $100..

Even though they're called "dragons," these ground-hugging lizards look nothing like an upright, mythical dragon with a long, snakelike neck. The bearded dragon has a heavy, flat body; large head; short neck; and scales varied in color, size, and shape. Adult males reach 2 feet in length, about half of which is their tail. Females are a little shorter and are slightly built. Beardies have a prickly appearance, with spiny protuberances along the edges of the beard, sides, and tail. But they don't feel prickly. In fact, their underside is quite soft!.

Beardies are easy to care for in captivity. They eat insects (crickets, mealworms, and waxworms) and plants (chopped greens and grated vegetables), and the vegetable diet can be just like an iguana's. Since an adult will reach 2 feet in length, the minimum cage size should be 2 feet wide by 4 feet long. The substrate should be clean sand, and accessories should provide several places for the beardie to hide.

I'm having so much fun with them, they may just stay here as permanent residents!

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