Thursday 14 February 2008

Bearded Dragon Lizard from Australia

Australian Bearded Dragon Lizard
Photo of the Australian Bearded Dragon Lizard with it's mouth wide open and the lizard's frill out
Bearded Dragons have broad triangular heads and flattened bodies, with adults reaching approximately 18 to 24 inches head-to-tail. When threatened, the lizards will expand a spiny pouch under their jaw and turn it black, as well as inhale air and puff up to make them appear larger. The pouch resembles a beard, lending the animal their name.

Bearded Dragons have a distinctive series of spines radiating horizontally from the head to the tail. Their color ranges from light tan to dark brown, depending on their native soil, often with highlights of black, brilliant red, or gold, and can change somewhat depending upon their internal condition. Bearded Dragons can occupy a large range of habitats from the desert to dry forests and scrublands.

All species are from Australia, but they have been exported worldwide and bred successfully in captivity. In the wild, the various species are widely distributed throughout different regions of Australia. Bearded Dragons live about 10-15 years with proper care in captivity, though some can live up to 20 years old.

Bearded Dragons are known to be very docile and trusting, yet at the same time, outgoing and curious lizards. Their behaviour includes body language such as head bobbing and leg waving. It is not recommended to try and arouse this behaviour, however, as it is territorial in nature.

Information source: Wikipedia
This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

7 comments:

  1. Very interesting account and great photo.

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  2. Hi David,

    Thanks for dropping round and commenting. It's great to see you back again, glad you like this pic. :)

    Cheers,

    David

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  3. WOW! Scary!
    He certainly looks Feirce!

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  4. Hi Liam,

    These fella's are fierce indeed! Somewhat similar to my previous Blue-tongue Lizard post, if you look there....

    Cheers,

    David

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  5. Wow that looks so crazy!! I have never even heard of this animal. Thanks for sharing :)

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  6. Hi, am getting a dragon tomorrow! How do you tell female from male? the people got tired of it and are giving it to me. My spouse will just die! He will be afraid of it. We have 3 cats two bengals and a torti, but they are sweet. I hope they like the dragon.

    Linda in pa linfox@state.pa.us

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  7. Thanks Linda for your comment. Sorry I can't give you any info on the identification - we don't really have them as pets here in Australia! I would suggest that Google is your friend though.

    Cheers,

    David

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