Central Bearded Dragon - Ecology and Behavior

Ecology and Behavior

This dragon is native to the semiarid woodland, arid woodland, and rocky desert regions of Central Australia. They are skilled climbers, and often spend just as much time perching on tree limbs, fenceposts, and in bushes as they do on the ground. They spend the morning and early evening sunning themselves on exposed branches or rocks, and retreat to shady areas or underground burrows during the hottest parts of the afternoon.

Bearded dragons do not vocalize, except to hiss softly when threatened. Instead, they communicate through color displays, posture, and physical gestures, such as leg waving and head bobbing. Bearded dragons are not social animals, but will sometimes gather in groups, especially in popular feeding or basking areas. At these times, a distinct hierarchy will emerge: the highest-ranking animals will take the best - usually the highest or sunniest - basking spots, and all other individuals arrange themselves lower down. If a low-ranking animal tries to challenge one of the dominant dragons, the dominant animal will demonstrate its superiority by bobbing its head and inflating its beard, at which point the challenger may signal submission by waving one of its forelegs in a slow circle. If the low-ranking dragon does not submit, it will return the head bob, and a stand off or fight may ensue.

The several different kinds of head bob gestures are:

• Slow bowing motion - often used by adult females to signal submission to a male
• Fast bob - used by males to signal dominance (often accompanied by an inflated and/or blackened beard)
• Violent bob - used by males just before mating, much more vigorous, and usually sets the animal's whole body in motion

The male will only wave to show submission to a dominant male, whereas the female will wave, followed by a slow head bob, to show she is ready to mate. Gravid females will often refuse the advances of a male by chasing him and lying on his back.

When under direct attack, the central bearded dragon opens its mouth to display its yellow membranes and extend its beard. It darkens the colour of its skin and flattens its body, and will hiss and make small jumps towards the attacker.