Handling and Behavior

The short version

• Give a new dragon 1–2 quiet weeks to settle and start eating before much handling.
• Scoop from the side and below, support the chest and back legs, and never grab from above or by the tail.
• Keep sessions short so your dragon can get back under its heat and UVB.
• One dragon per enclosure, always [2].
• Adults often slow down in autumn and winter (brumation). Appetite loss without weight loss is normal; losing more than 10% of body weight is not [16].

Handling

Handle very little in the first 1–2 weeks while your dragon settles in and starts eating.

After that, keep sessions short and calm:

• Scoop from the side and below. Support the chest and the back legs.
• Never grab from above. To a lizard, that is what a predator does.
• Never pick up a dragon by the tail.
• Babies are flighty and run, so sit on the floor when you handle them.

Adults are usually calm and tolerate 15–30 minutes out of the enclosure. Every minute out is a minute without heat and UVB, though, so keep sessions short and let your dragon bask afterwards (keeper experience, not proven).

Wash your hands before and after every handling session. See the Health chapter for Salmonella hygiene [14].

Temperament and body language

Bearded dragons are among the calmest pet lizards once settled. Some behaviors you will see:

• Head-bobbing: bobbing, often with a blackened beard and foot stomping, is typical of a male courting. Females head-bob too, and an arm-wave from a female signals she is ready to mate [24]. The difference between a male's fast bob and a female's slow bob is keeper experience, not proven.
• Arm-waving: outside of mating, a slow wave is usually read as a submissive or "I'm not a threat" signal (keeper experience, not proven).
• Beard darkening and puffing: often a sign of stress or defense, and in males part of courtship (keeper experience, not proven; courtship display from [24]).
• Glass surfing and pacing can mean the enclosure is too small, too hot or too cool, or that the dragon can see its reflection or another dragon (keeper experience, not proven).

Living alone

Keep one dragon per enclosure. Dragons kept together compete for food and basking space and may fight, even if they seemed to get along before. Adult males fight over territory, and a larger dragon can overpower or injure a smaller one [2]. Keepers often report bitten tails and toes and a smaller dragon that stops eating. Two dragons that seem fine together are often one dominant dragon and one stressed dragon (keeper experience, not proven).

Brumation

Brumation usually starts after the first year of age [16]. Many dragons slow down in autumn and winter: appetite falls, they sleep and hide more, and they sit on the cool side. True brumation is appetite loss without real weight loss. ReptiFiles says a planned brumation should last at least 2 months and no more than 4 [16]; some dragons only slow down for a few weeks (keeper experience, not proven).

Only let a healthy dragon of good weight brumate. A vet check and a clean fecal exam first are sensible (keeper experience, not proven). ReptiFiles describes this routine [16]:

• Stop food about 2 weeks before brumation, and give a warm soak about a week before, so the gut is empty. Undigested food in a cold gut can rot.
• Shorten the light day over those 2 weeks, then turn lights and heat off for the brumation itself.
• Weigh it weekly on a kitchen scale.
• To wake it, run lights and heat on a short 6-hour day for a week, then go back to 13 hours.

Keepers also offer fresh water throughout, and a little salad if the dragon is up and basking. Never force-feed a brumating dragon (keeper experience, not proven).

See a vet if: weight loss passes 10% of the starting weight (stop brumation and go right away); the dragon does not seem to wake up; or its appetite does not come back after brumation ends [16]. Sunken eyes or sunken fat pads behind the head are also warning signs of dehydration or weight loss (keeper experience, not proven).