Beards Are Cool

Baby Bearded Dragons

If you ever read my post, Reptile Care, you would know that when I was younger, I owned a baby bearded dragon. In my youth, I never had any interest in bearded dragon facts. I only knew that they looked cool and I wanted to own one, but now that I have grown in my interest of the funny looking creatures, I thought I could learn more about them and share my knowledge with the few people that actually read my blogs. To start like David Copperfield, they were born in the continent of Australia in the Northern and southern territories towards the eastern parts of these regions. They grow up in woodlands and deserts. They were introduced to the United States in the 1990's and quickly became popular pets. However, it has since been named illegal to import these animals from Australia in the 1960's to maintain the natural population and habitat. They make such ideal pets due to their gentle dispositions and the rarity of finding an aggressive one. They also require the lowest level of cleaning and maintenance.

Adult Bearded Dragon

Bearded dragons derive the name 'bearded' from their spikes and scales surrounding their heads giving the appearance of a beard. They can actually use these spikes as a defense mechanism by puffing up their throat, much like a frog, to ward off predators. As far as the rest of their appearance, they have triangular heads. They have four stout legs that support a flat, somewhat squishy body. They have additional rows of spike that run along the sides of the body. Though these spike may look painful, they are actually rather dull and do not hinder the holder's enjoyment of the animal. Their tails do not fall off like other lizards, but they do take up half of their 12 inch to 24 inch body length. A healthy bearded dragon who is well looked after by its owner can live to be 8 to 12 years old. The maximum lifespan is about 14 years or more, but these are very rare.

Scientific name: Pogona Vitticeps
Morphs: there are just so many morphs of bearded dragons, that I thought it best to just give you an extra link: http://beardeddragonsource.com/info-center/about-breed-types/

Links: 

http://pogopogona.com/bearded-dragon-facts/how-big-do-bearded-dragons-get

http://pogopogona.com/bearded-dragon-facts/how-long-do-bearded-dragons-live

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatreptileblog/2008/04/25/bearded-dragon-care-and-history-in-captivity/

http://www.beardeddragon.co/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=168

http://www.freewebs.com/maz78949/sexingyourbeardie.htm

http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/viewtopic.php?p=1097368

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Reptiles-704/2008/4/sexing-bearded-dragon.htm