Vivariums;reptiles;Bearded dragons spec

Ecology and behaviour :

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 colour 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 front legs in a slow or fast circle. If the low-ranking dragon does not submit, it will return the head bob, and a standoff or fight may ensue.

Pogona Species :

The following eight species are recognized as being valid :

Pogona barbata (Cuvier, 1829) – Eastern bearded dragon
Pogona henrylawsoni Wells & Wellington, 1985 – Rankin's dragon, Black-soil bearded dragon, Dumpy dragon, Dwarf bearded dragon
Pogona microlepidota (Glauert, 1952) – Kimberley bearded dragon
Pogona minima (Loveridge, 1933) – Western bearded dragon
Pogona minor (Sternfeld, 1919) – Western bearded dragon, Dwarf bearded dragon
Pogona mitchelli (Badham, 1976) – North-west bearded dragon
Pogona nullarbor (Badham, 1976) – Nullabor bearded dragon
Pogona vitticeps (Ahl, 1926) – Central bearded dragon or inland bearded dragon

1- Breaded Dragons - Pogona Vitticeps

Detail of the "beard"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pogona vitticeps, the central (or inland) bearded dragon, is a species of agamid lizard occurring in a wide range of arid to semiarid regions of Australia. This species is very popularly kept as a pet and exhibited in zoos.

Pogona vitticeps

Conservation status :

Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)

Scientific classification :

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Chordata

Subphylum:Vertebrata

Class:Reptilia

Order:Squamata

Suborder:Iguania

Family:Agamidae

Subfamily:Amphibolurinae

Genus:Pogona

Species:P. vitticeps

Binomial name :

Pogona vitticeps
Ahl, 1927

Description :

Adults of this species can reach a total length of up to 60 cm (24 in), with the tail accounting for more than half. Sexes are not strongly dimorphic, but males can be distinguished from females as males have a wider cloacal opening, the base of the tail is wider, the head is usually larger with a larger beard and possess hemipenes.[1] Males also have more pronounced femoral pores than females (these can be seen as waxy bumps on the underside of the back legs).[2] Bearded dragons vary widely in colour, including brown, reddish-brown, red, yellow, white, and orange. They are capable of undergoing moderate changes in the shade of their colour to help regulate temperature. The specialized scales along both sides of the throat, neck, and head form many narrow spines which run down the side of the body to the tail. When feeling threatened, a bearded dragon will flatten its body against the ground, puff out its spiny throat and open its jaws to make itself appear larger. The bearded dragon is so named because of the pouch-like projection (also called the guttural pouch) on the underside of the neck and chin area which typically turns darker than the rest of the body. It also boasts spiny projections. Both of these characteristics appear similar to a human's beard. Males typically have a darker "beard" than females, and during mating season and courtship it will typically darken to near-black.

The bearded dragon, like most agamid lizards, has strong legs which enable it to lift its body completely off the ground while it moves. This is done to reduce the heat taken in from the ground, as well as to increase the air flow over the belly to cool itself further.

Pogona vitticeps was first described by Ernst Ahl in 1926, who placed it in the genus Amphibolurus.[3][4]

A studied conducted in 2014 established the existence of endogenous circadian rhythm in pigmentation changes in Pogona vitticeps. In other words, light and dark can influence the color changes of this kind of lizards. If exposed to

light, the dorsal skin of the lizard becomes darker, and if exposed to darkness, it becomes lighter. Under constant darkness (i.e. in the subjective night), the lizards’ dorsal skin becomes the lightest.[5]

Taken at the Cincinnati Zoo

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
Females also do fast and violent head bobs as it shows us that they are stressed out and need some alone time. This also applies for the males.

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.[6] It darkens the colour of its skin and flattens its body, and will hiss and make small jumps towards the attacker. Bearded dragons are not known to attack humans.[7]

Bearded dragons have been shown to be able to learn from watching the behaviour of conspecifics. An experiment demonstrated that after one individual was trained to open a door to reach a food item, most other bearded dragons watching this action were able to perform it as well.[8]

Zoo Dvůr Králové Czech Republic

Baby bearded dragon

Reproduction :

The age of sexual maturity has not been measured, although it is estimated to be about one or two years.[9] Body size and growth rates are more important than age when determining sexual maturity in bearded dragons.[10] Males will become very aggressive towards each other and will assert their dominance by inflating their beards and through fast head bobbing. Breeding typically occurs in the early spring. Females will lay a clutch of 11-30 oblong-shaped eggs in a shallow nest dug in the sand. After being laid, the eggs are buried and are left unattended. The eggs will hatch approximately 60 to 80 days later, depending on the incubation temperature. In captivity, they can be incubated in a styrofoam fish box, but without a male lizard, the female's eggs will not be fertile. However, a female bearded dragon can retain sperm, and thus produce fertile eggs even after being separated from a male.

Courtship involves the male "head bobbing" to display dominance. If the female displays submissive behaviour, the male will use its mouth to grab the back of the female's head and the male will also wrap its front legs around the female's upper torso to keep her from moving. Copulation and insemination are quick. The gestation period averages about a month and a half.

Thermally induced sex reversal

A 2016 study showed that high-temperature incubation of eggs transforms genetically male individuals into functional females.[11]

Normally their sex is determined genetically. Males have ZZ sex chromosomes, females ZW. However, when their eggs are incubated at temperatures above 32 °C (90 °F) some genetic males are born female. These females are fertile, sometimes producing more eggs than the ZW females. [12]

Captive breeding :

Several of the Pogona genus are bred in captivity as pets; the two most popular are this species, P. vitticeps, and the western bearded dragon (Pogona minor minor).[13][14] The bulk of captive-bred bearded dragons today are thought to have originated from stock illegally exported from Australia during the 1970s.[15]

Captives worldwide are threatened by Agamid adenovirus, a virus that compromises the immune system of the dragon, and leads to death from other diseases. However, the majority of the infections are subclinical. Subclinically infected animals show no symptoms, but are active carriers of the disease and will infect other bearded dragons.

When the female is ready to lay eggs, she will generally stop eating and spend most of her time trying to dig.[citation needed]

Exhibit at the Henry Doorly Zoo

Inland Bearded Dragon Availability

Bearded dragons are commonly available at stores, reptile expos and breeders’ websites. Captive-bred specimens are highly recommended because they are usually healthier and more acclimated to captivity than wild-caught animals. Various color morphs are available, too (though they’re more costly than “normal-colored” animals).

Inland Bearded Dragon Size

Hatchlings measure about 4 inches; large adults can be nearly 2 feet in length.

Bearded Dragon Lifespan

Average captive lifespan is between six and 10 years, though there are reports of specimens living twice that long.

Inland Bearded Dragon Caging Tips :

While a hatchling dragon could live in a 20-gallon aquarium for a short time, it will quickly need a larger enclosure. A 75-gallon aquarium or equal-sized enclosure is OK for one or two adult dragons. Screening should be used for proper ventilation, whether as a top on an aquarium enclosure or in the construction of a custom enclosure. During warm weather bearded dragons can be kept in outdoor cages. Be sure the outdoor enclosure provides both sunny basking areas and shady retreats, as well as shelter from rain. Having access to the sun outdoors provides healthy UV. Bearded dragons like to climb, so some sturdy branches are welcome in their enclosures.

Inland Bearded Dragon Lighting and Temperature :

Bearded dragons like it hot. A basking site of about 100 degrees Fahrenheit works well for them. The basking site can be provided by a spotlight (such as a mercury vapor bulb) positioned over a rock, branch, etc. at one end of the enclosure. Keeping the spotlight at one end of the cage will allow your dragon to thermoregulate (move between a cooler end of the enclosure and the hotter end with the basking area). The cooler end of the enclosure can be kept at about 80 degrees.

In addition to the basking spotlight, provide full-spectrum UVB (ultraviolet) lighting over the rest of the enclosure. This lighting is critically important for dragons that are kept indoors, as it assists them in synthesizing vitamin D3, which aids in calcium absorption. There are many types of lights available; consult with store employees and read the packaging to determine the best for your setup.

Heat can also be provided using heat tape, heat emitters and other devices available in pet stores. Keep a thermometer in the enclosure to track the cage temperature. At night, it can go down to about 65 degrees.

Inland Bearded Dragon Substrate

Sand is commonly used with bearded dragons, though there is concern, especially when keeping young lizards, that intestinal impaction could result if they accidentally eat some. It is not recommended that you keep young bearded dragons on sand, or any kind of loose substrate. Newspaper, paper toweling or reptile carpet (though watch for loose threads or areas that can snag dragon toenails) would be better choices.

Adult bearded dragons can be kept on these same substrates. If you must use sand, playground sand (available at hardware and do-it-yourself stores) is a decent choice due to the fact that it's not as dusty as other types of sand. You can also purchase digestible “reptile sand” at reptile and pet stores, though opinions on the safety of these are varied. If you try some, be sure to follow manufacturer directions. Sand mixed with clean soil that has not been treated with any fertilizers, pesticides, etc., can also be used with adult bearded dragons.

If you keep your bearded dragons on sand, reduce the risk of impaction by offering food on a shallow dish rather than placing it directly on the substrate.

Inland Bearded Dragon Food

Bearded dragons are omnivorous, meaning they eat both animal and plant matter. They are not usually picky and eat with gusto. Insects, such as crickets and mealworms, should be dusted with a vitamin/mineral supplement and calcium. Dusting can be achieved by placing the insects in a plastic bag with some of the powder, and shaking the bag to lightly coat the insects prior to offering them to your lizards.

Also offer bearded dragons finely chopped veggies (such as romaine lettuce, zucchini, carrots, etc.), greens (collard, mustard, dandelion, etc.) and fruit (kiwi, banana, mango, etc.). Use healthy, vitamin-rich items; sprinkle the appropriate amount of powdered supplements on these foods, too. Avoid iceberg lettuce because it is not nutritious.

Bearded dragons will also eat pinky mice, and a wide variety of nutritionally balanced manufactured diets are available at pet stores, too. Again, if you keep your dragons on sand, offer food on a shallow dish rather than placing it directly on the substrate.