FAQ: General Care of Bearded Dragons

I bought an orange Bearded Dragon but he is not orange. Did I get ripped off?
Probably not if you purchased from a reputable breeder. Bearded Dragons can have dramatic changed in color over their first year or so. I have seen bright animals turn dull and drab brown animals turn bright colors. It is very possible and not uncommon for normal Bearded Dragons to give birth to colorful babies. The question is, will they stay that way and can they pass that color on to future generations. Bearded Dragon genetics is still a bit of a mystery. Two things we do know is that line breeding is BAD and can cause an abundance of problems and second, by breeding multiple generations of animals with a particular color trait, that color is more likely to be passed on. The hard part is finding a pair of Bearded Dragons with the color trait you want that are not related.

What are the dots on the underside of my Bearded Dragons back legs?
They are called femoral pores. Sometimes they are more pronounced on males but this should not be used as a sexing method. It is believed that they are used by the male to get a better grip on the female for mating.

My Bearded Dragon escaped from his cage now he is lost. Can I use food to catch him?
A Bearded Dragons first instinct is to hide. He will probably not come out looking for food readily especially when people are around. If you have hard wood or tile floors you can sift flour onto the floor than when they are out they will leave tracks that you can follow. Try looking in low dark places, they generally wont climb up things as much as crawl under and into things. If you have potted plants, check to see if they have dug a hole in them. They generally don’t go far. Look inside furniture. They get under a couch and end up exploring the springs and padding.

Is my Bearded Dragon a boy or girl?
Not all BDs sex easily. Some can even fool experienced breeders. It is more difficult to tell with juvies than with adults. Try placing the animal on your open hand (your palm up). Then with the other hand lift the tail and bend it towards the head but not to far. With the tail pulled forward, look for the hemipene bulges on either side of the base of the tail. If they have 2 bulges, it’s a boy, if not they may be girls or you may not be able to see them yet. Thin tails make it harder to tell.

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