Unlike the other pets, it is often difficult to understand the meaning of various behaviors of the dragons.
Their gesture are not varied, as this small reptile changes its body color, makes hissing sound or move its head or hands to the owner or some other creature present in the surroundings.
Through only these few techniques they express all kinds of feelings and emotions. Now it is up to the owners to extract the different meanings of the behavior and act accordingly.
Head bobbing is a common gesture among bearded dragons which is often seen in the male bearded dragons.
It is more seen during the mating season, which is a particular time of the year. At that time the male dragons often tries to let the owner know that they are in search of a partner.
If you see the dragon is doing so in some other time of the year too, then you can think that it wants you to inform about its presence. This is a gesture seen in the dragons when they are newly brought to a place.
After a few months if it bobs its head after seeing you, then it will be the expression of faith upon you.
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Why bearded dragons bob?
Female bearded dragon also bobs its head, which is somehow more uncommon a scenario .however, the aggression of bobbing of a male bearded dragon is not seen in the nod of female bearded dragon. It does the bobbing in slower, soothing manner.
It shows the submission of the reptile to another creature or you, the owner. Also it can be the sign of dominance in the female dragon.
Bobbing to owner
Sometimes the owner sees the dragon bobbing its head while it is soundly sleeping. This is nothing alarming, and it may be due to certain break in their sleep.
Also if there is the heat emitter which emits red light then it can cause disturbance in their sleep pattern.
Try to find an emitter which does not emit any light at all. This will give them the complete darkness to sleep peacefully.
Different types of bobbing
If you do not know which kind of bobbing means what, and yes, there are different types of bobbing meaning different emotions, then here is the explanation.
If the bobbing is fast and aggressive, then it wants to let you know that it is the boss and you should respect its presence.
If you see the bobbing is slow and it is bobbing while it sees some other creature or another bearded dragon, then it is feeling dominated and accepting submission.
When they are eager for the partner during the mating season, they jerk the head, which shows their wish to mate.
Reasons of head bobbing:
Defending the territory is a common practice among the predator reptiles, and bearded dragon being such a reptile; naturally it gets intimidated when someone tries to come within its area. The territorial instinct that it bears within its gene makes it attack the invader.
When it tries to challenge the other one, it shows its agitation in form of head bobbing to keep the intruder away.
Bearded dragon can also become attacking, though that is a rare case. When it sees another lizard in its area it may get in pervading mood and can act as vicious as possible by it.
They may react when the same sized or colored lizards appear near them as they feel threatened by its presence. When the two similar dragons face each other, they bob their heads first and then they can proceed to fighting.
Is Bearded Dragons do Slow Head Bobbing a cause of concern?
Among many other natural instinctive behaviors, head bobbing is another one. So if your bearded dragon is just nodding its head a few times in a day, but otherwise is staying happy and peaceful, then you must not be worried about it.
Just in case of blacking of beard and eating disorder, you should be concerned. These problems, while summed up with head bobbing can be cause of concern. It may be so that something or some animal is disturbing the little reptile and it is causing tension in it.
So you must check the surrounding area for the disturbing element. Remove it or change the room where the terrarium is kept, to see if any change happens in its behavior.
Also be alert of other pets and check if they are somehow bothering the bearded dragon by coming near it, as that can too cause tension for the reptile.
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Wrapping Up Bearded Dragon Head Bobbing:
Bearded dragons are somewhat calm in nature, so you should not be much worried if it sometime bobs its head. There are various other activities it does to express its inner feelings.
These look funny to us and it is the chance to enjoy these movements without bothering them. You will be able to cherish the company of your bearded dragon by sitting beside the terrarium peacefully.
