Bearded dragon belongs to the family of reptiles and generally they live up to 12 to 14 years but there are cases in which they have lived up to 15 years and sometimes up to 20 years.
The bearded dragon needs lot of care and love in order to increase their life expectancy. We will discuss about the life cycle of the bearded dragon in this article.
Contents
Bearded Dragon’s Life Cycle
The life cycle of the bearded dragon is divided into 6 stages.
The 6 stages are as follows:-
- Pre-birth
- Hatchling
- Sub-adult
- Sexual maturity (also known as young adult)
- Mature adult
- Old age
Now we will discuss about every stage separately:-
Pre-birth:
This stage is the first stage of the life cycle of a bearded dragon. It is often referred to as the pre hatchling, egg or the embryonic stage. In this stage the bearded dragon will spend around 55 to 75 days inside the egg and at which point they will hatch and enter this world.
Hatchling
This is the second stage of the life cycle of the bearded dragon and it is also considered as juvenile stage. This stage starts from the birth to about 8 inches in length of the bearded dragon. In this second stage the bearded dragon grows at a fast pace and the hatchling stage lasts around 3 to 4 months.
Sub-adult
The next or the third stage is the sub-adult stage in the life cycle of the bearded dragon. In this the appetite of the bearded dragon is quite big and the growth is also quite rapid. The bearded dragon starts to resemble more like an adult as the head bobbing, waving or beard puffing (in the males) takes place in their body at this stage. The sub-adult stage is normally from 8 inches in length.
Sexual maturity
The fourth stage and the stage in which the bearded dragon becomes more sexually mature is often referred to as the young adult stage in the life cycle of the bearded dragon. In the stage the mating behaviours may be exhibited by the males and also it might include aggressive or territorial habits.
Females may also display the arm-waving signs which is an indication to the submissive behaviour. At this stage the growth rates and the hunger level will start declining due to the hormonal influence and they almost reach to the adult size. The bearded dragon are up to 3 years old when they reach this stage.
Mature adult
The next stage in this life cycle is of a mature adult. This stage is fifth in the cycle and this stage starts from the age of 4 and lasts up to 7 years. In this stage the bearded dragon will reach their mature adult stage and at this point they will be fully grown.
This period lasts up to 2 to 3 years and in this stage of life cycle there will be very little or no growth of the bearded dragon. Also there will be decrease in the reproductive activities of the bearded dragon at this stage.
Old Age
This is the final and the sixth stage of the life cycle of the bearded dragon. The dragon’s appetite will be quite low and it is very important that at this stage they should stay hydrated. In the stage the bearded dragon starts becoming lethargic and even the normal processing of the body start slowing down. They become old and their body processes starts shutting down at this stage of their life cycle.
These stages of the bearded dragon are quite different from each other and every stage has its own value in their life.
Conclusion:-
The bearded dragon needs different type of love and support from their owner at every life stage of their cycle and you will enjoy that and will love the journey of the life cycle of the bearded dragon.
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