Humans get pets to play with it, get some precious time to pat it or get cuddles from it. It is a satisfactory feeling which de-stresses us. So basically we seek company and adoration from the pets that we keep with us.
Getting a cute bearded dragon as a pet is always great idea, but the notion about pets need to be changed before you actually bring home one. These little animals are scaly, prickly and make faces when they are excited. It is said that they do not have the brain like regular pets, and being a small creature, they do not react or show love the way a dog or cat does.
Lizards, unlike mammals, are not capable of showing their emotion in a voluntary way. But do not be depressed, lots of dragon owners have stated the fact that the little ones reward their owners with cuddles and bonding.
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Way of emotional reciprocation:
If you are unsure about the way it reacts, and then be assured, it does respond to your love and shows some response too. Also they do not respond very fast like the usual pets. It takes time to build the bonding. When it starts trusting the owner, it sits on their owner for a little time, when the owner stays calm doing something relaxing. The dragon should have ample space and time to sit comfortably so the owner should not move much during this period.
General nature:
Bearded dragons are not very friendly or sociable reptile, to begin with. They do not live in groups like many other animals; rather they stay and live alone when in their natural in habitat. Unlike many other wild animals, they do not enjoy company much and in fact cherishes their singlehood. When you try to keep more than one bearded dragon in one enclosure, you may see that there is not much communication or friendship between two similar creatures. Rather the powerful or the older one tries to bully the weaker or newcomer.
Reaction with people:
With human owners, they stay indifferent for the first few days. They do not show gratitude for feeding them or giving them shelter at the first instance. As we have already mentioned, they are not very reciprocal by nature. But with time, they gradually get used to with the human they are living with.
The owner, whom it is watching everyday around it, becomes a part of its daily routine. Their reaction has not yet been decoded fully, but it seems that they start looking forward to the presence of the same person around themselves after a month.
With time, and of course depending upon the individual nature of the dragons, they start voluntarily seeking the attention of the owners. The relaxed behavior around its owner and some close proximity like resting upon the arm, shoulder or head of the owner, shows that the bearded dragon started feeling at ease in the company of the owner.
Way of showing attachment:
Bearded dragons with such a minimal body and a small head, comes with distinctive personality. Not all the dragons come up with similar reactions or attitude. Some of the dragons do not care much when they are not seeing their master for few days around them, not bothered when the master is not petting or feeding them in person.
But then there are others, who, after spending a few months with the owner, started sitting on the laps of the human or showing positivity while being picked up. The physical contact with the owners is often reciprocated by the small pets when they get matured, but the younger ones does not like to be handled much.
The bearded dragon does not come with facial muscles to show expressions; neither do they have some kind of sounds to let us know when they are jittery or happy. But the relation with the master for a dragon is not only based on survival policies, just feeding and meeting other needs. If you see the dragon plopping down your body, moving towards your hand when you insert it on its enclosure or closing eyes when you stroke its back with your finger, then the dragon is surely feeling relaxed at your presence and liking your company.
Conclusion:
Keeping the pet is a hobby of human. We always try to build some kind of relation with the pets. The bearded dragon is able to build a different kind of relation with its owner and of course, the owners can also enjoy the site of the dragon being comfortable and cozy around them, which is an assuring feeling.
