Pogona Sp. Formerly known as Amphibolurus Sp.
Common Name(s):
Australian bearded dragon, Bearded dragon, Beardies
Species:
There are 6-8 species of bearded dragon. There are 3 species that are most common as pets and are widely available as captive bred. The most common species of pet bearded dragon is the central bearded dragon (P. Vitticeps) also known as the inland or yellow headed bearded dragon. The other 2 'pet' species are the Lawsons or Rankins bearded dragon (P. Henrylawsoni or P. Brevis) and the common bearded dragon (P. Barbata). The other species of bearded dragon are the western bearded dragon (P. Minima), the dwarf bearded dragon (P. Minor), the northwest bearded dragon (P. Mitchelli), the nullarbor bearded dragon (P. Nullarbor) and (P. Microlepitoda). This 'caresheet' is going to focus on the central bearded dragon as it is most common in captivity.
Description:
The adult bearded dragon is between 16 and 24 inches and lives between 5 and 10 years depending on quality of life. They are a medium sized lizard compared to all the lizard species but in the normal pet industry they are a larger size lizard especially as they are quite bulky. Bearded dragons have rough bumpy scales and rows of spikes on either side of their body and more spikes on their head. They also have lots of spikey scales on thier chin which can be pushed out to display as a 'beard' hence their name. They have a fairly thick tail and quite a big head compared to other lizards. The legs are very muscular and are long enough to hold the dragons body up to 1 and a half inches off the floor, the feet have claws which can be pretty sharp (I wouldn't recommend trimming). You may aslo notice bearded dragons have a dot on top of thier head which looks like a scale is missing, this is normal and is called the third eye, we are not exactly sure what this does but if we find anymore information on it we will add it. Bearded dragons come in many different colours. These colours are called morphs and breeders can breed specific colours by breeding different adult morphs.