Comparing the behavior of reptiles or animals with humans might sound a bit absurd. But there are many types of research and experiments that are ready to break this norm.
My friend has a fascination with petting different kinds of reptiles. The new addition to her kingdom is bearded reptiles.
Well, this particular Reptile fascinates us at times as well. And I also have questions regarding them. How intelligent are bearded dragons, or are they more intelligent, Smart than other reptiles and many more.
In search of the answers, it is discovered that they could imitate and do many more remarkable things that certainly may amaze us.
How Intelligent Are Bearded Dragons?
Scientists have discovered through an experiment that they can imitate—giving us the tell-tale sign of their intelligence.
The Experiment
To understand that bearded dragons can imitate, they experimented. They made a group of three and showed them three videos. The first video showed that one of their buddies is opening a door from the right.
The second video is the same, but the other Reptile is opening the door from the left. And lastly, the third video showed a human opening the door.
Everyone needs motivation or something lucrative to attract them to do something. Well, our scientist placed a delicious worm for them just right outside of there.
The first group saw the first video and successfully imitated what was shown; the bearded dragon’s second group was not offered any footage, so they didn’t learn anything. The third group was led by the human video so that they could not replicate the act properly.
The end of the experiments proved us to facts. First, yes, the beardies can imitate. But they learn more quickly from their kind than from human beings.
It gives us hope that more hidden abilities are yet to be discovered about these strange yet highly charismatic and majestic creatures.
Are Bearded Dragons The Smartest Reptiles?
We got the green signal that the bearded dragons are intelligent. But are bearded dragons the smartest reptiles? That is a highly anticipated question. Do our bearded dragons reign with their intelligence among the reptiles or not.
Their ability to recognize their owner or even show emotions is no doubt that they are geniuses.
But given the look into other reptiles, they are not the smartest of all. Yet we can say they can be counted on the list of the intelligent reptiles in the reptile hierarchy.
How To Tame Bearded Dragon?
The essential thing to tame them is gaining their trust and understanding their stress signs. They are said to be very affectionate if things go right from the first. Then they wouldn’t see you as an enemy or threat.
Learn the signs to detect their stress; this will make taming easier for you and enjoyable for them. And to achieve these two, you might need to follow some steps.
The Stress Signs
The bearded dragons show some signs when they are stressed. Once you get the hang of understanding, things will be smoother for you.
- Bobbing their head
- Fringed beard
- Their beard turning a dark color
- Keeping hidden from others or the owner
Trust
It won’t happen in one day, but with patience and gentle care. The movements you attain when handling them or the time you spend with them are essential. There are some other things you can also do for them.
Offer your hand to their front or side in the form of getting comfortable, or start feeding them with your hand. This way, they will be comfortable to your touch.
Like other reptiles, the bearded dragons contain germs or parasites like salmonella. After handling them, wash your hands. If they are not getting calm or their aggression stops, then stroke the beards back before putting them inside.
How To Train Bearded Dragons?
How to train bearded dragons is it an easy or an arduous task. Rest assured, it is not a challenging task to achieve.
Suppose you are thinking of wanting it to learn some unexplainable tricks. It’s better to take a step back because that is not happening. It will only frustrate you and cause distress for your pet. Better to stick to regular training.
Food Bribing
So if you want to train them, then bribe them with delicious food as that might be the key to your success. In the experiment done by the scientist, we have seen that the best motivation for these creatures is food.
No Stress
Other than that, make sure they are not stressed while with you and make them calm. You will train without getting stressed or having any aggressive reaction.
Time Spending
Spending time helps in getting them habituated with you. These were some nitty-gritty pointers to keep in mind while training bearded dragons.
Are Bearded Dragons Friendly?
Our beardie is a social butterfly and said to be sweet and friendly. Everything will go smooth like butter once the bearded dragons are adjusted with the environment and the owner.
Female and Male Beardie
It is already said that beardies are the sweetest. The female is submissive in behavior and likes to live in peace and harmony.
Our macho male hero birdies can get a little aggressive and territorial if they have female company. If they don’t get along, it is better to keep them separate.
Proper Instructions
It is said that even the calmest animal can get aggressive when provoked wrongly. The same case is applicable for our birdie. It is necessary to know how to pick or touch the bearded dragon.
It will retaliate if it feels stressed or any aggression by the touch. To be safe, make sure whoever is touching or handling the beardie has good knowledge.
Gentleness is the key
Your friends want to touch your bearded dragons but are afraid it may harm them as they are strangers. Have some faith in your beardie. It will not break them.
They might get a little frightened, but nothing will go wrong when they pick carefully and gently. And if it is in distress, it will immediately show the sign. So keep a check on its body language, and everything will be okay.
Not friendly side
As said before, our male bearded dragons are territorial, so they show their not-friendly side when interacting with other kinds.
They might kill or even cause injury. Suppose you are planning to buy another type of Reptile. Then don’t put it with them. The death of the other kind is inevitable.
Do Bearded Dragons Show Affection?
We often seek comfort and affection from our pets. And usually, we receive it. But when your pet is a reptile, you might have some doubts.
What do bearded dragons show affection? Well, the good news is that yes, they do. It is sporadic, but it does happen. There are many ways and signs of showing their affection. Just pay a good look, and you will feel the love.
Willingly Handling
It will happily and willingly make actions handled by you even before you think of putting your hand in front of a beardie. Which is not usually done by the reptiles.
Sleeping Or Laying On You
It can be the most vulnerable state of any creation in the world. So if your pet relies upon you in its most vulnerable moment, think about the amount of trust and love they have for you.
Sitting Still
The beardies are wild animals constantly on the alert. They are not cuddling pets like the usual ones. So if your dear ones are still sitting chilling with you, you are the winner. This indicates that you are not a threat to them; instead, you are their pal with whom they can relax.
Actions That Are Not Affection
They show all actions are not affection, so pay close attention to them. It might seem unclear at first, but it will be apparent within time.
Waving Arms
While approaching them, if you seem to wave arms, then stop right there. This behavior indicates their submissive behavior towards you. They fear your disapproval behavior.
Lip Bite or Nipping
This action is only a sign of affection when they get romantic with their female partner. But when it comes to you, it means that beardies are stressed.
Do Bearded Dragons Think?
No, they don’t think or reason with anything they do. But are blessed with a significant amount of intelligence. The way of adapting to anything is by imitating or by learning. Training or taming it is not a problem.
Do Bearded Dragons Have Feeling?
It is even unfair to ask how do bearded dragons feel? Or even any reptile has feelings. To answer the question, yes, they do have feelings like any other animal in the world. They are also part of the sentient being.
It has been witnessed and seen by owners of bearded dragons that have feelings—their attachment towards their owner and their need for affection from their owner signs.
Ways of showing might be different, but no doubt that they exist.
Are Bearded Dragons Nocturnal?
This beautiful majestic creature keeps on astounding me every single time; they are pretty much similar to humans. How can I say that? Coming to the question, are bearded dragons nocturnal?
Well, the answer is a big no. They are not.
In easier words, they are part of diurnal species, which means, like humans, they stay active during the day and sleep at night.
Sensitive To Light
Like we humans cannot sleep keeping our lights on. Similarly, they cannot also sleep without exposure to rays. So make sure there is no source of light when the beardies are sleeping. If there is light, they will instantly open their eyes.
Hours of Sleep Needed
The hours may vary by hour during summer and winter. During the winter, they need 11 hours of sleep. In winter, they need 14 hours of sleep.
Day Time Sleeping
Bearded Dragons are very active reptiles. Don’t mistake them for being lazy. If you see your beard sleeping time, that is not a good sign. There is some problem.
Correct Temperature
The reason behind beardie being inactive during the daytime or sleeping the whole day could not get the correct temperature inside its tank.
They need the correct temperature; if not, then the possibility of being inactive is naturally and, most importantly, viscous for their health. Make sure the bearded dragons receive the correct temperature.
Other Reasons
There could be many others who are inactive. One of the reasons could be an improper intake of food. Maybe you have given them the wrong food by mistake or overdid it. And even that is not the reason it is still sleeping. The last resort is the bearded dragon is sick. Take the beardie to the vet and get it treated without further delay.
Precautions
It is best to get a health check-up of the bearded dragons once in a while. And always keep on checking the system of the tank, temperature, and intake of its food.
Can Bearded Dragons Recognize Their owners?
Yes, they can recognize their owners, but it does not happen in one day. It takes a few little other things to achieve this status.
Patience
Bearded Reptiles are not like any other pets. They don’t get friendly so quickly. It would be best if you were very patient and gentle with them. So it’s better to take plenty of doses of a tablet named patience. There will be a need for it.
Be Present
Think of the bearded dragon as your baby. If you want it to recognize you, you have to interact with them and spend time with them. If possible, talk to them and share your everyday thoughts and problems with beardies.
This way, you will feel excellent and light-hearted. They will also get to feel your presence.
But we do silly things for our loved ones. And beardies are also loved ones for you.
Baby Steps While Handling
I am sure your hands must be itching to touch them and pet them. But you need to understand it is a living, breathing thing. It has its own emotions and maybe sounds absurd but needs space to adjust.
It won’t do any good by smothering the creature with your emotions. The effect can be harmful and turn into an adverse effect that we don’t want right.
So for starters, try to handle for a few minutes every then slowly when every single increase the time. Once it is used to your handling, you are good to go.
Being Understanding
Not every time everyone is in the mood to interact with you. Will you attack that person or try to be understanding? And might snap with at you or might show some aggressive behavior to you.
The same case can happen with beards sometimes; they can show aggressive behavior. The best thing about that time is to keep talking.
After they are done being angry, please give a little treat showing that you are always with them no more how much they keep on hissing at you.
Result
After all the efforts you have put, how will you understand that they recognize you? There are some signs of understanding it.
One of them is when you enter the room if they run towards the glass to greet you or turn their heads when they hear your voice. Then think that you have unlocked the achievement being recognized by them.
Do Bearded Dragons Respond To Their Names?
Yes, they can respond to their names. But these greedy little creatures react to it when they know that something beneficial is attracted to them. The most helpful and attractive thing to them is food.
If you want them to respond, you need to follow a simple technique. Call the bearded dragons name and within that time show food and keep on repeating the process.
It might seem quite a process, but it is worth it in the end. So give it a try and do not lose hope.
FAQ
Can bearded dragons recognize my voice?
Do bearded dragons like to cuddle?
Conclusion
We have consistently underestimated the intelligence of reptiles. But when my friend showed interest in the Reptile named bearded dragons. Many questions regarding it started to poke me; one of them was how intelligent are bearded dragons?
And we found out that it is very similar to humans. One of its habits is imitating. Hopefully, the other abilities discovered will help you understand your beardie more nicely.
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