Part 3: Bearded Lizard Facts with resident scienceman, Ape!
It's Lizard Learning Time, featuring Sonny Boy and the pictures I took of him while I just grabbed stuff from my room and let him crawl around on them.
Hi there, I'm Sonny Boy the bearded dragon. It's learning time, so strap in.
There are eight species of bearded dragon, but when people talk about Bearded Dragons they're usually talking about Pogona vitticeps, the central bearded dragon. So that's the one I'm gonna talk about. They from Australia, mostly from the arid woodland areas. They're pretty much a prey species, to survive they rely on being covered in spikes, burying themselves, being surprisingly fast, and intimidation. They're also very mildly venomous, though it's pretty much harmless to all animals and is probably just a leftover from their ancestry.
I'm a bearded dragon, and this is Jackass
In captivity, bearded dragons live for about 7-10 years, and grow from 16 to 24 inches. They're omnivores, eating a diet of mostly insects during growth, and mostly greens as adults. They're known for being calm and docile, allowing themselves to be handled without much fuss.
Why do I climb on everything I see? Because it's there.
Flaring is where bearded dragons get their name. When agitated or threatened they puff themselves up, extending a flap from their neck that turns black, making it look like a great bushy beard. They also hiss loudly, and the combination of all three makes them seem larger and more dangerous to predators, in hopes that whatever it is will just go find something to eat that isn't covered in spikes and sounds like a leaky air-hose.
Let me sing you the song of my people. HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Keeping a bearded dragon is relatively easy, which is a large part of their popularity. A 55 gallon tank is the minimum space for one adult bearded dragon, though many people construct a custom cage for their bearded dragon. Female bearded dragons can be kept together, though the cage must be sized up accordingly. Male bearded dragons will fight, and cannot be housed together. Housing a male and a female bearded dragon together will eventually result in baby dragons.
I found this thing. I climbed on it. That was the extent of my plan.
Bearded dragons hibernate! Though it's called burmating when reptiles do it. For a few months a year, bearded dragons will sleep almost 24 hours a day, will eat and drink very little, and won't leave their dens. This is perfectly normal, but can freak out new owners out due to how much it resembles sick behavior. Some bearded dragons will do this once a year for their entire lives, others may not do it at all. It depends on the dragon and the temperature.
What is this thing?
Can I climb on it?
Yah I'm gonna climb on it.
That's all I got for you today, come back later.
Zain posted:
It's weird to see/hear someone so enamored with a reptile. Experiences with multiple ones make them seem like not really good pets. They just kinda exist. Though that's kind of a weird statement; what I mean is like they're not active nor reactive like a dog/ferret would be.
Yah they kinda are, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Most reptiles are like fish in that they're kept for show more than companionship. Though there are a few reptiles that are receptive to their owners and being handled, and bearded dragons are one of them.
Fish Noise posted:
Bearded Dragon facecam. Arrange it!
At least for super boring planets anyways. This one somehow managed to make blowing up a small fleet of warships a bit dull, and the only other notable thing was just a gauntlet corridor of familiar enemies.
This would just be Sonny trying to eat the camera, then giving up, then leaving to find something to climb on.