Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i recently acquired a pair of baby american horned lizards. when feeding, i noticed that they would often demonstrate a "tail wagging" behavior while stalking prey, similar to what is commonly observed in leopard geckos. i found it very interesting that two unrelated desert lizards would display the same, seemingly arbitrary behavior. have any of you observed such tailwagging in your beardeds? if so, what were the circumstances, and do you have any explainations to throw out there?

thanks-
-kyle
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LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE:
a tame male burm who needs a new home
1.2 Kimberely rock monitor
1.1 Baja Cape Gophers
ANY Dendrobates pumillio
ANY Eastern glass lizards
thx.

I've noticed that a few times in my dragons. Could be a way for them to distract a prey, maybe? or just a mood they get into. Can't explain it, but yes some beardies do that as well.
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Mystical Dragons

ive never noticed it in my beardues, but my leos do it.
the explanation ive read on caresheets is what you said, to distract the prey
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

there was discussion on the arrow frog forum about this type of feeding/hunting behaviour crossing species. poison arrow frogs will tap their toes when hunting, as will other types of ground dwelling frogs. no one is certain exactly what it means, but since it only happens when feeding, there seems to be a good chance they're related. weird.

(I've seen my frogs do this, but never my beardie... maybe because he's spoiled, and doesn't really "hunt".)

maxwells

My son swears that ours wags his tail when he gets home from school everyday.

Hi
i also saw it couple times ,just before they strike they moving tail abit .
i have a feeling it have some thing to to with excitement.
you all know if two cats r playing and one cat is sneaking on the other ,just before he strike he also do it the tail waggeling.
i know a cat does it when he is anoyed r when he is excited .
i think for beardies its the eximent they see some thing they wanna have realy badly.
byeeeeeeee

seen my one dragon Carrick do this often, usually when aggressive when another dragon is around, example if one of my other dragons goes and says hi through the glass of his enclosure, the waggin begins..
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reiko
photos

it seems to me that all those explainations have something missing from them, not that i'm not appreciative. i'm not sure that they do it be cause of the "mood" or "emotion" they're in... i just don't think reptiles are really intelligent enough for emotion as such. they are capable of aggression and territoriality, but the aggression toward another bearded wouldn't be the same as aggression toward prey, would it? the fact that it shows up in animals of similar niche, and not in most lizards suggest that it is selected to aid survival. this would be explained by the "distracting prey" theory, but for one problem. most of the things that bearded dragons/leopards/horned lizards eat are not predatory. why would such a lure tactic work on them? also, why would the same behavior be used toward conspecifics in all cases? the bit about the poison frogs was very helpful; i keep those also, so i will have an analog to look at. one thought i had, a slight deviation of the "distracting prey" bit: could the tail wagging serve to actually frighten the prey just enough to make it move, thereby breaking it's camoflage? (i realize this still does not explain why it is used in confrontation also.) i plan to test this hypothesis on my lizards by observing whether the behavior occurs less often when the insects donot blend into the back ground. (ie, when they're coated in calcium powder.) perhaps one of you could do a similar experiment with your beardeds? well, thanks for the info.

thanks-
-kyle
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LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE:
a tame male burm who needs a new home
1.2 Kimberely rock monitor
1.1 Baja Cape Gophers
ANY Dendrobates pumillio
ANY Eastern glass lizards
thx.