Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so fill me in now....why does a dragon's beard turn black?

It is a sign of aggression, or could be seen during breeding season. It is to "scare off" anything that they could consider a predator. That is my take on it anyways. Mine always do it when they are unhappy (like bathtime, or sometimes if I pick them up and they are getting ready to do a poop!), or when they see each other (I have a male and female).

Bearded dragon's beards turn black for several reasons. It is part of their bluff to look big and mean and not eatable, to scare away predators. It's also used to intimidate other dragons and show dominance. In mating season, it's used to scare away rival males and impress the females.

There is some evidence that the blacker the dragon turns the more appeal it is to the females and the better breeders they make. We thought about making them little Tux's to wear

Some line such as the Hypo pastels are harder to breed as they do not get very dark.

Also, Dr Tosney has a chuckwalla that is black all over and when dragons get together, the females dragons seem to find him more interesting that the other colorful male dragons
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