Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, my bearded dragon is the cutest lizard ever, and he's about 8 months old. Recently, when he sees his reflection in the mirror he goes CRAZY...I mean his beard turns black and he literally runs full speed at the mirror trying to attack it. Then he'll do a very violent head bob thing.

The weird thing is that in the past, whenever he used to see his reflection, he would either lick the glass or not pay any attention. I think it's really bizarre that this has suddenly happened (maybe he's going through puberty? If there's a such thing).

ANyway, just wondering if anyone else out there has experienced this. I try to make him avoid mirrors now cause I don't wanna stress him out.

Nothing to worry about. He's seeing what he thinks is "another male" and he is challenging him for dominance. Maybe he thinks he's tougher than himself?!? LOL
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Jeff

Lover of all reptiles....dragons, geckos, snakes.....mostly bearded dragons....oh and women are alright too!

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sig file edited 1/29/05 [phw]

Ditto, that's life.. it's rather quite comical and good to get a male riled up (They actually use the technique to get some species of iguanas ready to breed)
However it could cause stress on the lizard, but little harm every once and a while
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2.4.1 Leos
1.1 Beardie
1.0 Burm
0.1 Common Boa
0.2 Desert Tortoise hatchlings
Wish for: Candoia Sp, Frilled D, BTS

I agree with the above. If the reflection seems to be causing your beardie a lot of stress, or if he hurts himself banging against the glass you can emilinate reflections by putting something opaque around the tank. Construction paper (not black, it will reflect more)aquarium or reptile backgrounds or paint work well. If you are worried about the visibility of your dragon you can just put the backing around the sides and back of the tank.
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican kingsnake
1.0.2 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Rose Hair Tarantula
1.0 BTS
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats