Bearded dragons do all sorts of strange things with their bodies
Bearded dragons will show a black beard when upset
They will also puff up when they are stressed or excited
They do all sorts of things that new owners are totally thrown by
head-bobbing is one of those strange things that bearded dragons do
If you catch your bearded dragon head bobbing you will probably say “what are they doing?”
Table of Contents
What does my bearded dragon head bobbing mean?
There are a few different reasons why you might see your bearded dragon head bobbing
When your bearded dragon is bobbing its head it is usually because of something going on around it
usually, they are feeling stressed out or anxious when they are bobbing their head
One of the first things you should pay attention to is this
They are sharing a tank with another bearded dragon or animal
The first thing you’re going to want to think about is their tank and what’s going on inside
if they’re sharing a tank with another bearded dragon this can cause them to bob their head
Bearded dragons are notoriously territorial
They will fight to protect their little spaces
If someone or something comes into or around their space that makes them feel uncomfortable they will bob their head
Another animal will make them bob their head because your bearded dragon wants to dominate the space
They will want to make sure other animals know it’s their space and not to mess with it
its a sign of domination
This works by making them appear to be bigger than they actually are
birds will do this when they’re sick or wounded
They will puff up their feathers to make them appear bigger than they are
So when it comes to nature size will help keep predators away!
This is when you’ll see them puffing up
If they are actually trying to show dominance you should see some pretty fast and intense head bobbing going on
So this is pretty normal behavior for a bearded dragon if they are sharing a space with another reptile
It’s best to keep them isolated from others
They are submitting
When there are other bearded dragons or reptiles around they will fight for dominance
Until one is established this will happen over and over
sometimes they will even fight
Bigger bearded dragons usually will try to dominate the smaller bearded dragons and again sometimes it will end up in a fight
If you catch your bearded dragon head bobbing it could be fighting for its tank and territory or submitting to the other reptiles in the tank
Having a couple of male bearded dragons hanging around is usually a bad idea because they will fight over the female
when this happens you can expect a lot of injuries and a high vet bill because they can seriously hurt each other
Mating and bearded dragon head bobbing
Another reason you might see your bearded dragon head bobbing is they are trying to mate
mating is a big thing that happens when bearded dragons reach adulthood
They get this massive urge to start mating are that time
If a male and a female bearded dragon are around each other and its mating time you will see some head bobbing going on
Female bearded dragons will head bob as well but they do it in a much slower manner
They do this to show their male counterparts they are willing to submit
Why a bearded dragon will head bob with a human
Bearded dragons will head bob with humans sometimes because of a couple of reasons
Sometimes they are literally just going to mimic you and have fun with you
Sometimes they do this because they are having a dominance match with you
They will do this the most when you first bring them home
This is when they are the most uncomfortable and easy to scare
They are getting used to their environment so they are going to try to establish their dominance early
Eventually, they will bond with you and they won’t do this as much
Often times they will bob their head at you because they recognize you are the dominant one in the room
They might also do this if you’re scaring them
When I first brought my beardie home I was holding him a lot
Bearded Dragons get territorial
Another reason why your bearded dragon will bob its head is that it’s feeling territorial
You may have guests over at your house. Your beardie might get upset that other people are around
This is especially true when you’re just bringing him home
Anytime a bearded dragon is unfamiliar with something it will not be the happiest reptile in the world
The absolute best way to get them used to you is to spend a lot of time with them
Eventually, your bearded dragon will bond closely with you and then it won’t matter if you have people over at your place or not
There are a few things that can make your beardie bob its head and if it’s followed by a black beard then it can mean something a little more
When I first brought my bearded dragon home I was playing loud music and my bearded dragon was showing his black beard
it actually took me a long time to figure out what the issue was
Other animals might cause your bearded dragon head bobbing
If you have other animals in the house your bearded dragon is going to bob its head at your pet
This is your bearded dragon’s way of trying to set the tone of the relationship
Something I always remember is that many animals are much bigger than bearded dragons
They are going to try to appear much bigger because they aren’t very big creatures themselves
Female bearded dragon head bobbing
The lady Bearded dragons do some head bobbing as well
Female bearded dragons will do slower and less intense head bobbing
This is usually a sign of submission
They are trying to say they are willing to accept the male bearded dragon
Bearded dragon head bobbing while sleeping
Your bearded dragon will sometimes bob its head while sleeping
This happens all the time to my friend bearded dragon
Now my friend has a lot of light going on in the room so what will happen is his bearded dragon will show signs of frustration by bobbing his head
Should i ever really worry about my bearded dragon head bobbing?
Many new owners will ask this question and to be honest… no
It’s not really a big deal. It’s totally natural and normal for bearded dragons to do this
Certain behaviors like glass surfing you should be concerned about
head-bobbing is fine
If you see this all the time then I would just take a look around its environment and see what’s going on
it could be a plethora of things like loud music, another animal, a new home, or guests in the house
Bearded dragons have some big personalities sometimes and they will let you know when something is going on with them
Summary and questions
I remember being a new beardie owner and it can be daunting trying to figure everything out
Trying to figure out the tank size, substrate, food list, decor and then to add behaviors to the list
I totally understand what you might be thinking but having a bearded dragon is totally rewarding
They are quirky and have strong needs but they are awesome little pets to have
A bearded dragon head bobbing doesn’t always mean its a huge issue but it gives you enough information to think about what might be going on in their head
Thank you for reading!
