Being able to identify and understand your bearded dragon characteristics is one step to being sure you have a healthy and happy beardie.

Here are 7 identifying characteristics of the bearded dragon:

When a beardie feels threatened or is scared he/she will puff out their beard and usually it turns black. By doing this they scare off their intruders who would normally hurt them. This is how their name came to be - bearded dragon.

With most lizards and reptiles they are known for being active at night and sleep during the day. This is not the case with bearded dragons. They are active during the day and sleep at night, this makes them nicer to have around, especially with younger owners.

The most fun to watch and interesting characteristic is their arm waving. The reason behind this is to show they are dominant to others in the tank.

There are many different types of bearded dragons you will see. The most common is the Inland and Central dragons. With them becoming more popular, we are seeing more types emerge. Breeders are coming out with more interesting and different types all the time.

Most think that because the beardie is a lizard it's main diet is live prey. This is not true at all, their main diet consist of not only live prey such as crickets, but older beardies need to have more vegetables and fruits, than insects.

Beardies enjoy and want to interact with their owners. They are very sociable lizards and want to be held. It is a good idea to interact with your beardie on a daily basis, it helps be more friendly and enjoyable.

Owning a bearded dragon is just plain fun to have. They react to you and your voice. They will keep you entertained for hours. Spend some time with your beardie, take him/her out of their tank and just walk around with him/her. Let him/her run around your house (make sure it is safe). Try hand feeding them this is a fun activity for all.

There are some of the more common characteristic of a bearded dragon, that make them popular and fun to own.

One important thing about understanding their characteristics, is that you will know your beardie well. If you should see them acting strange or not normal, then this alerts you that something may be wrong.

Also knowing your bearded dragon characteristic will help you understand what he/she may need to be happy and healthy. There are many ways to know if your beardie needs, a better diet, more exercise, more vitamins, and so forth.

You will be able to provide your beardie with whatever he/she may need.

I hope these tips will help you have a happy and healthy bearded dragon for many years to come. Learn all you can about your bearded dragon characteristics.