Finding something yellow and crusty on your bearded dragon’s scales sends most owners straight to the worst corner of the internet. Yellow fungus disease is serious. In the wrong circumstances it is life-threateningly serious. It is also one of the most misidentified conditions in bearded dragon keeping. Thermal burns, stuck shed, and normal colour variation…
Wild bearded dragons in Australia are usually a dusty mix of brown, grey, and olive green. But if you visit a reptile expo or browse breeder websites, you will see dragons that are bright tangerine, pure snow white, or completely smooth without a single spike. These variations are called morphs. Think of morphs like dog…
A lot of owners think their bearded dragon looks lonely staring out the glass all day. Pet store employees usually make this worse by pushing you to buy two babies at once, promising they will be best friends. Let’s clear this up right now: No, you cannot put two bearded dragons in the same tank….
If you just walked up to your bearded dragon’s tank and their chin is suddenly pitch black, your first instinct is probably to freak out. For the Central Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps), a black beard is the reptile equivalent of a blaring car alarm. It means your lizard is highly stressed, in pain, or reacting…
If your bearded dragon is constantly getting their claws snagged on your shirt, or if their toes are starting to twist sideways when they walk on flat ground, it is time for a trim. Learning how to trim bearded dragon nails is one of the most nerve-wracking parts of reptile keeping for a beginner. Every…
One of the most common panicked messages I get from new keepers goes something like this: “My female dragon lives completely alone, but she is frantically tearing up her tank. Is my bearded dragon laying eggs without a male?” Yes, she is. Just like chickens, female dragons regularly produce clutches of unfertilized eggs (known in…
You set down a fresh, clean bowl of water, and your bearded dragon just stares at it. Or worse, they drag their belly right through it, tracking substrate everywhere, and ignore it completely. When I first started keeping dragons, I assumed the water bowl was enough too. Keeping a dragon hydrated is actually pretty simple…
Spotting a weird yellow crust along your bearded dragon’s gumline is enough to make any keeper stress out. “Mouth rot” is one of those terms that gets thrown around in reptile forums and terrifies new owners. But before you assume your dragon needs major surgery, take a breath. While infectious stomatitis (mouth rot) is a…
If you are hearing a faint, rhythmic clicking or popping sound coming from your bearded dragon’s tank, you are right to be concerned. Most owners assume it’s a cricket chirping or a timer ticking, but then they realize the sound is matching their dragon’s breathing. Every time they exhale—click. This is the hallmark sound of…