Dragon Barbu

Bearded dragons do not vocalize, except when they hiss, feeling threatened. They communicate rather through their colors, postures and gestures (arm or head movements). Thus, when feeling threatened, the individual stands up on its legs, puffs its belly and opens its jaws to appear more imposing (when the bearded dragon is comfortable it is completely flattened). They are not gregarious (social) animals, but they sometimes gather in groups, for example where food is abundant or in a place conducive to sun exposure. When this happens, a distinct hierarchy emerges: animals with the highest ranks will take the best place (usually the most sunny or highest) and the others make do with what is left. If an individual challenges one of the dominant bearded dragons, the latter tries to demonstrate their superiority by shaking their head and puffing their throat. Their rival can then signal their submission by waving one of their front paws in a circular manner. Otherwise, they also shake their head and puff their throat, and a fight may ensue. We can cite some notable head movements. A slow tilt is often used by adult females to signal submission to a male. Rapid movements proclaim a male's dominance (they are often accompanied by throat puffing), while violent shakes, often putting the whole body in motion, are used by males just before mating. Males shake their paws to submit to a dominant male while females indicate by this gesture that they are ready for mating. This sign is then followed by a slight head movement.

It is a lizard with a massive appearance, flattened dorso-ventrally, possessing strong claws and mobile eyelids. The wild type is grayish-brown, with lighter marbling, clearly transverse on the legs and tail. But pet shops now offer many mutant varieties with varied colors. Adult specimens measure a maximum of 50 cm long, the tail taking more than half of the total length of the body. Females are generally smaller than males. The latter have femoral pores on the inside of the thighs, as well as hemipenis swellings at the base of the tail, visible in adults and subadults. Pogona vitticeps is capable of slightly modulating the color of its scales to aid in temperature regulation. The specialized scales on the two sides of its throat, neck and head form small spines that run along the sides of the body and tail. These spines can be raised as a sign of threat when the animal puffs the throat, which is a characteristic posture of this bearded dragon (see 'Behavior'). Like many Agamidae, Pogona vitticeps has powerful legs that allow it to completely lift its body off the ground when moving. This allows it to limit the heat received from the ground and reduce its temperature by the air flow then passing under its belly. This animal can live 4 to 10 years in captivity.

Pogona vitticeps consumes both plants and small animals. Its diet includes small invertebrates (insects, arachnids, worms…), but also small vertebrates (small rodents, lizards) as well as flowers, fruits and green leaves. Mobile prey are hunted in ambush. As a juvenile, it feeds mainly on insects. Its diet is then composed of 80% of this for 20% of plants. This diet reverses when it reaches adulthood, moving to 20% insects for 80% plants.