If you pay close attention to lizards, you will observe that they move their bodies in a variety of ways. Because lizards cannot speak or create noises, they must rely on visual displays to communicate with other lizards. These visual displays might take the form of a lizard’s body movement or a unique feature on its body. Lizards communicate by tail waving, push-ups, body posture. Some lizards are seen hunching their backs to appear more aggressive to other lizards when threatened. Bearded dragons open their mouths. Some lizards use their vivid colors to communicate with other lizards.
Why do bearded dragons open their mouth? Bearded dragons, like other lizards, also communicate by body movement. If you are one who has a pet bearded dragon, you must have noticed it opening its mouth on various occasions. There are very important reasons why a bearded dragon would be opening its mouth.
The majority of the time, the reasons why bearded dragons open their mouths are not frightening. Bearded dragons do this most of the time to maintain their body temperature. It can also indicate aggressive or defensive conduct.
Why Bearded Dragons Open Their Mouths, Here are 8 Reasons
This post will explain four reasons why your bearded dragon’s mouth is always open. It will demonstrate what you can do about it and why it is critical to understand what your bearded dragon is trying to tell you with this behavior.
1. Temperature Control
Have you heard the term “basking”?
Basking, often known as basking, is the process through which animals linger in the sun to assist regulate their body temperature or to give comfort. Bearded dragons, like all other lizards, have cold blood and must bask in the sun to get warm.
What causes bearded dragons to open their mouths? They open their mouths when sunbathing to remove extra heat from their body. Because lizards do not sweat, this is a kind of heat resistance. Gaping refers to the process of opening their lips for thermoregulation. Gaping assists lizards in preventing the accumulation of extra heat in the body after the internal temperature reaches its peak.
2. Bearded Dragons Open Their Mouth When Stretching
We stretch after a lengthy period of sitting at a desk. We also stretch when we get out of bed after lying down for an extended period of time. Animals stretch as well, and the bearded dragon is no exception.
Bearded dragons open their lips to stretch their muscles, which is another reason why they open their jaws. The beard of a bearded dragon can be seen yawning, flaring, or exploding up. This helps to relax the muscles surrounding its lips.
3. Why do bearded dragons bob their heads and open their lips when they are angry?
Bearded dragons are calm, peaceful creatures that seldom become upset; nevertheless, when provoked, a bearded dragon may become aggressive. In this situation, a bearded dragon’s jaws may be seen open.
What causes bearded dragons to shake their heads? When scared, most animals display a range of movements or stances. This is an innate response to external danger. When threatened, a bearded dragon can be seen extending its jaws wide. It goes puffing out its chest, bobbing its head quickly, assuming a bigger stance, or lifting its beard.
Keeping your pet bearded dragon in an environment that makes them feel threatened can also lead to violent behavior. Pet owners may also have other pets, such as dogs or cats, which might be dangerous to a bearded dragon. Keeping your pet dragon’s tank near a window where it may observe different scary objects, such as birds in the sky or animals rushing about, can also create aggressiveness.
Bearded dragons can get hostile towards their owners during mating season. This is because their hormones are surging. They puff out their beards and open their lips for no apparent cause.
4. Territorial Dominance explains why you may notice a bearded dragon blowing his beard and opening his jaws.
Lizards are reptiles that live alone. They are very protective of their domains. Bearded dragons do not like to share their home with another reptile.
When a bearded dragon puffs its beard and opens its lips in the presence of another lizard, it may just be asserting its authority. If a bearded dragon feels intimidated by another lizard, it might expand its mouth to appear aggressive. Keeping two bearded dragons as pets is not recommended since one would undoubtedly mistreat the other. The dominant one may be denied access to food if two bearded dragons are kept in the same cage. Basking spots, or hiding places, which can be extremely harmful to its health.
5. Aggression Caused by Other Pets
It is also extremely normal for your Bearded Dragon to grow hostile against other pets in your homes, such as cats or dogs.
Normally, if a Bearded Dragon is unhappy with a larger creature in the house, it will be scared or intimidated, but some Dragons can turn hostile as well. If you observe your Bearded Dragon opening its jaws aggressively towards your pets every now and then, it’s really not an issue because it may be anything as simple as your dog becoming overly excited and making your Dragon feel uneasy in its presence.
If, on the other hand, this behavior occurs every time your pet enters the room, you should consider taking action since the persistent stress levels in this circumstance might be too high.
There are just two things you can do. The first is to prevent your pet from entering the room where your Bearded Dragon is. This is time-consuming and laborious, especially if your Bearded Dragon is in a primary family area, such as the living room.
Another thing you may do is relocate your Dragon to a place in the house where your pet is less likely to enter. This can also be difficult depending on the size of the tank and whether you can fit it in another room. You must do what is best for both you and your dogs. The important thing is that kids are both content and safe.
6. Toys for Children & Small Objects
This may sound strange at first, but children’s toys and tiny things such as socks might provoke your Bearded Dragon to act violently. It’s quite simple for a Bearded Dragon to confuse a little toy for a predator, and they can frequently respond violently, even keeping their jaws wide.
Typically, you will also observe hissing or other behaviors that we discussed before. New decorations and other similar things might potentially be scary to your Dragon.
Toys and clothing are generally moved fast, so they don’t present an issue for long; however, decorations are frequently set in one location and stay there, so if you believe it’s causing a problem for a long time, you might consider relocating it.
7. Putting The Tank Near A Window
Placing your tank near a window may be very beneficial to your Bearded Dragon. They might be overstimulated by the outer environment. Things like seeing the clouds move and the trees rustling in the breeze can assist to simulate their natural environment.
Depending on where you live, it may also be a frightening area, and you may see your Dragon become hostile against whatever it sees outside the window.
Animals such as cats and birds might make your Dragon feel frightened, causing them to open its jaws aggressively. Again, if this happens very sometimes, there’s nothing to worry about, but if it happens on a regular basis, you might consider relocating them away from the window.
8. Because of a Respiratory Infection, Bearded Dragons Open Their Mouths.
While there might be a variety of reasons why a bearded dragon would open its mouth for its own advantage, there could also be a more serious issue causing this behavior. Respiratory infection is a reason to be cautious about the opening of your bearded dragon’s mouth. It occurs when the humidity level surpasses 40% for an extended length of time.
Bearded dragons are used to hot and dry settings. A more humid atmosphere may be harmful to their health. Other signs of a respiratory infection include mucous around the eyes and nose, coughing, wheezing, loss of appetite, fatigue, and odd breathing noises. If these symptoms are accompanied by mouth opening, you should take your bearded dragon to the vet.
How to prevent respiratory infection:
- Keep out of your bearded dragon’s tank things that hold moisture.
- Install a hygrometer in your pet’s tank to check humidity levels.
- To assist minimize moisture, provide ventilation to your pet’s tank.
- To assist reduce humidity levels, you may also purchase a dehumidifier for the room where your pet’s tank is located.
Conclusion:
What causes bearded dragons to open their mouths? Bearded dragons open their mouths for a variety of reasons that you should not be concerned about. Because lizards do not sweat, they must control their body temperature in another way. Aside from sunbathing, they may just wish to warn an intruder to back off, especially when it starts to open its jaw. Monitoring your pet’s behavior is the greatest method to distinguish between a regular way of life and a more serious issue.
