Bearded dragon strange behaviour

Question
QUESTION: I have two 9 month old (approx) bearded dragons, 1 male and 1 female. They are in a 3ft by 2ft by 2ft tank and are each about 18 inches long from nose tip to tail tip. Tank set up, two 3ft 10% uvb strip lights and a uva spot lamp. 90 - 100 degrees in the heat spot at one end and 70 - 80 degrees in the cool end. the female beardie has recently started to arm-wave. at first we thought she was displaying to the male beardie but when he starts to head-bob she flares at him, head-bobs back then stands on his head or pushes him to the ground, she has always been the more dominant of the two. After separating them and puting them in different rooms I discovered that she is making the arm-waving gesture to my boy friend as she only does it when he is in her line of sight. My boyfriend has a short cropped black beard most of the time and I think this is what she is reacting to. Is this normal dragon behaviour? Is there anything I can do to stop her from doing this as it is confusing the male beardie. thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon. From Sarah

ANSWER: Hello Sarah,

Oh my, well, I have heard of dragons reacting to their human counterparts on occassion, but it is not a normal response, no.  
It is good however, that you did separate them as they are too young to breed.  
If you intend on breeding them, you really should wait until they are 2 years of age, for full maturity & optimal health.  
What brand of fluorescent tube bulb are you using, a Reptisun 10, or other brand of tube bulb?  How old is it?  
What type of thermometer are you using, a stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The 2 strip bulbs are exo terra 10.0 and they are only 2 weeks old as I replaced them when I upgraded the tank (I normally change the bulbs every 4 - 5 months). The thermometers are both exo terra digital probe themometers (one at each end of the tank). We don't intend to breed them. I'm not sure why she is arm-waving to my boyfriend. He's never hurt her and she's quite happy to accept food or attention from him. The exo terra dual canopy top that I bought for the strip lights also has space for a halogen spot light which the tank didn't have before. This behaviour has only started since putting the female beardie in the new tank. Could it possibly be the halogen sun glo spot light that I am using in the canopy top that is causing this behaviour? Again the bulb is exo terra brand specifically made to be used in the canopy top. Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon. Fram Sarah

Answer
Hello Sarah,

Do you have any pictures of your tank setup for me to look at?  Good the digital probes should be accurate then.  
Honestly, that is good you have separated them though, because they will breed eventually.  
The Sun Glo is a basking bulb yes, but it should not cause the arm waving.  That behavior, the arm waving is a social action that they do towards each other & towards their owners sometimes, too.  
She must like your boyfriend though.  As long as she is not aggressive towards him I think it is just a social behavior & it is her way of saying hello.
The male, well, he will eventually get used to it.  If she arm waves at him, it is a submissive behavior that is done before breeding.  So, they were starting to get to the age, where the male might have attempted to mate with her.

Let me know how they are doing.

Tracie