my breaded dragon

Question
Is a juvie size. I have recently noticed that my breaded dragons colors are two different colors. His legs are tan and his body is a dark color. Is there any meaning to that?

Answer
Macey,

Reptiles are able to change color for several reasons. Generally when a reptile darkens it is because 1 of 2 reasons...

The first reson for overall skin darkening is for thermoregulation. When something is a darker color, it can absorb more heat and radiation, therefore, it allows the animal to bring it's body temperature up. If your animal is frequently turning dark and if it is because of this reason, then your dragon is not able to stay warm enough and you should address not only your temperatures, but also your ultraviolet radiation. The bearded dragon is a desert lizard and enjoys a dry heat. The lizard should be able to bask directly under a basking lamp and reach temperatures of 95F/35C or so in the hottest part of the tank and then, he should also be able to retreat to a cooler area of roughly 85F/29C. At night, the temperatures can dip down to about 78-80F/26C-27C at the lowest, but you should not be letting your beardie get much colder than that for any prolonged period of time because it can compromise their immune system and interfere with their body's biological proccesses including digestion, etc. Now, about the ultraviolet radiation...bearded dragons, just like iguanas, are very susceptible to developing a calcium deficiency called Metabolic Bone Disease. Metabolic Bone Disease is essentially a calcium deficiency. This is caused by a poor diet, lack of UVB and/or insufficient temperatures. The bearded dragon needs a good diet to provide adequate calcium, he needs enough UVB to allow him to absorb the calcium and he needs adequate temperatures to allow him to digest calcium. If you are doing all of those three things properly, your lizard should maintain good overall health.

The second reason for overall skin darkening is due to stress. Lizards are very paranoid and defensive creatures. They honestly believe that everyone is trying to prey on them and that they need to fight for their lives. If your beardie is enduring high levels of stress, he can turn darker to let you know. Things that often stress lizards are not having a set sleep schedule. Lizards thrive on very regimented schedules...they like to wake up and go to sleep at the same times everyday. Having your lights on a timer is an excellent idea in case you can't get home to shut them off at night. Lizards like to be fed at the same time everyday or it can really mess with their minds. Also, if you are overwhelming your lizard with too much interaction all at once, this will surely stress them out. Try to interact with your lizard on and off during the day and let him cruise around the house on your shoulder or head while you do things. Also, don't keep him out of his comfort zone too long...if he starts to squirm and get stressed...let him relax alone for awhile.

Now, there are other possibilities for skin infection to cause darkening, but that would usually be accompanied by sores, blistering, patchy dark spots, or otherwise unusual appearance. If you suspect this, you are dealing with an entirely different array of issues and should please contact me with a follow-up.

Remember:

Good Diet + UVB Radiation + Proper Temperatures + Set Daily Schedule = Healthy + Happy Reptile

Thank You,

Sara J Gwerder
President
Raptor Rescue Iguana Sanctuary
Shreveport, LA
www.RaptorRescue.org