No, I’m not talking about putting lizards into pancakes or making lizard shaped pancakes.
Today I’m going to introduce you to our lizards that can ‘pancake’ – Beardies!
The Central Bearded Dragon
The Central Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps), also known as the Inland Bearded Dragon, is a lizard that is native to Australia. There are seven species of bearded dragons, all of which live in Australia.
Bearded dragons get their name due to the large beards they have. Plus, their ability to expand them when they feel threatened.
Central Bearded Dragons are found across the centre of eastern Australia, which is mostly semi-arid habitat. However, they will also be found in more temperate and tropical arid habitats too. They are often seen in semi-arid woodlands, shrublands and grasslands.
Bearded dragons are skilled climbers and are perfectly capable of scaling trees, large rocks and fence posts, where they can sit up high to avoid any predators and catch some sunshine while keeping an eye out for any prey.
Bearded dragons are also well adapted to digging as the females will dig burrows to lay her eggs in. Once the eggs are laid, they cover the burrow back up and leave the clutch of eggs to develop on their own.
Diet
Bearded dragons are omnivores. Beardies feed on vegetation (leaves, flowers and fruits), invertebrates (insects like beetles and ants) and small vertebrates (small lizards, if they can catch them). They have a slightly sticky tongue that helps them pick up food. As well as 30-40 small sharp teeth to help break up their food when they eat and strong jaw muscles to keep hold of the food.
But where does pancaking come into all of this?
Pancaking is a term used when a bearded dragon flattens its body, making it look like a large, flat, circular pancake. The reason behind pancaking is to help with heat absorption. Bearded dragons are ectothermic, like all reptiles, meaning they need the environment to help maintain their body heat.
The sun will warm surfaces in the environment. Then a bearded dragon will sit it and flatten out their body (pancaking), increasing their surface area. This helps them to absorb the heat while basking in the sunshine.
In the wild bearded dragons will bask out in the sun in high temperatures. Their natural average temperature range in central Australia can be from 3.7 degrees Celsius in the winter (although bearded dragons are not active during the cooler parts of the year). Or up to 35.9 degrees Celsius during the summer. But temperatures within their range can regularly exceed 45 degrees Celsius during the summer in the daytime and be between 20 to 35 degrees Celsius during the night.
Typically, bearded dragons are diurnal, which means they are active during the day. However, they have been seen out in the dark after days that have been particularly hot.
Defence
Heat absorption isn’t the only reason why a bearded dragon may feel the need to flatten out its body. It can also be done in a response to a threat. Increasing the surface area of its body gives the impression that the bearded dragon is larger than it actually is. This can deter predators. They will often tilt their body sideways to show off how big they are trying to make themselves look. Doing this along with the display of spikey scales covering their body and a strong open-mouthed hiss with their beard puffed out can make them look quite intimidating to potential predators.
Communication
There are a couple of different ways that bearded dragons can communicate with each other too.
Bearded dragons will head bob – this is when they nod their head up and down. Slow head bobbing is usually to signal submission to show they are not a threat. Fast head bobbing is a display of dominance and is sometimes combined with an inflated beard.
Bearded dragons will also perform arm waving. This is where a foreleg is lifted off the ground and moved in a large circular motion, sometimes multiple times in a row. This is either to show submission to a dominant male or for a female to show responsiveness to a male during mating.
These displays help to deescalate any tension between individuals and avoid fights that could lead to potential injuries.
Threats to bearded dragons
Australia banned the export of bearded dragons in the 1960’s. Although, they have been widely bred in captivity in several parts of the world from lizards exported before this time. In Australia, bearded dragons cannot be collected from the wild. If someone would like to keep this species in captivity then most states and territories require a permit.
Due to the ban on exportation and collection, the main threats to beardies are habitat loss and land clearing for farmland. This doesn’t mean bearded dragons are not taken from the wild illegally though. So, this is still a threat to the species.
Another threat is predation from birds, snakes, goannas, dingoes, foxes and feral cats. They can also suffer from endoparasites (worms) and ectoparasites (mites and ticks). Due to their tendency to warm themselves on roads or at the roadside, it’s likely that some fall victim to being run over by vehicles.
You will be able to find our Central Bearded Dragons in their new enclosure in the new Reptile House once the Reptile House is open. Maybe you will even spot them pancaking for yourself!
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