Are Bearded Dragons Active Pets?

If you get a new pet and decide to get a reptile, of course you want to know if that reptile is active and when it is active. Are bearded dragons very active pets? Let me answer this question right away.

When kept right, bearded dragons are very active pets during the day. They are diurnal and move a lot during the day, but as soon as the lights get out, they are quiet and sleep.

You might have noticed that I wrote “when kept right”. Most bearded dragons in captivity are very lazy and not active at all. This article will show you how to keep your bearded dragon so that it is as active as it should be.

Are Bearded Dragons Active Pets?

Yes, bearded dragons are very active during the day. However, the good thing about them is that they do not make any noise. They move a lot in their terrarium and constantly explore their territory, but they are not as annoying as a hamster by night, for example.

The only time when they really lie still and relax is when they are under their basking spot to get their body on temperature. However, after that they move a lot and are very attentive and even curious.

Why Is My Bearded Dragon Not Active?

So you might already own a bearded dragon or you have a friend who owns bearded dragons and that friend says that bearded dragons are lazy. Or you maybe even have seen that bearded dragons are pretty lazy.

How can they be active pets when every bearded dragon you see is totally lazy?

The problem is that most bearded dragon owners keep their bearded dragon incorrectly. That happens pretty often, since pet shops do not educate their buyers before getting a bearded dragon. Besides that, information you can find on the internet can be confusing and also misleading.

So keeping a bearded dragon correctly can be hard if you don´t know which source of information you can trust.

Most of the times the inactivity of bearded dragons has two reasons. One is wrong lighting and the second is wrong feeding.

The Correct Lighting?

Bearded dragons need a basking spot with a certain (high) temperature. They are cold-blooded and need an external heat source to get their body on temperature in order to be able to move, hunt and digest.

If you have the wrong lighting setup and the temperature is too low, your bearded dragon will not move a lot. First, because it is not able to get its body temperature to where it should be. Second, it is cold in your terrarium and your bearded dragon wants to stay where it is warm.

Besides that, you also need a UVB lamp for your bearded dragon. If you do not have a UVB lamp with sufficient UVB output, your bearded dragon will eventually get sick. Even if you have a UVB lamp, that doesn´t mean it is good for your bearded dragon.

Most UVB lamps on the market are garbage, they burn out quickly or the UVB output is simply too low.

Make sure that you have the correct lighting and your bearded dragon will show its natural behavior. I recommend to have a close look on your current lighting setup. I wrote a whole guide on that, click here if you want to know what the best lighting for bearded dragons is and which temperatures are needed. It´s free.

Are You Feeding The Right Stuff?

The other reason for an inactive bearded dragon is that you feed the wrong things or that you feed too much.

Adult bearded dragons should eat more greens than live food. Most people do not believe that and feed live food every day or almost every day.

If your bearded dragon gets food the whole day and is constantly bloated with food, why should it even move? Further, it can get fat and fat bearded dragons are lazy.

Additional to that, feeding your bearded dragon every day and feeding your bearded dragon too many insects is not healthy for your pet. I know that many owners are worried that their bearded dragon could starve.

However, the reality is that a healthy bearded dragon can survive without food for over a week. That doesn´t mean that you should feed once a week, but definitely not every day.

If you need more tips on bearded dragon diet, click here to learn 5 things you should know about bearded dragon diet.

Many bearded dragons simply refuse to eat greens. No matter what you do it won´t eat greens. What can you do about that? Actually, this is a huge problem and it will lead to health problems in your bearded dragon in the future.

I wrote an ebook which will teach you why your bearded dragon is not eating greens, why that is problematic and how you can get your bearded dragons to eat greens within the next 7 days. Click here to get that ebook.

Is Your Bearded Dragon Tank Too Small?

I recommend to get a bearded dragon tank, that is at least 48 inches in length. Most people use a 75 Gallon tank for their bearded dragon, which is great in my opinion. Buying good bearded dragon tanks online is almost impossible.

However, I have created an article on how to set up a bearded dragon tank, that might help you with that. Click here to read it.

Obviously, a bearded dragon can´t move in a tank that is too small, so it can´t be really active.

Diseases?

Bearded dragons can get sick and a sick bearded dragon is an inactive bearded dragon. Especially parasites make your bearded dragon very weak and lazy, because they drain your bearded dragon´s energy.

If you are not sure if your bearded dragon is sick, take your bearded dragon to a reptile vet.

Are Bearded Dragons Active At Night?

Bearded dragons are not active during the night. They are diurnal, which means that they are active during the day. Bearded dragons need light and heat to be able to move and those two things are not available during the night.

Are Bearded Dragons Active In The Wild?

Yes, bearded dragons are very active in the wild. They are constantly looking for food and male bearded dragons explore and defend their territory from other male bearded dragons the whole day. Female bearded dragons are exploring and looking for mating partners.

Think about this, in the wild bearded dragons do not have any humans that bring them food. They have to hunt their food, they have to earn it. So they have to be active and run around a lot to find food.

If they don´t find food, they die. It is as easy as that.

When Are Bearded Dragons Most Active?

Most bearded dragons are most active right after they got their body on temperature. Every bearded dragon is a little different. While one bearded dragon is active right after basking, others are more active in the afternoon.

Are Baby Bearded Dragons Active?

Yes, baby bearded dragons are even more active than adult bearded dragons. They are very quick and hunt and eat the whole day to grow quickly and to survive the dangerous first months in their life.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are a couple of questions I also want to answer in this article, because I get asked them pretty often.

Are Bearded Dragons Less Active When Shedding?

Some bearded dragons are less active during shedding. Shedding requires a lot of energy and therefore some bearded dragons save energy by being less active for a while.

Are Bearded Dragons Less Active In Winter?

Yes, around October adult bearded dragons start to get ready for brumation. They then sleep for weeks in order to stay healthy and to grow. Before that, bearded dragons are less active and eat less than normal.

Conclusion

As you see, bearded dragons are normally not lazy. Bearded dragons are only lazy because of bad husbandry or because it is time to brumate. Other than that they move a lot and you can have fun observing them the whole day.

Are bearded dragons very active pets? Yes, they are and they are awesome If you have any questions, leave a comment in the comment section below.