Bearded dragons are unique animals in every way, and keeping one opens up exciting and interesting experiences as you grow together. One of the best, and perhaps, cutest traits bearded dragons possess is their curiosity. They’re highly curious animals that would prob, poke, and stare at anything they seem interested in. If you had an extremely boring trick to show, your beardie will be the best audience to be hooked and captivated by your sheer creativity!
Your bearded dragon is staring at you not only because you’re gorgeous, but because it thinks you have some food on you! It may also be staring at you because you look interesting, new, or even threatening to it.
At the end of this article, you’ll arrive at a better answer to why your beardie has eagle eyes on you. Does it need food, or do you look like the food? Carry on to find out!
Do Bearded Dragons Love To Stare At Stuff?
Bearded dragons love to stare at things. They have good eyesight, at least better than that of snakes, that allows them to pick on light rays with enough detail to be proud of. It would surprise you to know that beardies may even see better than us humans! They are tetrachromatic in comparison to us with only three color receptor cones.
This allows them to see colors far more unimaginable than we humans see. If you were a bearded dragon, staring at the void with that incredible eyesight would be fun to do! Perhaps they notice the light rays falling at different angles illuminating several shades and hues that pique your beardie’s interest. Don’t be surprised that your pet loves to stare at things; it just couldn’t help but do so.
5 Interesting Reasons Why Your Pet Is Staring At You
Aside from you being the obvious giant in the room, your pet may be looking at you for other reasons like the 5 listed below:
1. Your Beardie Is Just Curious
Bearded dragons are highly intelligent species and they take interest in anything that moves, looks colorful, or looks rather weird. Your pet stares at you because it is trying to decipher what it sees. Perhaps you have a new hairstyle on, or you are wearing a particularly patterned outfit, your pet may simply be wondering what on earth it’s looking at all of a sudden!
2. Your Beardie May Be Hungry
Your bearded dragon can develop a bond with you so much so that it will recognize your voice, scent, and appearance. Most especially, your beardie can relate you to its source of food. So when you come around, it will immediately think you have some treats under your sleeve and stare intently hoping you’d plop a few into its tank.
3. Your Beardie Is Terrified
It could be that your pet is new in its environment which is not often fun for bearded dragons to go through. Beardies are highly observant animals, as they need to navigate their surroundings ensuring no predator is lurking around.
When you move places, your beardie may be cautious of everything in its new environment including you. It may be hoping that you are not trying to take a bite out of it! This will surely paint a scenario of your bearded dragon looking right at you like you have said something absolutely bonkers.
4. Your Bearded Dragon Enjoys Your Company
Contrary to your beardie staring at you cause it’s terrified, it can also stare when it enjoys your company. If you are fond of bonding with your pet now and then, it may just be extremely exciting to see you. Another trait that shows your beardie likes you is when your beardie licks you, runs towards you when you walk in, allows you to pick it up easily, or when it rests and snuggles on your body wholeheartedly. All these signs are great depictions that your pet loves you very much.
5. Your Beardie Is Showing Aggression
Bearded dragons hold eye contact to display dominance amongst themselves. If your beardie feels annoyed or threatened by your presence, it will hold eye contact with you and continuously bob its head in jerk-like motions, stomp its feet, darken and expand its beard, and thrash its tail around. This is a clear sign for you to back off and let it be. However, depending on the scenario, especially if your beardie is sick, you should find much calmer ways to attend to your pet that doesn’t threaten it.
Effective Ways To Make Your Beardie Like And Relax Around You
If you notice your pet staring at you in rather strange and uncanny ways that show your pet is stressed, you can help to resolve the situation by making it more comfortable. Try these tips:
Use Treats To Appease Your Pet
Bearded dragons love it when treats come into play. They’re savory and delicious and come in different types that they can enjoy. If you notice your pet is on the grumpy side, giving you a lot of hard stares and cold shoulders, try giving it a blueberry or a hornworm.
Make sure to hand-feed the treats if you feel comfortable as this can easily build trust between you and your pet. However, if you feed your dragon too many of these treats, it may fall sick from them and suffer a long healing process. The problem with feeding bearded dragons treats is that they’re not exactly the healthiest foods to eat. It’s similar to having candy; while they’re delicious, they should be eaten infrequently.
Handle With Care
Everybody deserves your respect, even your pet beardie. If you’re fond of aggravating your dragon by poking, prodding, or picking it up when it doesn’t want to be picked, it will grow to disdain you and thus, give you endless cold stares. Ensure you always allow your pet some space when it demands it from you so that it doesn’t attach a bad feeling to your presence.
Spend Quality Time With Your Pet
For your dragon to get accustomed and relax around you, you must be prepared (and happy) to spend quality time with it. Every day, check on your pet and hand-feed a few treats. If it allows you to, extend your hand to stroke it now and then. Gently but surely, you will win your pet over to your side. Beardies may be solitary animals, but they enjoy limited interaction as it piques their interest and gets them excited to engage. So far you’re not threatening your dragon or giving it a cause to worry, you both will make a great pair!
Do Bearded Dragons See Color?
Bearded dragons see a vast range of colors, however, it’s not conclusive whether or not they see the different shades of the colors. Most likely, the primary colors will be captured and interpreted by bearded dragons much easier than the tertiary colors. Beardies primarily view prominent blue and green hues, which is a natural adaptation to help them find food and hide from predators easier.
What Are Some Mistakes We Make When Interacting With Bearded Dragons?
When you are interacting with your beardie, you must pick on the signs it displays to identify whether or not it’s uncomfortable. Here are some mistakes we make with our bearded dragons:
- Picking it up with the limbs
- Holding its tail
- Helping it to shed its skin
- Overfeeding your pet
- Feeding it too many treats
- Holding it for long hours outside its enclosure (max should be 3 hours at a time)
- Playing loud sounds close to your beardie
- Spraying insecticide or perfume around your pet’s enclosure
How Can I Tell If My Bearded Dragon Is Uncomfortable?
When your bearded dragon is uncomfortable, it will communicate its displeasure to you through the following signs:
- Lethargy
- Glass surfing
- Lack of appetite
- Hiding habits
- Sudden aggression
- Hissing
- Pacing
- Waving
- Restlessness even at night
- Staring at an object and keeping still for weirdly long hours
- Weight loss
- Darkening of the beard and underbelly
- Head bobbing
