Do Bearded Dragons Have Personalities? We Explain How Their Mind Works

Beardies are adorable animals and pets. For someone. Some people are extremely afraid of them and don’t even try to come close to bearded dragons. Yes, they may look a little dangerous for a person, but these animals don’t attack people unless they feel in danger. Even if they attack, it will not cause any severe consequences for a person.

The question is – do bearded dragons actually have a personality? Do they feel emotions? Can they love or hate people? These questions are not easy to answer, but we have some explanations for you. The questions are complicated firstly because you can’t interview a bearded dragon and understand what’s going on in its little head. But we’ll try to dig deeper.

Here’s what we are going to talk about:

Beardies and their personalities – what do we know?
Can bearded dragons be depressed, joyful, or whatever?
Can bearded dragons love or hate their owners?
What should you do to comfort your bearded dragon?

Let’s get started!

So, what kinds of personalities do bearded dragons have?

Beardies are really kind creatures. If you see them getting aggressive, it’s just because they don’t feel comfortable. They will not attack you or any other creature unless they want to eat this creature or they feel danger. They are relatively peaceful, the attacks of bearded dragons are dangerous for those creatures only that can be eaten by them.

Here are some common features of personality your bearded dragon is likely to have:

Calmness. These animals prefer to rest calmly somewhere in a safe place. They don’t like being very active because this way they will lose a lot of energy. They prefer saving their energy.
Passive personality. This is another feature that is quite important for beardies. They are passive and can get active only at times when they are hungry or extremely interested in something.
Friendliness. Beardies tend to recognize their owners and be more relaxed when the owners are around them. But you will have to work hard to earn their friendship.
Tenderness. They really love being petted as soon as they accept the life in their new enclosure. Once they get used to the new environment, they really love being cared about and petted.
Smartness. These creatures are pretty smart and sometimes even foxy. They will quickly rearrange their lifestyles if needed, they will quickly know who treats them well, and they will smartly hunt for prey.

But these are only some general features that you will find in every single bearded dragon. If we talk about the individual personality patterns of your beardie, no one can predict what it will be like. Some beardies tend to be aggressive, others can be too passive so you will always want to check if your pet is alive in the enclosure. Some of them are very active and run all the time around their enclosures.

You have to understand that some of them will not be like all the others. It depends much on their young age and where they were kept.

Can you train your beardie like a dog?

It’s not a secret that bearded dragons originate from Australia. They were introduced in the US in the middle of the 1990s. These animals are really cool to have as pets but in that case only if you really like the way they look. If you feel some kind of disgust when you are looking at a bearded dragon, please avoid having it as a pet at all costs. You will not be happy living with an animal like that.

But the truth is that these wonderful creatures behave much better than they look. And you will fall in love with your pet once you have lived a month or something with it. You can even try to train your beardie which is a hard task but still possible.

Well, there is nothing much you can teach your dragon to do – it will not fetch the slippers like your dog and it will not learn how to bark. But still, there are some things you can train your bearded dragon:

coming when you call his or her name;
potty training – very important;
mental stimulation and some games;
drinking and eating only from special bowls;
bonding exercises.

Well, we will not describe the process of training. Firstly, they are very complicated and extremely hard to explain. Secondly, professional pet owners and vets have already described them in their blogs and channels, so we won’t do this job once again.

One thing you should know: if you doubt that you have good and safe information about the training of beardies, please consult the vet before applying the recommendations. Bearded dragons are extremely tender creatures. You may hurt them or make them aggressive by doing wrong things.

Can bearded dragons express or feel emotions?

Yes, bearded dragons can feel emotion. The range of their emotions is not as big, but they can be happy, depressed, stressed, worried, amused, friendly, or aggressive. Also, beardies are poorly studied by zoologists, so the range of their emotions can be wider than that.

The most dangerous cases for bearded dragons take place when they feel stressed. Their bodies react to stress and start producing hormones chaotically. This may cause bad health issues and even the death of your pet. So if you notice that your beardie is stressed, you should change something in the life of your pet immediately.

When beardies are brought to a new place, they will feel stressed and worried. But if their enclosure is comfortable enough, they will cope with stress in just some days. After that, you will be able to see them chilling out more and more. If they still show signs of stress, you should consult a vet and check if the conditions are not appropriate for the beardie.

Can bearded dragons love or hate owners?

Actually, beardies can be more comfortable with some people while they can be stressed with others. If a beardie is aggressive towards you, you should check different possible factors. For example, they can hate the way your perfume smells or they can hate the way you touch them. Bearded dragons feel the fear of a person. If you are afraid, they will probably attack your hand because they will take your fear as a danger for them.

But bearded dragons get used to their owners, eventually. It’s hard to say that they love people. But they obviously get used to people and are afraid to lose their care. Maybe, this is not what you want to hear, but beardies will not show that they love you like your dog may show, for example.

What should you do to comfort your beardie?

We know a lot about caring for bearded dragons and we can write a book about that. But for this article, we’ve decided to outline some important things you should do to comfort your little reptile. By following these simple tips, you will be able to ensure that your beardie only feels good emotions.

Here are the most important things:

Avoid touching your bearded dragon too often. Only take the animal when you need to clean the enclosure or once a day to play with it. Taking a beardie to your hands too often will cause much stress for the pet.
Let the animal get used to a new environment. It will take a week or something after you take your beardie to your home. The animal will get used to the new enclosure and then to you.
Place a small item of clothing in the enclosure with your reptile. This will help the animal to get used to your scent and to reduce the fear factor when you feed the pet or do the enclosure maintenance.
Give them food daily. The little excess of food will not harm your pet. While lack of food will cause severe stress and maybe even depression. Avoid starving in any form because your animal will become aggressive.
Bathe your animal using the official advice of the vet or of a reputable information source. Please never bathe them the first days when you just brought a beardie home.

By following these simple tips, you will be able to let your animal get used to the new environment without much stress. In just a week or two, the animal will easily show what it likes and doesn’t like. But until that be very careful with any kind of interaction.

Final words

Beardies are really adorable. That’s why people keep on buying them in pet shops. But we insist that you should think twice before buying a bearded dragon. This is a living creature and it will require a lot of attention and maintenance. Will you be able to pay that much attention and handle your animal like it should be handled? Please read more about the everyday routine of a beardie owner and decide whether you can be a good owner for your future pet.