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This is Roxy. It is my daughter Wendy’s pet. She received it as a gift and has fallen in love with it. She brought it to my house today and I took pictures of it and my daughter. When I touched the Bearded Dragon, it felt scaly and the beard or scales around her neck were sharp.

Bearded Dragons come from Australia starting in 1900. They were smuggled into the United States and now there are literally thousands of them. The live-in deserts scrub lands, and woodlands. They make great pets. There scientific name is Pogona Vitticeps. There are eight different species of the Bearded Dragon.

They can live between ten and fifteen years. If they are well attended.

The size is between 17 and 22 inches long including the tail. Bearded dragons are omnivores; their diet mostly consists of plants and vegetables. Insects, including cockroaches, crickets, earthworms, and mealworms.

There name comes from the beard pf spiny scales around their neck.

They have a perky personality by waving to each other or to their owners.

You can walk your pet on a leash but if it spots food somewhere it can run 9 mph. Be prepared.

 Bearded Dragons enjoy the water. Some are content to just lie in shallow pools of water while they bask or as a break from the heat, but others go for a swim and are content to paddle around for a while as a break from their normal routine. They inflate themselves with air to help with their buoyancy, and their swimming motion is similar to that of a crocodile.

They can sleep standing up braced against some or there are small hammocks they can sleep in. They can run in an upright position.

Bearded Dragons can convey their emotions by changing their scales. As well as their trademark puffed-out throats, bearded dragons’ scales will become tense and spiky when they are stressed. When relaxed their scales will sit much flatter and be smooth to the touch. Their beards may also turn black if they are feeling stressed out or threatened, as well as when they are preparing to mate.

As well as their ‘beards’ turning black, bearded dragons can change the color of the rest of their skin too. This isn’t as obvious as with a reptile like a chameleon, but the phenomenon can still be a surprise for owners. Because bearded dragons shed their skin throughout their lifetime, it is possible for the newly-revealed skin to be a different color.

Their teeth can be regrown in the front but not in the back. The teeth at the back and sides of the dragon’s mouth are permanent, but these front teeth may be regularly shed and re-grown throughout the bearded dragon’s life, much like the way they shed their skin.

This reptile makes a great pet and their owners enjoy them. I know my daughter does.