Bearded dragon just lies around with a black beard?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Aurren

Member
My beardie is going on ten now, but he's always done this thing where he doesn't really seem to be upset about anything, he's just looking ahead, chilling, with a very dark beard. I see a lot of pictures of people's dragons doing this, but is this entirely normal? It doesn't mean he's bored or cold or anything? I can't seem to grasp this.

He acts completely normal, but his beard is just black for a while, sometimes.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
He may be ill .... showing a black beard is one why they communicate I am in pain, in discomfort, and since lizards are very good at hiding the fact they are sick, ill, I think a visit to the vet might be a good idea, if the vet finds nothing, you are only out of pocket the consult fee and any tests.

Since he's been your pet for 10 years, I expect you'd be very upset if you did nothing and he went down hill to the point of no recovery.
 

Aurren

Member
Original Poster
I'll say again that he's been doing this his whole life, I'm very sure that if he were sick, he wouldn't still be around.
And to be honest, I don't appreciate that you barely read my post correctly, jumped to the conclusion that he was ill, and pre-emptively guilt-tripped me about going to a vet?

Can I get someone else's opinion please?
 

Aurren

Member
Original Poster
49119-5085443165.jpg
Forgive the debris, the cage could do with a deep clean. Also, he blinked when I went to take the picture.

But no, he just got done brumating though, but otherwise, he eats like a dream, and always has. When I went to take a picture of him, he was very interested in what I was doing, so he's definitely alert.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
He looks pretty good overall based on that photo. Not losing weight? It's good that his appetite and activity level are up. Did he have the black beard before brumation? Sometimes they can be quite moody after brumation so it's possible it's just mood related rather than health related.
 

beardyNdraggy

New member
CooperDragon":2fvv1w4d said:
He looks pretty good overall based on that photo. Not losing weight? It's good that his appetite and activity level are up. Did he have the black beard before brumation? Sometimes they can be quite moody after brumation so it's possible it's just mood related rather than health related.

Hi to all. Sont forget he said that his bearded dragon has been doing the black beard thing for ever since he got him.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
He looks pretty good for his age, but his beard does look pretty dark. As others have said, that usually means they're in pain or in a bad mood, or it can also mean they're going hormonal, especially if it's after brumating. Have you noticed that he gets a black beard more often at certain times of the year than at others?

I also realize that his beard may look blacker than it really is in the photo, because the light appears to be coming from behind him and it looks like his beard is in shadow. :?

They're all different, and color changes can be hard to figure out, but there's something to be said for knowing what's normal for your own beardie too. If everything else is normal for him then he's probably ok, but I would also consider taking him to a good reptile vet if anything else seems off, as others have said, especially since his age makes him pretty geriatric for a bearded dragon.

If you've managed to keep him alive for this long, you must be doing something right :)
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Aurren":3k8mhect said:
49119-5085443165.jpg
Forgive the debris, the cage could do with a deep clean. Also, he blinked when I went to take the picture.

But no, he just got done brumating though, but otherwise, he eats like a dream, and always has. When I went to take a picture of him, he was very interested in what I was doing, so he's definitely alert.

His spikes out the shade look not black at all, are you sure he's not just doing the grey beard thing (rather then full on BBing .... full on BBing is very unmistakeable and more common from juvenile and subadult and young in their prime adults (hormonal / horny boys).

My solution for "grey bearding" = darker grey throat and black whisker spikes and for blackbearding is to give beardie something they enjoy (food treats) and to a snuggle. They usually loose the grey beard and even the bb and are soon showing their happy colours.

He may just be telling you "more mommy / daddy time please", "more food please", "I wasn't ready to go back in my tank yet" , if he's not just a bit hormonal.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Now that's some very careful observation. I'm impressed -- I didn't even notice that the unshadowed spikes were white.

So the black beard means they're in pain or really upset (or hormonal), but the grey beard means they're just bored or mildly displeased? I guess that would actually make sense -- the blacker the beard, the more unhappy the dragon.

I'm always up for a chance to fine tune my knowledge of bearded dragon body language, so that when the little guy tries to tell me what he needs, maybe I'll get it :?
 

Aurren

Member
Original Poster
kingofnobbys":35ku3u17 said:
Aurren":35ku3u17 said:
49119-5085443165.jpg
Forgive the debris, the cage could do with a deep clean. Also, he blinked when I went to take the picture.

But no, he just got done brumating though, but otherwise, he eats like a dream, and always has. When I went to take a picture of him, he was very interested in what I was doing, so he's definitely alert.

His spikes out the shade look not black at all, are you sure he's not just doing the grey beard thing (rather then full on BBing .... full on BBing is very unmistakeable and more common from juvenile and subadult and young in their prime adults (hormonal / horny boys).

My solution for "grey bearding" = darker grey throat and black whisker spikes and for blackbearding is to give beardie something they enjoy (food treats) and to a snuggle. They usually loose the grey beard and even the bb and are soon showing their happy colours.

He may just be telling you "more mommy / daddy time please", "more food please", "I wasn't ready to go back in my tank yet" , if he's not just a bit hormonal.

!!!!
That makes so much sense! I'm sorry the picture wasn't the best, but I think you nailed it. I can tell when he's really upset because his whole beard goes pitch black, but you're right, some of his spikes remain light most of the time. I didn't know that greybearding was a thing, haha!!
So pretty much it's him telling you that he's kind of grumpy about something? That makes sense because sometimes it'll clear up when I feed him, and sometimes it won't until I let him out, or find something to distract him.

Thanks so much, you pretty much confirmed my beliefs about it being a boredom/discomfort sort of thing, very helpful, thank you c:
 
Hi,

Just registered here. such a good site.

Was just reading this post in regards to black beard and discomfort etc.
Unfortunately my male beardy passed away last week suffering from these very symptoms at th age of 6 :(
The only thing that has changed within the last month is a house move and after two days, he began showing all the above signs and died in his sleep. Not sure if coincidence or house move would do that or not? Planned a vet trip but it wasn't soon enough it was quite rapid.

Sorry to dampen the thread but as above, same symptoms so thought I'd share, hopefully not scare.
He has now been replaced with a couple of month old Male baby :)
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
TreeBeardy":2jv7qb76 said:
Hi,

Just registered here. such a good site.

Was just reading this post in regards to black beard and discomfort etc.
Unfortunately my male beardy passed away last week suffering from these very symptoms at th age of 6 :(
The only thing that has changed within the last month is a house move and after two days, he began showing all the above signs and died in his sleep. Not sure if coincidence or house move would do that or not? Planned a vet trip but it wasn't soon enough it was quite rapid.

Sorry to dampen the thread but as above, same symptoms so thought I'd share, hopefully not scare.
He has now been replaced with a couple of month old Male baby :)

I'm sure you didn't mean it this way but "replaced" is a harsh word in this situation...
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Sorry to hear that you lost your friend, but thanks for the reminder to the rest of us to pay attention to black bearding and don't assume it's nothing serious.

A move can be stressful for them, so if they're already under the weather it can sometimes make it worse. But it sounds like you did everything you could for him. At least he didn't suffer if he died in his sleep.

Good luck with your new babies. One thing to remember is that they should each get their own enclosure as soon as possible (if you don't have separate tanks for them already), especially if they're both male. They do best when they have their own space.
 
Thanks :)

They are always seperate as they are male and female now

I had a custom double tier viv made so basically two large tanks an top of one another in beechwood with glass front. He is settling in well i will post some pics soon :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,897
Messages
1,255,660
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom