Curious About a Bearded Dragon's Senses?

[Slave2Scarlett]

Ok so I've been wondering lately about the different senses of a beardie and how sensitive they are. For example.. Can they see really well? Can they taste really well? How good can they hear? Are they sensitive to smell? Anyone else wondered this? Or does anyone know about their senses?

 

[Sashee]

I wonder that too, cuz when my roommates' kids are throwing fits, I wonder if it scares Yoshi. LOL

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

LoL Since posting this thread I did a little research and found this website and its pretty cool.. If you scroll down it tells u all about their senses..
http://beardeddragoncaresheet.weebly.com/general-info.html

 

[Jamiedog]

Fascinating stuff! Nice find.

You know, I wonder what sense is "best" for dragons now... Maybe I could do that for a project when I start school again. Could try to condition, see which sense learns to "respond" the most quickly - the hearing, the sight, the smell, the touch? Same food each day, presented in the same container, with a sound made, or a particular movement made, or a pat on the head, or simply placing the bowl in the viv, but out of sight of the dragon - what helps them learn most quickly that that means chow time?

Of course, to really do it right, might require more than one dragon to experiment with... :twisted: "I HAVE TO HAVE MORE, IT'S FOR SCIENCE!"

Found this particularly interesting: "When the Bearded Dragon becomes distressed or aggressive, their normally soft and rubbery spikes can abruptly become prickly. They have a lot of control over their spikes, and they know to use it to hurt others who have senses of touch."

So if their spikes don't feel hard and prickly, I guess that's a sign of affection, sort of! :lol: Certainly of trust. Cool.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Ha Ha that would b a great project for u.. I want another one sooooooooo bad I can't stand it but I would like to wait at least until Scarlett is a year old... Interesting info for sure..

 

[Sashee]

Of course, to really do it right, might require more than one dragon to experiment with... :twisted: "I HAVE TO HAVE MORE, IT'S FOR SCIENCE!"

Found this particularly interesting: "When the Bearded Dragon becomes distressed or aggressive, their normally soft and rubbery spikes can abruptly become prickly. They have a lot of control over their spikes, and they know to use it to hurt others who have senses of touch."

So if their spikes don't feel hard and prickly, I guess that's a sign of affection, sort of! :lol: Certainly of trust. Cool.

Sounds like a good reason to me. LOL
That was a really cool article. I didn't realize they had control of the spikes.

 

[Gragrac]

I thought maybe they did, never seen it confirmed though. I know if Robert wants to get out of my hand while I'm holding him they suddenly become very sharp. Makes it hard to hold on. He scratched me pretty bad once when he got startled by the cats while I was holding him. It surprised me.
I always wondered how good their sense of smell was. I always assumed it wasn't very good.

 

[Prouddragonmama]

Spike thing makes perfect sense! I picked up hunter once and his spikes felt very sharp and pokey and he was in a heck of a mood! Just finished a crazy shed and I kept bugging him :roll: and I have never had the feeling holding him again!! Huh coolness

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

My youngest beardie has complete control of his spikes and knows how to use them. If he falls asleep outside his viv and I wake him up, the spikes become weapons of destruction, LOL. His spikes at times have been so hard and so sharp(ouch sharp), that I have had to walk away and allow him to settle down before picking him up. It's crazy... I have never had this problem with my older beardie(7 y.o.). Then again, maybe like humans, parts of them start to soften as they get older. :roll: :lol:

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

I really think they are a lot smarter and more alert than people give them credit for.. I started thinking.. I know probably everything there is to know about taking care of beardies but i really didn't know about them.. Very interesting that their senses are so keen!