Does Brighter Colors = Happier Dragon?

[NateS]

Just curious if there is any relation to the colors of my beardie and whether he is happy/comfortable.

He is a Super Citrus Leatherback (still a juvie at 7 months). When he eats, he gets a much brighter color...especially when eating his Dubias. I did notice that certain things make him go darker though. I have faux-rock structures throughout his 4x2x2 viv and he runs like crazy all over them, taking periodic breaks under the heat lamp. I added a little branch thing for him to climb up on under the heat lamp...checked temps and all that jazz... He climbed up on the branch and hung out under the light. He got a much darker color (almost a brown instead of yellow) and stopped running around.

So, I took the branch back out and made him get off. He is now running around his cage all hyper again and is a bright yellow. Does this mean he didn't like the branch? If so, why did he hang out on it (I feel as though I'm treating him too much like a human with reasoning)?

 

[FuzzyNavel]

My beardie Jasmine turns a darker colour when she is basking. Darker colour = more heat absorption. That's my guess any ways. She usually turns a lighter yellow/orange when I take her out of her viv.

 

[FuzzyNavel]

He also probably liked being able to get closer to his basking spot. The stick is probably a good thing

 

[NateS]

Well, I really like how active he has been lately and he seems really happy. Always running around and exploring, jumping for the ceiling...hanging from the vents, etc.... I think I am going to build a suspending bridge type of thing out of the faux-rock so that he can climb and get high. I know they aren't "supposed" to be big climbers, but mine sure likes to get as high as he can. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[bunnyrut]

My beardie Jasmine turns a darker colour when she is basking. Darker colour = more heat absorption. That's my guess any ways. She usually turns a lighter yellow/orange when I take her out of her viv.

yes, you are correct.

Basking on the log is a good thing.

mine turns bright orange when we take him out. i have noticed how his beard looks depending on his mood.
yellow beard = happy Dargon (HappyGon)
black beard = angry Dargon (duh!) (AngryGon)
yellow on top and black on bottom = very Sad Dargon (SadGon). This mostly happens during bath time.

 

[Claudiusx]

When my girls are basking they actually get brighter.

I think its mainly the citrus dragons who get darker when they are basking.

Generally though, lighter colors do mean they are happier. Only because you know if they are bright, they aren't sporting any stressmarks since stressmarks usually are accompanied by darker colors.

All dragons are different though, you just have to know your dragon.

-Brandon

 

[blue11]

hello
my beardie Blue initially get VERY dark when starting to bask outside ... like out in the sun, WOW the first maybe 10 minutes she is jet back, absorbing that heat and sun ... then she starts to lighten up ... after she gets TOO light, i take her in so wont she wont over heat. I may think it looks really awesome, but it can also be a sign of over-heating outside ... at this point she will try to burrow on the cool dirt ground or under my leg.
under her basking light, she changes hues ... sometimes she gets a little darker, sometimes she brightens a tad, it all depends. when she is in the bath, she gets a beautiful yellow scaled beard ... after she eats/while she is eating her roaches or supers, she gets that pretty colour on her beard.
when she is very cool, much too hot (like under direct sunlight) or when she is sleeping, she turns very very light ...
on any given day she is generally her "normal" colour ... she is not a color morph or anything that im aware of, just a "normal" beardie, a grey an brown and some black mixed in i think i like that about her. seems like they are becoming less and less these days.
but i LOVE looking at all the different colour morphs of other beardies i always thought if i were to get another i might MIGHT go that route ... i mean so so sooooooooo pretty.
colours are important indicators for sure, aside from colour, i think your beardies behavior will tell ya more on whether or not they are happy or not
~Emily