I have been told that a happy dragon will be a different color. Mine is not dull (except his tail, about to shed), but will there be a noticeable difference to his coloring if he is happy? I try to keep him happy, but I don't think he is very happy with his current tank (just built his new one, it's almost ready for him!) He is still very active and has good coloring, but I think he could be a lot brighter at this point, but I am not sure since he is my first beardie.
Dragons who are happy will be bright, without a black beard, are good indicators of mood yes.
How long have you had your boy?
Is his tank going to be ready soon for him?
If he is dark in color he may be a little stressed from his surroundings, or just not warm enough also.
Temperatures play a role in their colors as well.
He is a good bright color....a little dull at the moment since he is about to shed. Bright, beautiful eyes. A small amount of developing darkness on his beard, but not visible unless he puffs his little beard out at my kitty.
I have had him about a month now....or almost a month. He's taking quite a bit of time to get used to me and be comfortable with me, but we're getting there. He'll take food from my hand, and sometimes even climb onto my hand. But otherwise, he's reluctant about being picked up, so I keep his handling sessions short and only put him back in his enclosure when he does not struggle and put up a fuss, and I try to keep all handling sessions a good, positive experience for him. So far so good!
I don't want to rush the cure time with the polyurethane, so I am allowing five more days for cure time, and getting the rest ready during that time. He can see it from his enclosure, and he seems quite anxious to check it out!
His temperatures have stayed at a solid, good 97-100 degrees. Even though he is young, if I go any higher with the temp, he gapes almost constantly and quickly moves away from the light.