Holy banana-balls, look at this beard! (edit: help please?)

[Duriel]

Pic sucks, but basically it was wake-up time for him (and me) and he's so black that it almost looks like a disease! He's mostly been happy with his greens/dubia/lighting/etc, at worst sprouting a slight "greyish" beard when he is cranky (such as while shedding). Today though... pic is bad but I don't want to manhandle him (pic is in the bath as is normal for this time of day, but the beard has been this vicious since I woke up). I mean seriously wtf? I can see it on part of his tail and his sides from an overhead position. No shedding or anything. Eating just fine. Good lightning. Not hiding or anything. I feel the need to reiterate, he has been JUST DARN DANDY (or something?) until now. He's so black that parts of his top-side body and tail are turning black!

Edit: Also, the camera is not entirely lying. His non-black areas look much more "citrusy" today. He's normally a standard non-morph looking dude. Not sure how that works, maybe because so much of him has adjusted to be black, brighter colors came out overall? I'm confused.

 

[sweetiepie9]

It could be anything and when dragons do a full back beard, yes it does get that black & go down the body. My oldest Lonzo, who's 9 1/2 & still black beardes EVERYTHING, gets black right down his back legs, too, it's quite the sight to see. As to why he's black bearding, he could just be cranky, or maybe has parasties. If his set up is good and he's eating well and his poops don't smell more than an ordinary dragon smell, don't know why he's annoyed. After bath, snuggle him up & see if that changes anything. Then see how long this black beard lasts & get back to me!
Deb

 

[snazzyglasses]

That's a very black beard! :shock:
How old is Puff? I don't have much experience with youngun's, but I've heard that once they're old enough to figure out how to black beard they'll do it just for fun sometimes. Or maybe just as practice. (I'm not sure what the average age of discovering beard blackness is though)

There are a couple of users on here whose dragons will black beard if their tummy is bothering them, and it goes away after their next poop. Has he eaten anything weird/new lately?

Hopefully he's just being a silly goose and practicing his black-beardin' skillz though! I have to leave for work, but I'll check in later. Good luck!! <3

Edit: Sweetiepie beat me to it! Deb are you the lady whose male fell off his branch trying to look at his own beard when he first figured out how to black beard?

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hey Snazzy, yes, Rubio did that, he was 5 mo old when he discovered the BLACK BEARD and he crossed his eyes one day to look at it & fell off his log. It was hilarious, if beardies could blush, he was blushing. He got back on his log as fast as he could & was looking around to see if we saw him, I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. :lol: I think I even got a pic:
Falling off his log:

Once he righted himself he would still cross his eyes to see his beard but he never fell off his log again :lol:

Now hes 4 1/2 yrs old and his beard is huge but hardly ever black:
[img]http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r203/squeakers12/2010003-1.jpg
He does have a great smile, though

 

[beardieluv212]

Hi all. What is "black bearding" really mean??? Other than the usual moody, upset belly...


"but I've heard that once they're old enough to figure out how to black beard they'll do it just for fun sometimes"

What does that mean.... :?:

 

[sweetiepie9]

How old is he? I forgot to ask in the first post.

Males use blackbearding as a sign of dominance, as in saying "I'm the BOSS". That's the main use, also thst he's annoyed, or upset. They also black beard females when it's time to breed, as if telling them their beard says they're in good health. Can mean they're sick. too. If he's just realized that he can make a black beard happen, then you can expect lots of them. I have 5 adult males & they black beard all the time when one is out roaming in the living room. They bob when they black beard, too. I'm not sure why your little guy is black bearding, but you said his beard went back to normal? I've been bearded for not having the right temp on their bath, not giving them their food in the right way. I've had my foot blackbearded when I was in the way when one was free roaming in the living room. Lonzo, my eldest, still black beards & bobs the furniture :lol: Hope that helps.

 

[Lurhstaap]

Honestly, beardies blacken and puff up for any number of reasons. The only way to figure out why one is doing it in the moment is to examine the circumstances and context of the behavior unfortunately.

 

[diamc]

He looks like he's not feeling well in the above picture, just look at his eyes. Does he have a darkened beard, etc quite often? Have you had him checked for parasites?