It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a super beardie!!!!!

[ChileanTaco]

On the other hand, a humans walks only on his legs and they get tired more than his arms, but dragons distribute the weight on all four legs, so all four legs should get tired evenly.

Body parts don't need to get tired equally. Their back legs are shaped much differently than their front ones, also the front portion of the animal looks different than the back portion. Some animals use their front feet more, some their back feet. Why do dogs find it relaxing sitting down, back feet and their bottom on the ground, front feet still standing - but one never sees the opposite (back feet standing, front feet down) despite for a quick stretch? That's because the body is not symmetric.
Then there are some restrictions from being a living creature: Most of the time you want to have the ability to look at things in a normal way. Hanging somewhat but head still oriented like in lying or walking (can be different for arboreal species, flying species - extreme case: parakeets hanging down from a branch). It makes more sense to let the back portion of the body hanging down, than the front portion, thus rather relaxing hind legs. Same as we prefer sitting down and still having the head as the highest-most body part, over relaxing our legs by doing a hand stand.

(So far from thinking about somewhat similar things from my job - statics, robotics - and some papers on interdisciplinary approaches physics vs. life sciences I have read for fun )

 

[NickAVD]

Body parts don't need to get tired equally. Their back legs are shaped much differently than their front ones, also the front portion of the animal looks different than the back portion. Some animals use their front feet more, some their back feet. Why do dogs find it relaxing sitting down, back feet and their bottom on the ground, front feet still standing - but one never sees the opposite (back feet standing, front feet down) despite for a quick stretch? That's because the body is not symmetric.
Then there are some restrictions from being a living creature: Most of the time you want to have the ability to look at things in a normal way. Hanging somewhat but head still oriented like in lying or walking (can be different for arboreal species, flying species - extreme case: parakeets hanging down from a branch). It makes more sense to let the back portion of the body hanging down, than the front portion, thus rather relaxing hind legs. Same as we prefer sitting down and still having the head as the highest-most body part, over relaxing our legs by doing a hand stand.

(So far from thinking about somewhat similar things from my job - statics, robotics - and some papers on interdisciplinary approaches physics vs. life sciences I have read for fun )

Yes you are right. I think there is another reason that animals rest on their hind legs. This is the desire to see the surrounding world and be vigilant. This would not be possible if they relaxed their front paws.

 

[ChileanTaco]

Yes you are right. I think there is another reason that animals rest on their hind legs. This is the desire to see the surrounding world and be vigilant. This would not be possible if they relaxed their front paws.

Exactly that (it is better to then lie completely flat) - and the body is just not symmetric. Makes sense to have smaller front feet for "steering", larger back feet for "delivering the raw power".
I always find it funny how different bearded dragon's hind and front legs look like. But thinking of digging, it makes sense - get it loose with hand-shaped front feet and throw it out with paddle-shaped back feet. Also for climbing, with the back legs having "the thumb on the outer side". Jumping - how frog-like the back feet look like! Helps with getting away quickly when your mode to get away is rather jumping down or running a short distance and then go down into a hole, than running a sprint or a marathon.

 

[Chris.]

Might be a way to camouflage as some smal branch or something. Humans have pretty good eyesight but an animal with less sharp eyes might just go past them.
Or they are just like "Nobody expects me to be crazy like this"

 

[ChileanTaco]

@Chris.

Maybe also (a lot of things have a variety of purposes), but their typical predators have better eyesight than we have. As far as I know, common predators are birds (and other reptiles including bearded dragons as long as they are small).

 

[Rocky2022]

She is a ham. She is surprisingly interactive with us to.
Ruby still uses his? It has to look like a toothpick under him lol

Ruby will sit on that thing until it breaks. Every morning, he eats, basks and heads to it and watches TV. I'll take a picture soon.

 

[Chris.]

@Chris.

Maybe also (a lot of things have a variety of purposes), but their typical predators have better eyesight than we have. As far as I know, common predators are birds (and other reptiles including bearded dragons as long as they are small).

True, I was more thinking about the mammals that will surely also prey on them. Pretty much everything in Australia will prey on bearded dragons, I imagine. Maybe even some of those gigantic spiders
Some things we never know.

 

[Rocky2022]

Ruby will sit on that thing until it breaks. Every morning, he eats, basks and heads to it and watches TV. I'll take a picture soon.

 

[Rocky2022]

View attachment 90080

I forgot to mention he only sits on this same part. Do you see my shed face? No sexy legs at the moment but he's holding on for life lol

 

[Rocky2022]

I forgot to mention he only sits on this same part. Do you see my shed face? No sexy legs at the moment but he's holding on for life lol

Taking him down for a bath as we walked through the blueberries this am

 

[ChileanTaco]

Maybe even some of those gigantic spiders
Some things we never know.

For the small babies, I honestly think so. Those spiders prey on small reptiles.

 

[xp29]

View attachment 90080

Bless his heart, he don't understand why he don't fit any more.

 

[ChileanTaco]

Bless his heart, he don't understand why he don't fit any more.

Can imagine it means something to him, his "safe place" or such

(Reminds me in a funny way of when I kept my baby sleeping bag - for sure not fitting in anymore - until end of kindergarden. Well, it's a "sleeping bag" and was in my bed all the time, so... it belongs to the bed? I really thought this is needed for sleeping
And I could really imagine that a dragon, same with other animals, becomes attached to something that feels safe and was always there and continues to use it.)

What is also funny is my dragon on his branch when he was a baby vs. now:
Taco can still sit on the branch very well (it's approx. 10 cm thick), but pancaking doesn't work so well on the branch anymore.
Photo shows end of August last year vs. mid of March this year.

 

[ChileanTaco]

On the "large Taco" photo, his hind legs are also in the air

 

[Chris.]

On the "large Taco" photo, his hind legs are also in the air

He's just a handsome boy!
The Aloe didn't make it though