I just saw my beardie puff out his beard for the firt time. he/she looked a little intimidating when he was doing it! what does this mean? he also claws at the glass and runs around his tank a lot. what is all of this behavior?
Jasper's 9 months, and he's about a foot. head to tail. maybe a bit longer.
It almost seems like he's choking or something, but he wasn't eating anything. very weird.
Puffing and darkening beards is a sign of dominance; your beardie is trying to tell you that s/he is king of the house. Opening the mouth can mean 2 things; that your beardie is thermoregulating (s/he is trying to cool off, nothing to worry about) or it means that s/he is showing you all those pointy little teeth as a warning. They may also hiss.
These signs of aggression, as seven65 said, could be hormones. We are rapidly approaching breeding season. Maybe your dragon just wants a mate. Or, if there is a loud noise or fast movement that startled your beardie, s/he may put up defenses. Either way, it's nothing to worry about, most beardies puff a bit at some point in their lives, some more than others.
My little girl does this all the time but her's is more of the "I'm chokeing" look or kind of like flexing it out..never at me just while she is sitting there...McLuvin on the other hand arches his back like a mad cat and will let out this tiny hiss lol :roll: he is only about 6 1/2 so I guess he feels he has to look like a bad butt lol :lol: