slithering

[KarenInCA]

When I put my dragon outside, on the back lawn lately, he will stay in one spot (normal) and then sometimes he will rotate his arms in circles to run (also normal) but sometimes he slithers in the lawn like a snake (best description I can give) and when he does that, he rubs his cheeks on the lawn as well. Im thinking it's because he might be ready to shed, and he is scratching an itch. But he JUST finished the shed on his tail. It was a full body shed and the tail took longer than the rest of his body.
He's around 9 months old, so maybe he is shedding every 2-3 weeks at this age, while growing.
Is the slithering normal behavior or is it a shed coming on?....it's also been extremely windy in our area (around 85 degrees with high winds...but not so high that we can't go outside) so maybe he is slithering because of the wind??
Any ideas?

 

[CooperDragon]

I've never seen one slither like that. My guess would concur with your thought on the beginning of another shed. Does he only do this on the lawn?

 

[KarenInCA]

I've never seen one slither like that. My guess would concur with your thought on the beginning of another shed. Does he only do this on the lawn?

So far, yes. He walks and runs just fine, so it's not an issue with his limbs. I guess he has found a new way to scratch his itch. lol

 

[DivergentKyle]

I do have an idea, and it does not have to do with shedding. My dragon does something similar and this will only occur outdoors as well. He does this when he see's something that scares him (usually a bird or people passing by). When he see's something that worries him he will flatten his body into the grass and wiggle a few times. This is way of hiding and protecting himself. Either he will hide in the grass, or he will run over to me and do the same thing under my leg. He won't slither per say, but he does wiggle. Perhaps your dragon is protecting himself as he explores?

 

[KarenInCA]

I do have an idea, and it does not have to do with shedding. My dragon does something similar and this will only occur outdoors as well. He does this when he see's something that scares him (usually a bird or people passing by). When he see's something that worries him he will flatten his body into the grass and wiggle a few times. This is way of hiding and protecting himself. Either he will hide in the grass, or he will run over to me and do the same thing under my leg. He won't slither per say, but he does wiggle. Perhaps your dragon is protecting himself as he explores?

That too, was my other thought. I usually put him on the grass and watch him from a chair on the patio, because the patio is shaded. He did go into a small shed yesterday, so who knows? We have lots of weeds mixed in with the grass, so maybe he found a protruding weed that scratched him just right, but we also have a lot of birds because we live two houses down from a huge filed that will never be filled in with houses due to a particular frog species that lives in that field, that's protected here in CA.
The bad side of that, is there are also (Im sure) mice and rats in that field, and other rodents, that attract birds of prey....and so I am CONSTANTLY watching Rin and the sky above us.

 

[DivergentKyle]

It could be a combination of both. Watch him outside after his shed and see if the quirky behavior continues- then you'll have your answer. I'm glad to hear you keep a close eye on him. Remember to watch out for any insects/bugs as well. Have you ever thought of purchasing a reptile leash? In my experience I appreciate the leash as it allows me to blink without being paranoid, aha. I was also lucky to have a dragon that does not put up any sort of fight when he is leashed.

 

[Esther19]

I agree with the protection angle. I've seen all of my dragons do it; one of my males, in particular.