Why do.bearred dragons swallow.air?

[RelentlessChaos]

And get all puffed up / bloated like a puffer fish (mouth closed). Ive seen my juvenile do this a few times since I became his gaurdian on the 5th. A few things I would think of that would cause it is his shedding, reflection etc. Sometimes I catch him gulping air and holding it in.

 

[Brandonforty2]

Mine do that too. First time they did it, i panicked but it doesnt seem to hurt them. Maby they are trying to keep silent to attract food?

 

[BeardedDragonCo]

Many dragons will gulp air if they are nervous about something, but they don't always blow up. If babies are afraid of being hurt, they will blow up to protect themselves, same with adult females carrying eggs. All dragons blow up to loosen skin during a shed or when in the bath if they're unsure. In all cases, I believe it is just an instinct to protect themselves and is absolutely adorable. I have a couple of clutches of Lawsoni babies and juvies that do it constantly the minute you try to pick one up.

 

[tgolden]

Stretching skin is more then likely what you're seeing.

 

[TheWerewolf]

My Nim just puffs his body and beard up at random sometimes. He also flattens his body in the morning during basking. I have explanations to both of those behaviors. The body flattening is just to make his body larger so it absorbes more heat faster. The beard and body puffing is to make sure it works just in case a predator comes. 'Cause, if a beardie can't puff up at a predator it will most likely get eaten. But if they keep it stretched and loose (especially after a long nights sleep) then it will be ready to be used if need be. Nim always stretches in the morning after he gets up. And then at random during the rest of the day. I know he isn't showing aggression at his reflection because he could care less about it. He has the most docile personality. So there you have it, the science of beard and body stretches. I mainly got this off of a few articles I read on here and just my own thinking. So, I could be wrong or mixed up about it.

 

[Tonja]

Beardies puff up also to help crack the shed as it gets tighter, they puff up and darken to absorb more heat while basking, then lighten up to reflect the heat as part of thermoregulation. They can puff up to ward off predators, this makes the spikes more prominent in hopes the spikes will appear inpallitable to predators. They stretch out by puffing up also. Sometimes they will puff up in the bath if they feel the water is to deep for them..puffing up is their floatation device.