Sleeping habits


When I got Teo she freaked me out the first her odd sleeping behavior. When the lights went off (I have a timer) she went crazy. She ran around and threw herself at the glass. Then she sat completely still for several minutes before she took off again - like a maniac. This went on until she was exhausted and fell asleep in the weirdest positions, leaning against the glass etc. She got me scared, that's for sure. Was this normal??? I wrote an email to a "bearded dragon mailinglist" (see my link page for the address) and got some answers from people that told me that baby dragons often do this. No one could say why - but it was perfectly normal behavior. *whew*.

But the third night I couldn't take it anymore (even if it was normal!!!) and brought her out of her cage and held her in my hand. She was so small that she fit in my palm without a problem. Teo looked at me with her small brown eyes and then "digged herself" down in my palm and fell asleep instantly. There I was. I didn't move for several hours. How could I, with this little sweet dragon in my hand? It was the sweetest thing.

This went on a couple of weeks until my arm and hand started to ache from the unnatural position. Instead I lifted up my sweater and - swish - Teo crawled up and curled up between my breasts! Guess it was nice, warm and soft there..! ;-)

Disa - half awake under my sweater

It's not just my dragons that sleep at a soft and warm place..! Here is my friend Jessica with her dragons Gismo and Fiffi.

When Teo grew up she turned a lot "spikier" so I had to change her sleeping habits. And I got Cicero, Disa and Olga. They don't sleep on my chest that often anymore. It happens, but usually I let them go to sleep in their own place, in their terrarium. If I have work to do at my computer I sometimes place them on the monitor - it is nice and warm for them there, especially during the winter. They like to watch me working but usually get tired after a while. Then I cover them with a towel (they like it dark). Just remember to place a towel UNDER your beardie as well - they poop wherever they are..!

When it is time for me to go to bed I gently put them into the terrarium if they fell asleep outside. They barely open their eyes. Cicero got very nervous in the beginning when I did this and struggled, poor guy. But he quickly got used to it and now he is completely relaxed when I move him to his sleeping cave in the terrarium.



If I am not at home when the lights go off Teo usually falls asleep at the spot where she was when the light went off. Cicero, Disa and Olga on the other hand usually crawl in to their caves. (They don't live in the same cages.)