Have you looked at the bearded dragons? Aren’t they just too amazing and beautiful? But guess what? Like any other wildlife, they too are not free or safe from the grasp of wild predators.
The most common predators that count bearded dragons as their snacks are snakes, birds of prey, foxes, dingoes, and the other lizards like goannas. It’s true that bearded dragons are tough to hunt, even for these wild hunters. But not every time they can manage to get lucky.
Hold on a second! Not all bearded dragon predators are wild animals as there are home pets too on that list. But what are they? Well, this article is all about finding that out.
What Are Bearded Dragons Predators?
You’re probably already wondering – should I be worried about my pet bearded dragon too? After all, it’s in my care all the time and no predators can turn it into their meal.
Well, this is where you’re wrong. You never know which unwanted situation or incident might snatch your four-legged friend out of the blue. So, you better know which threats are actually considered as the ‘predators’ for beardies. Let’s get started with the names then?
Birds of Prey
If you’d ask – ‘what is a bearded dragon’s biggest predator?’, then we’d say it’s the birds of prey that have taken the top seat. In case you’re not familiar with the term, birds of prey mostly include larger birds with large talons, fast in flight, and come with strong bills.
There’s a whole bunch of the birds of prey in Australia such as Eagles, Hawks, Harriers, etc. that can snatch your beardie in a blink of an eye and make it their next meal. Clearly, it’s their physical attributes and flying capacity that have made them the perfect hunter for beardies.
And the bad news? They’re all over the world, not only in Australia. So, no matter where you’d take your bearded dragon, there’s always a chance of it coming under the attack of these flying predators.
This is why while taking your beardie outside, you better keep your eyes open and check out if a hunter with wings flying over the head or not.
Snakes
Bearded dragons are mostly from Australia and another one of their most common predators there are snakes. There are lots of snakes with different types that love beardies as their meal. We guess this reason is enough for you to keep your beardie away from any kind of snakes out there.
If you’re asking for names, we’d say snakes like eastern brown, death adders, and coral snakes can easily turn beardies into their prey. Now the question is, as there are some major similarities between snakes and bearded dragons, can they actually eat bearded dragons?
Well, yes, they can. Like we said before – there are some major similarities between snakes and bearded dragons, snakes too can eat species smaller than their size, as beardies do.
But we know beardies are fast. So, can snakes keep up with that speed? The thing is, some of the Australian snakes are not only venomous but also the fastest in the world. So, though beardies are quick, these snakes are quicker.
Hold on! You’re probably wondering how can a snake eat a bearded dragon when the beardie won’t even fit into its mouth? Well, if you’ve had the chance to sit in front of a wildlife channel and saw a snake hunting, then you should know how easily they can take in a larger prey.
Larger Lizards
Though beardies are lizards themselves, that doesn’t make all the other lizards their friends. Yes, we’re talking about Goannas and all the other monitor lizards out there. So, if you’re asking if they are on the predators’ list too or not, we’d have to say ‘yes’.
People who know about Australia’s native animals, count goannas among the ones that are well-known for their deadliness. They’re not only greater in size but speed at the same time. So, catching or eating beardies is obviously no big deal for them.
It’s not that only bearded dragons are on the list of preys for goannas. They’re also good at hunting down other small reptiles and mammals. Even birds are not beyond their hunting list. So, think twice before you let your beardies get close to them as you might not see your pet alive again after that.
And in case, you’ve got no choice but to keep them closer, keep your pet contained and separate in the first place.
Foxes and Dingoes
In the race of intelligence and speed, beardies are ahead of a ton of animals out there. So, hunting them down is anything but easy. Clearly, this is why dingoes and foxes come forward on the predator list. After all, they too are in the same phase when it comes to being quick and clever.
Their sharp teeth and deadly claws have made them the perfect terror for a bunch of other wild residents including bearded dragons. The similarity between foxes and felines is kind of hard to ignore. But when it comes to dingoes, they’re more of like dogs.
Though dingoes are mostly seen in Australia alone, foxes are seen all over the world. So, before taking your beardie out and letting it roam free, make sure that no fox is looking for its lunch.
House Cats
In urban Australia, beardies do have a bad name for messing with the crops. So, people used to keep cats as pets to deal with them. This means cats in such places are quite used to seeing bearded dragons on their menu. But what about the cats that aren’t from urban Australia? Well, the beardies are still not safe if there’s a cat roaming around.
As cats have sharp claws and teeth. So, hunting down a beardie isn’t much of a hassle for them. It’s true that beardies can hide in tight places, where the other animals can’t reach that easily. But we guess you already know how good cats are at climbing higher spots. So, finding the beardies out is no hard nut to crack.
So, if you have developed a hobby of having both a cat and a beardie as your pet, don’t forget to ensure sufficient protection for the little one. Don’t fall for the unusual videos you see on Youtube where cats and beardies became friends. That’s simply a rare deal!
What Do Bearded Dragons Do To Defend Themselves?
Every animal out there that’ll have to face predators develops certain defense mechanisms naturally. Bearded dragons are no different. As the predators on the list are quite bigger than the dragons, they defend themselves through –
Camouflage
You can call it the first line of defense for the beardies. The sole purpose of this trick is to keep itself undetected in dangerous situations, especially when there are predators around. In this process, they usually adopt similar colors to their surroundings.
One of their common tactic while using camouflage is remaining motionless regardless of the time. So, for people, it’s going to be hard as hell to detect where the beardie has hidden itself. Even predators that use their vision only to hunt, find it next to impossible to trace the dragon.
But the bad news is predators like goannas and dingoes still can track beardies as they’re mostly dependent on smelling for hunting.
The Beard
Have you noticed the bottom jaw of bearded dragons? If you have then probably the extendable pouch right under that didn’t skip your eyes. Once they’re alarmed and feel like there’s danger ahead, they start to inflate the beard instantly. This way the head starts looking way bigger than its regular shape. After all, the dragons are called ‘bearded’ for a reason, right?
This inflated beard gives them an intimating look which somehow demotivates the predator from attacking. Not only in front of probable hunters, but they also inflate the beard whenever there’s a territorial conflict between lizards.
Gaping and Biting
Who said beardies never try to threaten their predators? Well, they surely do and they do that by keeping their mouth open along with displaying their beard. This is what we call the ‘gaping’.
That’s not all! If the hunter gets close enough where they might feel endangered, they will, without any hesitation, bite hard. By the way, if you ever get bitten by your own dragon in an unwanted situation, know that this biting is nothing poisonous and not going to harm you.
Flattening the Body and Spines
This one is simply just another impressive tactic used by the dragons to protect themselves from their eaters. They flatten the body in order to make it look big in front of the predators. The sole purpose of this attempt is to dissuade the opponent.
Running
Seeing the size of the beardies, this one seems to be the most effective way to save themselves. Well, we can’t blame them as almost all the animals often do the same when they encounter opponents larger and stronger than them.
As the beardies are quite fast runners, they at times manage to skip the threat. And any guess on the speed? Well, their speed-o-meter can reach up to 9 mph, depending on the situation of course. You’ll see them keep running in dangerous situations, till they get a place to hide of course.
The Third Eye
You can call it the most interesting defense mechanism of beardies. Unlike the name address, the third eye isn’t any actual eye. What it does is detects if there is any change in temperature, lights, or shadows.
Clearly, this is the reason why it becomes easy for the lizards to detect the presence of flying predators. Once they get the hint of a hunter around, they take no time in going back to the defensive mode.
How to Save Bearded Dragons from Their Predators?
Obviously, when you’re keeping a bearded dragon as your pet, you’ve got a share of the responsibility to save them from potential predators. But how are you going to pull the job off? Well, we say you can try the following ways.
Securing the Enclosure
You’re probably keeping your beardie in a glass box, thinking that it’s going to be safe for the dragon. Well, it is unless you’ve got a cat roaming in the house.
If there’s a cat around that takes interest in smaller creatures in your house, including the beardie, make sure that you’re putting a solid lid on the enclosure. It should be strong enough so that every time the cat tries to make your dragon its next lunch, it fails.
Not Letting the Dragon Go Out
It’s hard to save such a tiny creature from all kinds of creatures in the open air. So, the best way to keep them alive is to keep them within the house.
Indeed it’s good to let them have some fresh air and feel of a natural environment. But in a surrounding where the above-mentioned predators are kind of common, getting them out might make them lose their lives and we bet you don’t want that.
Final Words
You’ve already got the names of the predators that probably would like to have your bearded dragon as their meal. We guess, protecting it will get a lot easier for you from now on.
But you’ll have to be cautious both indoors and outdoors. After all, one moment of carelessness might turn your favorite pet into a memory. This doesn’t mean you’ll have to keep it captivated all the time as that can mess with its growth.
Remember, taking care and protecting, both are part of the process here, no matter which pet you’ve got there.
