If your bearded dragon’s beard turns black and puffed, it is either a frightening or a charming sign. Your beardies usually change their skin color below the chin when feel endanger or are stressed. While it is also sign that your beardy is ready to mate.
Let’s explore more reasons behind bearded dragon black beard.
Why is Your Bearded Dragon’s Beard Black?
A beard is the most distinct feature of your bearded dragon, as, its name is also derived from the flared beard. There are various reasons due to which the skin under the chin of the bearded dragons puffed out, expand, and turn black. Some of the reasons could be alarming and need attention like anger, stress, fear, illness, temperature changes, while some of the reasons behind black beard of bearded dragons are not such shocking.
Do Bearded Dragons Normally Change Beard Color?
Bearded dragons can normally change their beard color when they feel excited, mood changes, or if there are fluctuations in environmental temperature. Chromatophores, pigment containing cells are present in the skin of the bearded dragons which reflect light under certain circumstances like mood swings and their beard into black. Along with the change in beard color, bearded dragons also change their back skin color in response to environmental temperature variations. Their backs turn black or darker when they feel cold and need to get warm by absorbing external heat, as their body temperature is regulated by external heat sources. However, when they are warm, their back skin color remains constant and unchanged
When is Bearded Dragon’s Black Beard Concerning?
Sometimes, there is a sudden change in beard color of your bearded dragon, while sometimes the changed beard color is prolonged. The concerning reasons behind the bearded dragon beard black need your attention and consultation with a veterinarian for proper understanding of the cause and treatment.
Reasons Behind Bearded Dragon Beard Turns Black
Main reasons behind your bearded dragon’s beard black include:
Stress, Anger, and Anxiety
When your bearded dragon feels discomfort or stressed, its beard starts to turn black. Beardies may get mild stressed or over stressed, as it depends on the stress causes. If over stressed, their beard will get fully puffed out and dark black. While, if mild stresses of frightened, their beard is little expanded and slightly black. The triggers of stress, anxiety, and fear for your bearded dragons may include shedding, new enclosure, scary decor of tank, and noise pollution including traffic horns, or loud music.
Along with the black beard, bearded dragons show some signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety like fatigue, loss of appetite, GIT issues, not basking, and stress marks. To release your beardy temporary stress, provide it with a safe and quite place away from noise and other pets.
Thermoregulation
As beardies are cold-blooded reptiles and need external heat sources for thermoregulation of their bodies. So, they turn their beard and back black to absorb more heat. Bearded dragons usually turn their beards and bodies black at morning to maintain their ambient temperature.
However, if they do so more frequently, there may be a sign that the enclosure temperature is not appropriate for your bearded dragon. So, make sure that the temperature gradient is between 95 to 105 °F at warmer side and 75 to 80 °F at the cooler side of the tank. Also provide a basking spot and a good UVB light exposure to your beardies.
Emergence from Brumation
In wild, the bearded dragons undergo brumation and change their body color to black in response to food shortage and inappropriate environmental temperature. However, your pet beardies don’t undergo brumation as you provide them with proper maintained temperature and food supplies.
If your bearded dragon comes out of brumation and turns its beard and body into black, it is not as alarming, as your beardy do so to absorb heat to warm up its body and to replenish its body’s nutrient levels.
Inappropriate Lighting
In wild, bearded dragons get proper temperature and UVB rays from the direct sunlight which are very important for their survival. Meanwhile, in the enclosure, along with proper temperature gradient, you must provide them with UVB lighting through a full-spectrum UVB bulb or fluorescent bulb. UVB lighting is necessary for the absorption of vitamin D and calcium in your bearded dragon’s body. Otherwise, there will be deficiency of calcium and vitamin D which can lead to metabolic bone disease and structural abnormalities.
Malnutrition
Your bearded dragon’s beard black can also be due to malnutrition. If you are a new pet parent and don’t know about the feed of beardies, your bearded dragon can get malnourished. Provide a young beardy with more protein like insects and less fruits and vegetables. While if you are adopting an adult beardy, provide it with more fruits and vegetables like green leafy vegetables and calcium rich foods. Also give it live insects and small animals including roaches, crackers, and some worms.
Dehydration
Your bearded dragon’s beard an also turn black due to dehydration. If there is less water availability or your beardy does not drink enough water, its beard turn black and it will show symptoms like fatigue, loose skin, and sunken eyes. Provide your beardies with clean and clear water. Also feed it with fruits and vegetables with high water content to prevent dehydration.
Illness
Illness is the most probable reason of your bearded dragon black beard. Bearded dragons may retain their black beards and bodies during the whole time period of sickness or disease. Common illnesses of the bearded dragons are metabolic bone disease, respiratory illness, mouth or tail rot, impaction, and other health conditions. They also show some symptoms of illness like less appetite, vomiting, indigestion, diarrhea, sunken eyes, fatigue, and frustration.
Mating Season
Mostly during spring season or other mating season, adult male bearded dragons turn their beards into black to show their desire to mate and to impress their female companions. Your beardy turn its beard into black even if it is alone and there is no female fellow because it is the mating period for your beardy. Along with black and puffed out beard, your bearded dragon also does head nodding, glass surfing, or may show frustration.
When to Call a Veterinarian About Bearded Dragon’s Black Beard?
Some conditions of your bearded dragon beard black are alarming and needs consultation with the veterinarian. Like
- If your bearded dragon’s beard remains black for more than 1 week
- If there are prolonged signs and symptoms of illness
- If your beardy is frustrated for 1 week
- If there are prominent stress marks on your bearded dragon’s skin for more than 1 week
- If your beardy has got its tail black along with beard
In these situations, consult your veterinarian as soon as possible to prevent the further complications.
