The bearded agama (or Pogona in Latin) is one of the most popular reptile pets. She came to us from faraway Australia and earned the love of the terrariums for its simplicity and unpretentiousness. As a homemade bearded agama, the species Pogona vitticeps is mainly found.
It's a very clever and gentle animal, and the size of bearded agama can be as big as 40-60 cm with a tail. The body of the agama is slightly flattened and the head has a triangular shape. On the sides of the head and the neck bag, there is a scale in the form of thorns. When the reptile feels threatened, it pushes its tail, snorts, sits on its hind legs, opens its mouth wide and blows up its neck bag, which becomes darker and very similar to the beard, with its exaggerated branches. Hence the name of the fearless "dragon with asymmetrical beard", as the English call the lizard. You can buy bearded games in any pet shop.
They live in nature in the desert areas of Australia, with poor vegetation. They are awake during the day and relax at night, sometimes hiding in minks or stone shelters. Some epaulets are good for climbing trees. Adult bearded agama is often caught with a damaged tail. It is very fragile, but interestingly, it does not grow like other lizards if it is damaged.
Agama bearded at home will feel great if she creates a familiar environment that resembles the arid and warm expanse of Australia.
Bearded agama: morphs, types, and colors
There are several species and types in nature. And since agama bearded at home is very well bred, the method was developed and many morphs and colors. It is necessary to distinguish these two concepts:
- Morphs of bearded agames are new subspecies with a certain genetic code derived from crossbreeding (for example, depending on the size, size of the scale, thickness of the skin).
- The color of bearded agames can also vary, depending on the crossing of lizards of different colors, as the artist mixes his colors in a palette. There are incredibly beautiful bearded epaulets that are not found in the wild.
How to determine the floor of a bearded agama
The male agama is always bearded more than the female, usually by 10 centimeters. Also, like other lizards, agama has a copulative organ, hemipenis. It is found under the female's tail by one female and two males, but only one is used for reproduction, after which it is pulled back into the cloak.
Reproduction of bearded agam
Lizards reach sexual maturity in their second year of life. Agama bearded is a monogamous animal, and one male has two or three females. The marriage period falls in the summer months. Before mating, the male agama tries to attract the female's attention in every possible way: he blows up his bright beard, runs quickly, becomes on the hind legs and shakes his head. The female wags her tail in response to her advances, also shakes her head, showing that she is ready for fertilization. The male catches it, picks it up with her teeth and mates.
The female is placed in a separate special terrarium with sand after a month and a half. The bearded agama lays eggs deep, the hole breaks out from 10 to 40 cm. At home, the eggs are then placed in the hatchery to maintain an optimal temperature of +28 degrees Celsius. And after three months, pretty agama bearded calves are born.
Bearded agama content
The agama bearded lizard is unpretentious, gentle and very clever. She is very good at taming and can even remember her name. The main condition is that she should be picked up every day, ironed and tickled by her neck, speak to her in a quiet and calm voice so that she gets used to you. And then agama will become a pet like a kitten!
Feed for bearded agama
The lizard diet consists of animal (60-80%) and plant (20-40%) food. It eats insects, zoophobes, cockroaches, newborn rodents and crickets. Agama mustn't be allowed to eat insects that can be caught. It can be poisoned by pesticides and poisons.
As vegetable food, it likes to eat grated carrots, celery, banana, eggplant, grapes, apples, leafy herbs (parsley, dandelion leaves, clover, salad). Feeding the bearded agama is carried out in a special feeding trough so that the agama cannot swallow soil particles from the food.
Usually, the lizard has enough moisture to consume with juicy food. But in a terrarium, it is still recommended to install a drinker. Agama should be able to drink if she wants to, she can moisturize the skin during molting and the air will not be dried out.
If the bearded agama is kept at home, it can last up to 10 years.https://petsfusion.com/news/373/agama-borodatja-jasheriza/