The central bearded dragon is found in arid woodlands and rocky deserts of eastern Australia. They can grow to around 50cm in length and are found in a range of different colours from beige and grey to orange or red. Males are usually bigger than females, with a larger head and are brighter coloured. Bearded dragons are opportunistic omnivores meaning they will eat both vegetation and invertebrates, whichever is available to them at the time.
They can sometimes change colour, getting darker to absorb sunlight and warm themselves and lighter to repel sunlight and help keep cool. They have large claws which they can use for climbing. The Greek word ‘pogon’ means beard, which refers to the flap of skin under a bearded dragons throat which they can puff up when threatened to look bigger. Bearded dragons can live for about 20 years in captivity and up to 12 years approximately in the wild. They are currently classed as ‘least concern’ on the IUCN red list.
