Here are Three Great Ideas for Bearded Dragon Enrichment
Having a reptile as a pet comes with its own set of challenges. In many ways, they can be much more low-maintenance when compared to a dog or a cat. Speaking from experience, I can tell you that it’s much easier to clean up after a beardie than a furry four-legged friend!
But there are also many similarities that first-time reptile keepers need to keep in mind — some more obvious than others. In particular, enrichment is important for any species of captive animal in order to keep them happy and healthy. You might not think that a tiny gecko would need similar mental engagement to a big dog, but it’s true.
Sure, you can look around online and find tons of recommendations for bearded dragon toys — and they can be fun for your pet to play with. But the truth is that there are tons of activities and exercises you can do that don’t cost a lot of money or take up a lot of space.
So whether you’re interested in getting a bearded dragon or you’re a seasoned beardie keeper looking for more ideas, here are some simple and effective types of bearded dragon enrichment!
Play with their food
The best way to your pet’s heart is through its stomach. However, it’s also a great way to connect with your pet beardie on a mental level as well. After all, food is the most effective motivator when training any pet with a modicum of intelligence. It’s a core part of the classical conditioning experiments that led the way for zookeepers, herpetologists, and all other scale-lovers to use positive reinforcement to train their reptile companions.
Although they’re not as smart as a dog (or a dog-sized lizard), you can use food to teach your bearded dragon a few tricks. I’ve heard of some people teaching their beardies to bare their teeth, lay down, and even walk on a leash!
If you’re worried that your pet isn’t satisfied with their living situation, consider adopting a feeding routine that’s closer to their natural environment. Since they’re opportunistic hunters in the wild, it can be reassuring to them if you leave a fresh bowl of greens in a consistent spot of their enclosure.
Change their environment
Put yourself in your pet’s shoes (or claws) for a moment and consider the following: wouldn’t you go crazy if you had to stay in one place and do the same thing day after day? Considering that this is being written during the COVID-19 pandemic, this might hit a little close to home.
Well, if you’re being driven up a wall from lockdown, consider the fact that many pet reptiles feel the same way. In fact, some bearded dragon keepers theorize that boredom can cause them to literally try to climb up the glass walls of their enclosure!
But here’s the good news — this is one of the simplest and most effective ways to keep your bearded dragon mentally engaged. All you need to do is occasionally switch things up: Replace their basking rock next time you clean out the tank, add or remove some sterile branches, or introduce some different foods into their diet.
Get them a playmate
Here’s something you probably didn’t know. A 2014 study published in Animal Cognition found that bearded dragons were capable of social learning. This means that they can observe and imitate the behavior of another animal to replicate their results. In the study, the subjects learned how to use their heads to open a sliding door. However, this method can be used for many different purposes — such as enrichment.
Any enrichment you add to your beardie’s tank or lifestyle is effectively doubled once you add a second (or third) member to the family. Just remember that you can’t put two males in the same tank; two females or one male/one female are fine.
For many reptile fans, it’s hard to stop with just one pet. So why not use enrichment as an excuse to get another beardie for your household?
