5 Reasons Why Bearded Dragons Stick Their Tails Up

Pets communicate how they feel through body language. Most of us know that dogs wag their tails and cats purr when they are happy. But what do bearded dragons try to tell us when they curl up their tails? Let’s find out in this post.

Reasons for Bearded Dragon Tail Curled Up

1. Your Bearded Dragon is Alert

Bearded dragons may curl up their tails when they are alert. This could happen when it goes to a new place, sees something new in its enclosure, or goes outside the enclosure to look around. Bearded dragons are very alert when they are exploring a new area.

2. Your Bearded Dragon is Hunting

Bearded dragons get excited and alert to see insects. When you release crickets into the enclosure, you may notice your bearded dragon’s tail curling up as it hunts.

3. Your Bearded Dragon is Asserting Dominance

Male bearded dragons are territorial animals. Even if you keep your dragon in an enclosure by itself, you may observe that its tail curls up as a dominant trait. This could be because it saw its own reflection in the enclosure’s glass or another animal approached too closely.

4. Your Bearded Dragon is Excited About Its Food

As soon as you give your bearded dragon food, you might notice it sticking its tail up. Your beardie is excited and alert in this situation.

Note: If you keep your bearded dragon on a regular feeding schedule, it will become eager around meal time and curl up its tail.

5. Your Bearded Dragon is Keeping Its Tail Dry

During a bath, you may see your bearded dragon raise its tail. Usually, this happens because your bearded dragon is eager to take a bath, but your lizard can also be trying to keep its tail dry.

This is particularly common in younger beardies with a lot of energy. Older beardies usually do not mind if their tail gets wet; thus, they will typically keep it down.

Conclusion

Bearded dragons sticking their tails up is a pretty common behavior. While this behavior can have a variety of meanings, including alert, exited, hunting, or asserting dominance, the exact meaning can only be determined by observing the context in which the behavior occurs.