Testing out beard

[KelliLorenz2000]

Hello All,
I think I saw a post along this topic, but I am looking for advice. I believe my five month old beardie is testing out his beard. Last night, he was "puffing out" his beard, but also had his mouth open. See attached picture. My husband thinks Petey was upset/mad because his beard was black. Is that the case, or did we just see the black because his beard was puffed? Additionally, what is with the gaping mouth? I have seen him do that before, but it is when he is basking and trying to regulate himself. In the case of last night, Petey was doing it a lot, (both in his cage and while he was on my hand.) Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you all in advance!

 

[Tyler_Vance]

Well put your hand in there and if he bites you then my guess is he's mad, I don't see any stress marks on his side, was he just in the basking spot? My girl will do that where she basks and then moves to the cool side with her mouth open to cool down. Can he see his reflection at all? That could cause it. Or maybe he was just stretching himself out

 

[KelliLorenz2000]

Tyler..he was doing it in different locations. .not just in his basking spot. He can not see his reflection. He was in no way aggressive. I guess that is what I am asking. .I think he was just stretching himself out, therefore, could it be natural for more black to show as a result of stretching?

 

[stinax182]

Mine gets scared by things that happen outside his tank and he will puff his beard and turn black a bit.

 

[PatsyB]

Kelli, he's just stretching it out. When they get mad and puff their beard it's much darker than that and there's more of a display. They will also do the mouth gaping thing out of the tank. Dexter does it on the couch when she's just chilling out. It's just a way for them to regulate their temperature.

 

[Darrell Asper]

Looks like he's just regulating his temperature

 

[sayy_robbayy]

Hello All,
I think I saw a post along this topic, but I am looking for advice. I believe my five month old beardie is testing out his beard. Last night, he was "puffing out" his beard, but also had his mouth open. See attached picture. My husband thinks Petey was upset/mad because his beard was black. Is that the case, or did we just see the black because his beard was puffed? Additionally, what is with the gaping mouth? I have seen him do that before, but it is when he is basking and trying to regulate himself. In the case of last night, Petey was doing it a lot, (both in his cage and while he was on my hand.) Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you all in advance!

He's probably just stretching his beard and belly, was he flattening out also? Bc Chevy does this all the time especially in the morning after she warms up and anytime they puff their beard out all the way, that's when u see the black, it doesn't "turn" black as some ppl think. The skin under beardies beards is completely black so the more they puff it out the more black u see, but if it was in defense you would def know by the angling of his body and his tail position (curled and such) And I always read of ppl saying the dark spots on belly and chin are "stress marks" I've done a lot of research on this bc there is such a debate, and what I've found out is they are not stress marks actually. Your baby is beautiful btw & Hope this helps a little

 

[sayy_robbayy]

Also, the mouth gaping is just like our body sweating or a dog panting, to regulate body temp just as you said may I ask how big your tank is ?

 

[KelliLorenz2000]

36 inches by 36 inches by 18 inches. .not sure how big that is gallon wiser, sorry. .