Do Bearded Dragons Get Lonely?

Look at these two bearded dragons cuddling up next to one another. Don’t they look like they’re having so much fun?

This image actually has other implications, and it’s important to educate yourself about bearded dragon housing before assuming these two are really the best of buds.

We’ve all had the same thought at some point or another; is my bearded dragon lonely? “All he does is sit under the lamp and he doesn’t move much”, you may have thought to yourself. “Maybe he needs a friend.”

This is an interesting topic because we, as humans, want to project our own feelings and motivations onto our pets. We know that we would be bored to death in a cage with no one to play with or talk to, so we assume our scaly friends must feel the same.

However, bearded dragons are different from humans, as all reptiles are. Most mammals have a part of their brain that rewards them for social interaction and forming trust in groups. Reptiles just don’t have that going for them. They lack the highly developed parts of the brain present in mammals that allow for tribe-like behavior. They don’t need to form bonds because they are so well adapted for survival alone.

So the answer to this question, in short, is “absolutely not.” Your bearded dragon isn’t lonely, and totally loves being the center of your…