Most of the time, when a bearded dragon is shaking its head, it’s just to show dominance. Popularly known as head bobbing, a lizard shakes its head vibrantly but should stop. If this does not stop, it might signal metabolic bone disease or calcium deficiency.

Why Is My Bearded Dragon Shaking its Head?

There are two major drivers of shaking the head in bearded dragons. One is instinct-driven, while the other might be showing sickness. The head bob often happens when the bearded dragon has company, while the other takes longer and is often a sign of disease.

1. Head Bobbing (Not Shaking)

Bearded dragons will communicate by showing lighter or darker skin colors but may as well show certain movements.

If your beardie just starts to nod vibrantly as if they are performing to some sweet music, it’s nothing to be worried about. They do this to show dominance and can be seen during mating as well.

Bearded dragons are strict at marking territories. In the wild, male beardies establish a territory and own it. Any other male in that territory will have to face the head bobbing as a way to scare them away.

Keep in mind that while the males can often be seen bobbing, females can sometimes do some head bobbing.

Female bearded dragons can exhibit this behavior as part of a mating ritual and appear to be springier than the head bobbing in males.

It’s thought that the springy bobbing or shaking is a way of submission. When the female does the thing, the male bearded dragon sees it as consent.

Some owners have also reported that their bearded dragon only head bobs when they enter the room. Yes, sometimes beardies do this.

If they are not used to your presence, they might be trying to communicate that you’re probably an intruder, and they want to scare you off with the behavior.

You should probably spend more time with your reptile pet until they are ready if this happens. Look for activities that make you two bond, and after a while, they’ll stop bobbing the head.

2. Calcium Deficiency

Calcium deficiency is not the sole reason why a beardie may be shaking its head, but it’s a common sign. Beardies that feed on a calcium-deficient diet that lacks supplementation are likely to suffer from this. Left unchecked, shaking caused by calcium deficiency will progress to seizures.

As you know, beardies do not have much calcium and instead tend to be high in phosphorus. High amounts of phosphorus cause the beardies to have issues metabolizing calcium in their body.

When a bearded dragon is calcium-deficient, the body will begin to utilize the minerals in its bones. Over time, this will lead deformity and softening of the bone. It’s the deficiency that results in shaking a lot in dragons.

To avoid this problem, ensure your live insect feeders are properly gut loaded before giving them to your dragon. If possible, you should also lightly dust with some calcium powder supplement.

Gut loading involves feeding insects nutritious vegetables or special food that enrich them with vital minerals and vitamins.

Once these insects have been fed and enriched, you’ll need to wait at least 12 hours before offering them to your bearded dragon. This will give the insects enough time to digest food to pass maximum nutrition to your bearded dragon.

You shouldn’t wait more than 24 hours, though, as the insects might have already digested the food and passed out some of the nutrients. This will leave them empty without vital nutrients for your beardie.

Dusting involves pouring the insects into a plastic container or bag, adding some calcium powder, and shaking the container to mix with the insects.

Avoid giving your beard too much calcium supplement, especially if its coat gets too thick. Too much calcium in its diet may distort taste of food.

Calcium powders can also be dusted on a beardie’s veggies too. If you don’t offer UVB lighting in the cage, you also need to supplement the calcium powder with the D3 vitamin. D3 is needed to help absorb and metabolize the calcium.

3. Inadequate Lighting

As mentioned above, a lack of proper lighting in the beardie’s tank means the reptile won’t get enough Vitamin D3. Without the nutrient, most of the calcium supplementation goes to waste.

This is because bearded dragons require UVB light to synthesize vitamin D and failure to do so means that they will not be able to process sufficient calcium leading to soft bones hence the shaking.

The heat produced by the bulb also accompanies lighting in the bearded dragon’s enclosure. When the heat produced is insufficient, the beardie will not digest its food properly, which can cause the beardie’s muscles to shake.

4. Metabolic Bone Disease

Bearded dragons suffering from the metabolic bone disease often have deformed bones that cannot support their weight hence the shaking effect. The disease also causes coordination problems, and it can become fatal if left untreated.

Metabolic bone disease is mainly seen in juvenile beardies fed on an improper diet with low calcium and vitamin D. As the beardie struggles to walk around, its legs will often tremble.

5. Vitamin Poisoning

Beardies are sensitive to vitamin poisoning, especially when their daily meals are over-supplemented. 

When a bearded dragon has too many vitamins circulating in its body, they develop hypervitaminosis. This problem affects fat-soluble vitamins D, K, E, and A. 

When hypervitaminosis D occurs, calcium gets deposited in joints and odd parts of the bones, reducing the affected joints’ movement. This is exhibited as shaky movements.

6. Internal Parasites

Internal parasites may weaken your bearded pet dragon to the extent that they start shaking.

While it’s difficult to ascertain whether the beardie is shaking due to internal parasites, a vet check-up will determine the exact cause.

How Do I Know If My Bearded Dragon Is Distressed?

1. Stress Marks

One of the sure ways to tell if your bearded dragon is distressed is having oval shapes or dark lines.

Sometimes the dark markings are found on the dragon’s limbs and chins. This is common for newly acquired beardies that are yet to adjust to their new surroundings.

If this is the case for your dragons, you don’t need to worry. Stress marks can last anywhere from a few days to a month, depending on how long the stress lasts.

Sometimes the stress will last for a few days when the beardie experiences temperature changes. The stretch marks become clearer for newly acquired bearded dragons as they get used to the enclosure, but this can take up to a month.

To minimize the stress, ensure your enclosure’s parameters, including the lighting and temperature, are the major stressors for any new pet.

You also need to offer a hiding spot to make your beardie feel safer and more easily acclimatize to the new environment.

2. Dark Coloration

New dark coloration, especially on the upper body, is typical of stress. However, the darker coloration of the chin and beard may also signify the onset of shedding.

If you think it’s shedding, wait for a few days to see if the scales start to turn grey, as these are signs of the process. If there is no shedding accompanying the dark coloration, you need to take the pet to the vet.

3. Lethargy

A sluggish dragon can also be a sign that your dragon is stressed. When the dragon is low energy or is hiding for long periods, you need to check if the temperature, lighting, humidity, and other parameters are adequate.

You also need to check the diet to see if it’s sufficient for its age. You may also supplement the beardie with some supplements such as Vitamin D and calcium powder.

4. Inadequate Sunlight

If your beardie is not basking often, it might not be able to get the adequate heat and sunlight it needs for optimum health. Monitor the cage temperature and ensure there’s a good gradient between the cool and hot spots.

You might probably realize that their basking spot is not hot enough. If that’s the case, check the efficiency of the basking lamp.

Sometimes you also need to adjust the light and heaters to force the beardie to bask. However, make sure you don’t overdo this because it can further stress the beardie.

Before changing the position of things around the tank, check every parameter to make sure it’s in order.

5. Loss of Appetite

If your beardie is a good eater and they suddenly can’t eat as much, it could be a sign they are stressed. If animals feel threatened by their surroundings, they may not eat as much.

Some of the stressors to look for when your bearded dragon doesn’t eat include indigestion, mouth rot, and parasites.

Other problems that may cause your bearded dragon not to eat are low temperatures leading to indigestion and constipation. All of this will cause stress if not corrected.

Other reasons why your beardie refuses to eat include an unsuitable diet or if they are bored of the same diet. Ensure you offer a variety of foods, including greens, salads, and insects.

6. Aggression

Another sign of stress in bearded dragons is aggression. It may be caused by leftover crickets that are scaring the dragon, so ensure you clear all uneaten food is removed after feeding.

If the dragon has cage mates, then be bullied, causing it to become aggressive towards you. Signs of aggression in beardies include an open mouth, darkened and puffed-up beard, and head bobbing.

7. Frantically Clawing all over the Terrarium

If you see the beardie trying to claw the sides of the tank frantically, then it could have seen its own reflection and become aggressive because it thought it’s another dragon.

You can avoid this by covering the cage on the sides and adjusting the lights and tank placement to prevent reflections.

You should also make sure that the temperature is moderate, as too much of this could make the dragon hyperactive.

If the temperature is right, this may signify that the dragon simply misses outside and wants to be handled. This is common for beardies that are used to being handled outside the cage.

Is It Normal for Bearded Dragons to Open Their Mouth?

Yes, beardies do open their mouth while basking for short periods of time. It’s their way to cool off while absorbing the warmth under the heat bulb.

It’s similar to what dogs pants to cool off. Note that beardies do suffer from a slack jaw which requires a vet intervention.

Wrap Up

Your beardie is probably just bobbing its head and not shaking. If they are bobbing, try to find the reason behind the shaking and bobbing.

Most probably, it’s nothing serious, and your beardie is just asserting dominance, horny, or just a little stressed.

If they are shaking and not head bobbing, it’s definitely enough reason to visit the vet first before anything else. Any unexpected changes in behavior should be taken seriously.