By now, you know that bearded dragons are fascinating creatures with various characteristics and traits. From chest-puffing to arm-waving and head bobbing, beardies are some of the most exciting lizard pets.
However, one question that seems to be on everyone’s mind is whether bearded dragons should sleep with their mouths open. Unfortunately, it’s not right for bearded dragons to sleep with their mouths wide open.
Bearded may have peculiar sleeping habits such as sleeping upright on the glass wall and even sleeping in their water bowl, but gaping when asleep is not normal. Opening bearded dragon’s mouth for a short time should not be a cause for concern.
However, continuous gapping, especially when sleeping, indicates that a beardie is experiencing a stressful situation or health complications.
If you see a bearded dragon sleeping, basking, or relaxing with its mouth open, it might be in pain, the cage might be too hot, or it might be responding to a perceived threat.
This guide highlights some reasons why a bearded dragon might stay with its mouth open, whether during the day or at night.
Why Bearded Dragons May Stay With Their Mouths Open?
There are several reasons your bearded dragon may practice this odd-looking activity. These include:
Temperature Regulation
The first and the most common reason beardies have their mouth wide open is thermal regulation. Unlike humans, who regulate their body temperature through sweating, lizards must find a way to cool their bodies down since they can’t sweat.
Opening the mouth wide open is one of the techniques that these creatures use to lower their body temperature. This is known as gaping and is common when beardies are basking.
Bearded dragons display gaping behavior when they reach their thermal maximum. By opening the mouth, the beardie allows extra body heat to escape.
These creatures will start gaping when their body temperature rises above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Usually, beardies will spend a lot of time in the basking area and open their mouth wide when the temperature is beyond optimal.
This is why it’s recommended for a bearded dragon enclosure to have a cooler zone where bearded dragons can escape too when the heat in the basking area becomes unbearable.
Should Bearded Dragons Sleep With Their Mouths Open?
While it’s normal to see beardies bask with their mouths open, it’s unusual for them to do the same when sleeping.
However, when the temperature goes beyond optimal at night, the lizards may reach their thermal maximum and try to release the excess heat by opening the mouth.
Bearded dragon owners should ensure that the terrarium is color at night than during the day, especially in the beardie’s sleeping area.
It doesn’t matter whether a bearded dragon is sleeping or basking; if the temperatures in the cage are beyond the recommended levels, lizards will open their mouth to cool down.
In addition, sometimes you will find bearded dragon sticking its tongue out to allow more heat escape from its body.
Aggressiveness and Defensive Behavior
Bearded dragons are known to be the most peaceful, calm, and docile lizards. However, they are still wild animals, and they might get aggressive at one point and time.
When bearded dragons feel aggrieved or threatened, they display various signs and behaviors to ward off the predator or show that they are not happy.
One of the first indicators that your bearded dragons are aggressive or defensive is the wide opening of their mouths. If you try to touch or pet a beardie and it responds by opening its mouth, this is a clear sign that they’re not interested.
Although these scaly friends understand that humans are more prominent than they are, they usually get defensive when startled or intimidated.
The lizards will try to puff up their beards and open their mouth to try and frighten you. Other signs that indicate that your bearded dragon is agitated and aggrieved included:
- Darkened beard
- Fast head bobbing
- Tall stance
- Hissing
- Puffed up beard
When your bearded dragon opens its mouth suddenly and follows it up with one of these signs, this indicates that they are aggrieved and not ready to have you close by. Ensuring the terrarium has several relaxing, and hiding spots can help limit aggression.
Respiratory Infection
Another reason why beardies have their mouths wide open is respiratory infections. Beardies come from the dry woodlands of Australia, where they are used to breathing air with particular moisture content.
When bearded dragons are kept in an enclosure with humidity above 40% for an extended period, they may contract respiratory infections.
When bearded dragons have respiratory infections, they might look like they are gaping all day. They cannot breathe normally through the mouth and thus have to pass air through the mouth.
Respiratory disease will make a beardie stay with the mouth open even when the temperature is optimal.
Other signs that might indicate that a beardie is suffering from respiratory infections include labored breathing, mucus around the nose and mouth, and crackling or wheezing with each breath. The lizards might lose appetite or become lethargic if the condition is severe.
Pet owners should invest in a hygrometer, which they can use to regulate the humidity in the terrarium. More importantly, they should visit a reptile immediately if they suspect their scaly friend has a respiratory infection. If left untreated, fluid may accumulate in the lungs and suffocate the beardie.
Beard Stretching
Bearded dragons get their name because of the adjustable beards around the neck. Lizards can change their beard’s color intensity and puff them up if necessary.
Beardies usually puff their necks and darken their beards when they feel threatened or aggrieved.
When bearded dragons stretch their necks, either because of being aggressive, they instinctively extend the jaws muscles forcing them to open their mouths. Sometimes, the beardie is exercising their necks and mouth.
Sometimes it might seem like the bearded dragons are yawning. The creatures stretch their necks, raise their heads, change their beards’ color, and open their mouths.
When you see your lizards opening their mouths for a short period like they are yawning, this should not raise concern. The opening and closing the mouth could mean that your docile friends are just stretching their beards and practicing.
Subconscious Opening of the Mouth
As human beings, we sometimes enjoy sleep too much to the extent that we open our mouths when we’re dead asleep. This happens involuntarily without our control.
Like us, lizards too may open their mouths when slumbering. Since bearded dragons’ body muscles relax when sleeping, they won’t even notice when the jaw muscles relax, and the mouth opens.
Opening the mouth doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s too much heat or the beardie is sick. Sometimes, beardies may be having too much fun when sleeping to the extent that they leave their open mouths without realizing it.
However, like humans, this is not something that happens daily. If you notice your bearded dragon sleeping with its mouth wide open once, this should not raise any concern.
But if they do it continuously, this might mean that beardies are in pain, aggrieved, or the temperatures in the terrarium exceeds the optimal range.
Mating Behavior
An open mouth may also be an unusual way for bearded dragons to show their affection. In the wild, bearded dragons open their mouth when they notice a female in the vicinity.
However, in captive-bred beardies, hormones are all over, and you may see them opening their mouth even when there are no females around.
An open mouth is also a sign of aggression displayed by a male bearded dragon when it sees other competing males.
If a bearded dragon keeps opening its mouth during the mating season, it might be showing affection to the female or trying to warn other males that it’s ready to take them on.
Can You Help Your Bearded Dragon to Keep Its Mouth Shut
We all agree that sometimes your bearded dragon opening its mouth is normal. Still, it would be best if you made sure that it’s not caused by fear, discomfort, or sickness.
If you discover that your lizard is gaping abnormally, you should ensure that the lizard’s enclosure has the right conditions. Here are some of the actions that you should take:
Ensure that the Terrarium Temperature is Optimal
One leading cause of the mouth opening behavior is too much heat in the bearded dragon’s tank. If the temperature is beyond optimal, beardies will open their mouths to try and cool their bodies. It will help ensure that your bearded dragon’s enclosure has the correct temperature.
You need to provide both a basking spot and a cool area. Conversely, a temperature buffer should exist between the basking area and the cool zone. The basking area temperatures should range between 95° and 105°F. The cool spot should have a temperature range of about 75°-80°F.
More importantly, the nighttime temperature should be lower than the daytime temperature. The tank’s nighttime temperature levels range between 70° and 75°F unless it’s during winter.
If the temperature levels are not optimal, your lizard may spend most of its time with its mouth wide open trying to release the excess heat from its body.
If you catch your bearded dragon gapping at night, place a thermometer in the cage and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Keep an Eye on Humidity Levels
Since bearded dragons are native to Australian dry woodlands, they are used to breathing hot and dry air. For this reason, humidity inside their enclosure is as important as temperature.
If the humidity levels are above the recommended range, it can lead to bearded dragons contracting respiratory infections.
Your scaly lizard needs about 20-30% humidity to stay healthy. Investing in a hygrometer is imperative as it will allow you to measure humidity levels if you suspect it’s above the normal range.
Combining the hygrometer, a thermostat, and digital thermometers will help you accurately monitor and regulate the temperature and humidity in your bearded dragon vivarium.
Don’t Stress Your Bearded Dragon
Constant stress will make your beardie aggressive and affect your pet’s immune system. You need to do the following to reduce stress levels and lower aggression bearded dragons:
- Don’t handle your bearded dragon too often. Bearded dragons don’t like to be touched or hoisted all the time.
- Keep every bearded dragon in a separate tank. Keeping two bearded dragons together is a recipe for disaster as they will never stop fighting.
- Clean the enclosure regularly. A dirty and unhealthy cage is a breeding ground for pathogens and bacteria.
- Keep other pets off the bearded tank. Lizards will get frightened whenever another pet comes close to their enclosure.
Keep up With Vet Appointments
Like dogs, bearded dragons should be taken to the local vet regularly. When you visit a reptile vet regularly, you’ll know when your bearded dragon is suffering from any condition.
A vet’s examination will also determine whether you’re providing your bearded dragon with the right conditions.
Should I Be Worried When My Bearded Dragon Sleeps with Mouth Wide Open?
In most cases, it’s natural for a bearded dragon to open its mouth. You’ll often see your beardie with its mouth wide open when it’s basking. Your beardie may also open the mouth when stretching or involuntarily as it sleeps.
However, in some instances, lizards having their mouth wide open is a sign that they’re frightened and ready to defend themselves. It might also be trying to regulate its body temperature by venting hot air from the mouth.
In the worst-case scenario, the bearded dragon may be finding it hard to breathe through the nose due to respiratory illnesses. In this case, they use their mouth for breathing.
Whatever the case, you need to ascertain that your bearded dragon isn’t opening its mouth continually for several days. If it’s a one-time thing, there is no need to be worried as there are several reasons it might be leaving its mouth open.
However, if your lizard has been gapping for several days, you need to find the root cause of the matter and take corrective action.
Conclusion
As a bearded dragon owner, it’s up to you to keep an eye on beardies and know what each behavior or trait insinuates.
If mouth opening is one of the behaviors that has been worrying you, stay calm as this guide has discussed why this may be happening.
Your beardie may be opening its mouth to regulate body temperature, attract a female, or show aggression.
In rare cases, it might signal a respiratory infection. Bearded dragon open mouth during the day or at night should not cause alarm. However, you have to take action if it keeps happening every day.