The most popular bearded dragons kept as pets live naturally in the wild in all Australian states and territories except Tasmania. Contrary to what is often read on the internet, bearded dragons don’t just live in desert areas. You can find bearded dragons in the wild on a wide range of habitats such as scrublands, woodlands and desert.
Read more…
More in this series:
- How far do wild bearded dragons travel?
- A day in the life of a wild bearded dragon
- Check out more posts on bearded dragon behavior.
Bearded Dragons in the Wild
Bearded dragons can be found in the wild all over Australia except in the extemes at the top and bottom of Australia including Tasmania.
Bearded dragons are typically thought of as a desert reptile but that is only the case for some, mostly the Pogona vitticeps and Pogona minor. However, as you can see in the map showin the distribution of bearded dragons, they can be found in deserts, scrublands and woodlands with varying temperatures and humidity.
Bearded dragons can be seen in the suburbs around houses, close to waterways, far from waterways, outback stations and all over the place.
Bearded dragons can be on the ground, under leaf matter, on top of leaf matter, burrowed in the sand, up a tree, scampering over bushes, sitting on a wooden fence post or on a rock. They are simply masters at using the environment they have.
Bearded dragons do not tend to be in the hotter areas such as the top of Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia or the extremely cool areas such as the bottom of Victoria or Tasmania.
Where do Bearded Dragons Live in the Wild?
Let’s dive into some of the specifics of where some of the bearded dragons species live in the wild and what they live on. We will cover the details for:
- Central Bearded Dragon: Pogona vitticeps (most popular bearded dragon in the world)
- Western Bearded Dragon: Pogona minor
- Eastern Bearded Dragon: Pogona barbata
- Rankins (Pygmy) Bearded Dragon: Pogona henrylawsoni
1. Where the Central Bearded Dragon Lives in the Wild
The Central or Inland bearded dragon, the most popular of pet bearded dragons both in and outside of Australia, is spread among varying landscapes. This popular beardie naturally occurs in South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria.
The central bearded dragon is the reason that beardies are thought of as a desert creature. If you look at the Koppen climate map of Australia above you will see that they cross into areas classified as cold semi-arid to hot desert.
The wild central bearded dragon lives in areas that can include trees, bushes and sometimes just ground scattered with wild grasses dispersed across the landscape. Turner and Valentic (n.d.) described some of the habitat they observed the wild Pogona vitticeps in as without trees, some shrubs and lots of grasses such as Mitchell Grass.
The map and picture above show Walpeup, Victoria, Australia which is just one of many examples of lands that bearded dragons in the wild live in.
Researchers Smith et al (2016) described the area the central bearded dragons in the wild were living in, as follows:
The environment comprises semi-arid mallee woodland, dominated by the silver emu-bush (Eremophila scoparia) and blue-leaved mallee (Eucalyptus polybractea) trees.
Smith et al (2016)
2. Where the Western Bearded Dragons in the Wild Live
Data from AROD. Map courtesy of Adam Peterson, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The wild Western beardie lives on the western side of Australia. Just like the Central (Inland) bearded dragon it crosses over multiple states and territories being Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
The Western bearded dragon in the wild lives on a wide range of landscapes from hot deserts, into the wheatbelt and even to the much cooler south end of Australia.
Pianka (2005) documented the land of he observed the Pogona minor living on in Australia’s Great Victoria Desert (Western Australia) as being:
- red sands with some vegetation such as spinifex or porcupine grasses.
- various species of gum trees (including Eucalyptus gongylocarpa).
- Shurbs such as Eremophila, Grevillea, Hakea and Thryptomene
- Mulga trees.
- Some dry lake beds with shurbs.
- Long red sandridges.
- Some areas with flat sandplain, and so on.
The Pogona minor are semi arboreal like other Pogona species so they use the ground and the trees and bushes. Pianka noted that they seek shelter in the heat of the day at a meter or more off the ground. They need a variety of places to live, more than many other lizards that live in the same area Pianka (2005).
They may climb to increase their visual field as well as to avoid high surface temperatures during the heat of the day in summer. When walking on the open ground, Pogona sometimes curl their tails upwards.
Pianka (2005)
3. Where the Eastern Bearded Dragons in the Wild Live
Data from AROD. Map courtesy of Adam Peterson, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Eastern bearded dragon also lives in multiple states of Australia with a vast range of different environments. The wild Eastern bearded dragon lives in South Australia, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Queensland.
Unlike the Western and Central bearded dragon, the Eastern bearded dragon barely reaches desert territory but it does cross over into some arid landscapes.
One example of the landscapes that the eastern bearded dragons in the wild live in, is the Cumberland Plain. These plains are dotted with many gums (including Eucalyptus moluccana, Eucalyptus fibrosa and Eucalyptus sclerophylla), bushes and ground cover (Wotherspoon, 2007).
With all those trees it is easy to see that eastern bearded dragons are semi-arboreal and, certainly in this area described, the Pogona barbata spends a lot of time up in the trees basking and staying safe (Wotherspoon, 2007).
The Eastern and Central beardies arboreal nature was also confirmed in Northern Wheatbelt of New South Wales with both species being classified as woodland generalists with some reliance on the presence of trees for their habitat (Ellis, 2005).
4. Where the Dwarf Bearded Dragons in the Wild Live
When it comes to the Dwarf bearded dragon, its like we couldn’t make up our minds with a name. So the Dwarf beardie is also known as the black-soil bearded dragon, Dumpy dragon and Rankin’s dragon.
Its not just its common name either, we couldn’t settle on its scientific name either! So the Pogona henrylawsoni is also known as Pogona brevis and Pogona rankini.
There isn’t a great deal of information on the wild Dwarf beardie. However, Turner and Valentic (n.d.) observed 14 wild Pogona henrylawsoni (Black Soil Bearded Dragons) in October 1996 (spring time) near Winton, Queensland.
Six of these dwarf bearded dragons in the wild were sighted in the late afternoon between the hours of 16:56 and 17:51. At that time, all were basking in full sun 37.0°C (98.6°F). At this time, the relative humidity for these wild bearded dragons was 31%. They were found on a rock or on bitumen road basking while other not so fortunate beardies were found dead on the road.
Wild bearded dragons are often run over by cars as they seek to soak up the sun on the roads.
In the morning between the hours of 09:42 and 10:39, temperatures ranged from 29.0°C (84.2°F) to 35.0°C (95°F). At this time of day 5 wild bearded dragons were found basking on rocks.
Between 11:34 and 12:28, temperatures ranged from 36.8°C (98.24°F) to 38.9°C (102°F). As the temperatures climbed, 2 wild dwarf beardies were found propped up or perched on shrubs.
Bringing the Wild Bearded Dragon Habitat to Pets
The best accessories and substrate for bearded dragons from their natural environment would include upright branches, rocks, digging areas and perhaps some leaf litter or logs to hide in and around. This would also help to provide branches for their natural semi arboreal behaviour, they like to climb. Some bearded dragons will even spend winter brumating in the trees.
FAQs
What do wild bearded dragons live on?
Bearded dragons are able to use a wide range of habitat. Bearded dragons may live on leaf litter, fallen branches, tall trees or short bushes, rocks and sand are all potential areas a bearded dragon lives on in the wild.
What do wild bearded dragons hide in?
Bearded dragons in the wild will use their environment to hide in. What they have available to hide in will depend on what sort of area they live in such as arid desert lands or woodlands. They may hide in trees, hollow logs, under leaf litter and fallen branches, between rocks and anywhere else available to them.
References
- Ellis, M. (2005) A Classification of the Native Vertebrate Species of the Northern Wheatbelt of New South Wales. National Parks and Wildlife Services. Department of Environment and Conservation. New South Wales.
- Pianka, E. R. (2005) The ecology and natural history of the dwarf bearded dragon Pogona minor in the Great Victoria Desert Australia Draco, 6(N): 63-66 Nr 22.
- Smith, K. R., Cadena, V., Endler, J. A., Porter, W. P., Kearney, M. R., and Stuart-Fox, D. (June, 2016) Colour change on different body regions provides thermal and signalling advantages in bearded dragon lizards. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Vol 283(1832): 15
- Thompson S. A., and Thompson G. G. (2003) The western bearded dragon, Pogona minor (Squamata: Agamidae): An early lizard coloniser of rehabilitated areas. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 86:1-6
- Turner, G. and Valentic, R. (date unknown) Notes on the occurrence and habits of the Downs Bearded Dragon Pogona henrylawsoni (Wells & Wellington, 1985).
- Wotherspoon, D. (2007) Ecology and Management of Eastern Bearded Dragon Pogona barbata. Western Sydney University Thesis Collection
