Hissing Bearded Dragon | Causes And Solutions | Expert Tips 2024

When pet owners want a bearded dragon in their home, they try and find out all about it beforehand. Hissing bearded dragons can seem scary. Therefore, there are a lot of questions about the moods of these creatures and the reason for their hissing. If you also want to get a bearded dragon and care for it, you should know more about its behavior and its reasons.

Once you understand your pet, there are easier ways of caring for it. Pet dragons are not very expressive and remain docile. However, if there are many ways of keeping them calm, there are also a few things that can make your bearded pet upset, and when they react, there can be hissing and more!

10 Main Reasons Why Do Bearded Dragons Hiss

Bearded dragons often hiss if they are not comfortable. This means that if you see your pet raising its head and looking alert, it will begin hissing due to something that is bothering them. The hissing is not like that of snakes, as bearded dragons do not pull out their tongue or slur. These reptilians hiss as if they are angry. Here are some reasons to help you rule out what is disturbing your dragon and how to correct the circumstances to ensure that your pet feels comfortable at home.

Mating Season

The first reason for hissing is mating season. If your adult pet is ready to mate, it might not be able to express this in any way other than hissing. In reality, anger is the new hormonal change in the creature itself! Many bearded dragons do not understand bodily changes, so they react in this way. Furthermore, you can get all information here How Do Bearded Dragons Mate.

Incorrect Tank Temperature

Another reason for the discomfort leading to hissing is heat or too much cold. The tank temperature for your bearded dragon must be optimum, which is in the range of 85F to 95F. If you make the tank too hot or too cold, it will make your pet uncomfortable, and they express their difficulty adjusting to the hot or cold so that they have a comfortable environment. The cold-blooded reptiles feel threatened, and they will hiss to show their undesired living conditions to their owners!

New Surroundings

If the bearded dragon has been recently moved to a new place. These domestic reptilians do not like change, and they have no joy in living in areas where there are no familiar things. Even in their tank, bearded dragons do not like things to be moved as they feel at home only when the décor remains the same forever. If your bearded dragon hisses in a new tank, it is time to change things back to what they were.

More Bearded Dragons

If you get a new bearded pet and decide to have a pair, get ready for some hissing from both! Bearded dragons hiss when they have a competition to beat and if they feel as if their place has been taken from them. The hissing dragons are upset because they do not like to co-exist. There has to be a dominant one, and both of them will take their time to decide which one will dominate and which one will have to submit.

No Hiding

Bearded dragons want a basking stone in their tank, and then they also need a hiding place to rest and sleep in the shade. While the lights have to be out for the night to let bearded dragons sleep, the hiding place is also a must. If you do not have a hiding place set for your dragon to go to sleep in, then get ready to hear some hissing!

Seeing Reflections

If your bearded dragon sees its reflection, the effect will be the same as if you get another bearded dragon to share its space! You will oftentimes see your pet dragon hissing at its image reflecting off the walls of the tank.

Shedding Skin

When bearded dragons are shedding skin, they get all kinds of mixed emotions. They become irritable and also become disturbed due to the skin becoming loose and then coming off. If the bearded dragon is hissing and any of the above reasons are not present, check if they are having a difficult time shedding skin. Moreover, you can read all about it here How Often Do Bearded Dragons Shed.

Over-Handling

If your bearded dragon is changing hands among kids and is not allowed any time to bask in the sun or enjoy its time in isolation, it may begin to feel invaded, and then you will hear some hissing! This hissing will mean that your pet dragon does not get any time to be by itself.

Used To Wilderness

If you catch the bearded dragon in a forest or the wild side of the city, there is a chance it will keep hissing for days because your home is a new environment for it. Once it begins to feel at home, the hissing will go too!

Illness

If your bearded dragon is ill and is not feeling healthy, it will begin to hiss. Many dragons hiss when they are unable to move or if they get impaction. The bearded dragons are docile reptilians, but they communicate with their owners by hissing when they are not well.

Conclusion

Hissing bearded dragons can be a reason to worry for the owners, but if you are able to understand the reason behind it, you can stop them. Bearded dragons can hiss whenever they are uncomfortable and angry. Check out the reasons given above, and maybe you will be able to see your dragon happy once again. Also, read Are Bearded Dragons Venomous.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do bearded dragons hiss and bite?

If your dragon pet is hissing, it is most probably due to some discomfort. Try and see what disturbs it, and it will not bite. However, if the dragon is hissing due to being overhandled, it might want to bite if someone is irritating it.

What should I do when my dragon is hissing?

Try and look for the reason that may be causing the hissing. Once you know the reason and you correct it, your dragon will stop hissing.