Bearded dragons make really great pets! I have had two bearded dragons. The first one died before I started kindergarten because his heat lamp got turned off during the winter, and he got too cold. Bearded dragons need to stay warm. They are cold blooded, which means that they get their warmth from the outside, instead of making their warmth inside, like mammals do.
In the wild they live in the dessert, and the sun and warm sand keeps them warm and alive. If a bearded dragon lives in a cold place, like Oregon, then they need a heat lamp or a heated rock to help them keep their body temperatures warm enough.
The bearded dragon that we have now used to live at OMSI. When he needed a new home, we adopted Godzilla. Godzilla likes to eat crickets, and we buy them at the pet store. If he was living in the dessert he would eat crickets too, but he would have to hunt them outside, not in a cage.
When Godzilla is afraid he makes his tummy grow. Because he is bigger, he makes other animals scared, and they don’t attack him. Godzilla has his eyes on the top of his head, so that he can watch out for predators. If making himself bigger doesn’t scare away the other animal, Godzilla will run away fast.
Godzilla is a funny animal. He knows how to wave. He knows how to nod his head. He isn’t very snuggly, but he does let us hold him. He likes to climb up people, but you have to be careful of his claws when he climbs you. He sometimes brushes my hair with his claws when he climbs up my head.
Godzilla is a big bearded dragon, but even when he puffs himself up, I am not afraid of him, because I know that he won’t hurt me. That makes him a good pet, and I am glad that our family adopted him.