Why do bearded dragons eyes bulge

In fact, bearded dragons can itch and feel extremely uncomfortable when shedding. We have written an easy to follow guide that shares if you should actually handle your bearded dragon when they are shedding? This is why experts believe that beardies may have the ability to bulge out their eyes in order to loosen stubborn shed in this troublesome area. Many bearded dragon owners often report their beardies eyes bulging during the shedding process, which would back up this theory, however, many owners also state that the eye bulging sometimes continues for a short while after shedding has been completed.

This could just be the bearded dragon ensuring that all the skin has been shed, the truth is nobody as yet knows completely why this happens. As so many beardies do eye bulge during shedding though, it is a very plausible theory and one that may get proven to be true in the near future. In our easy to follow guide, you can find out everything you need to know about how bearded dragons shed and how you can help as an owner….

Another theory that is currently being explored is the possibility that eye bulging is a factor in high blood pressure or decreasing blood pressure purposely. Some scientists now believe that bearded dragons could possibly have the same ability as the horned lizard and could be deliberately decreasing their blood pressure.

Again, at this point, there is no concrete evidence of this but as other lizards have been proven to have this ability then it does make logical sense that beardies could possibly eye bulge for this reason too. If you notice your bearded dragon eye bulging for long periods of time, for example over 1 hour at a time or for days continually when not shedding then it might be a good idea to take them to the vets for a check-up.

The third theory is that bearded dragons bulge out their eyes in order to satisfy an itch around the eyes. Beardies can flood the area behind their eyes in blood, which in turn, could possibly satisfy any itching that has occurred. Having said this, bearded dragons are known to get itchy especially when shedding. You can find out why this happens and how you can help your bearded dragon to stop itching when shedding here…. Check out the video of a bearded dragon eye bulging below….

If you have just brought home a baby bearded dragon you might still be getting used to their personality and behaviours. However this could just be a crossover phase and the beardie has not realised that it is fully shed yet. The second theory that I must admit I do not see as plausible as the first theory is that eye bulging is the equivalent of us yawning. Considering the fact that we do not entirely know the reason why we as humans yawn I think it is clutching at straws to guess that bearded dragons yawn by bulging their eyes.

Until there is solid proof I am going to side on the theory that bearded dragons purposefully bulge out their eyes. And that they do this to help aid the shedding process. Believe it or not there is not much that we can do to help our bearded dragons when they have a case of eye bulge. It is a natural process. What we can do though is make sure that we have the temperature and also humid set correctly in their tank.

To do this you will need an accurate and reliable temperature and humidity gauge such as these ones available on Amazon , it is inexpensive but will make it much easier for your bearded dragon to complete the process. No, as far as we can tell there is nothing to worry about if you see your bearded dragons eyes bulging. I have witnessed it a few times and have yet to see, or hear of any damage or injuries arise from it.

It does seem to be a natural movement for bearded dragons. Search resources. Log in. Install the app. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.

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Author BD. Leave a rating. Written by Alex Sleeis on February 20, Many people have come here freaked out because of a behavior that their bearded dragon displayed. Okay, there are many that freak their new owners out, but this one in particular even freaked me out when I first saw it.

Firstly, I need you to know that eyes bulging in bearded dragons is not something that should worry you. It is indeed a common and normal behavior in bearded dragons due to four reasons: shedding, yawning, itching, and high blood pressure. You will always hear people talking about arm-waving, black bearding , head bobbing , and mouth opening in bearded dragons.

However, not many people will tell you about bearded dragon eyes bulging. It is not unheard of that many bearded lizards have freaked out a lot of new dragon owners with their eye-bulging behavior. I could not help but get into the internet, and by the time I was through with googling, I had as well informed my reptile vet about it.

If this is the first time you notice eye-bulging behavior in your beardies, you are lucky to receive this piece of information. Many people notice that their baby tend to bulge the eyes for awhile just a moment and it right after back to normal. The main reason is that adult bearded dragons shed only every few months while baby and juvenile shed more often. Yawning, some owners say that after yawning, their beardies eyes start bulging. But if you read the next reason, you will see some relevant points.

Me also noticed that and that is why I added this reason to the list. Horned lizards have a unique way to defend themselves from the predators through a blood shoot. Here is how they do it, the muscles around the eye contracts and then stops the blood from flowing to the heart.

Instead, the blood flows to the eyes and fills the ocular sinuses. As the muscles continue to contract speedily, the pressure on the thin sinus membrane escalates, making the membrane to rupture. Then, the lizard releases a stream of blood that shoots up to one meter from the eyes; this frightens the predators, making them flee.

Horned lizards also use this mechanism to get rid of foreign objects from the eyes. Now, what does it mean to bearded dragons?