Animal Summary

Bearded Dragon - Grant the male bearded dragon shares his exhibit at the zoo with the female Puff. Grant came to the zoo in 2002 and is a few years older than Puff who arrived in 2010. They both love crickets to eat but Grant is sometimes lazy and will not chase his meal, but waits to be hand fed. Puff is slightly smaller and has a brighter color than the grey Grant.

Russian Tortoise - The zoo's trio of Russian tortoises share the same exhibit with the bearded dragons. Anastasia, Alfred, and Annabelle get along well with the dragons sharing the space and their diet of vegetables and fruit. Want more information on the Russian Tortoise? Click here to learn more about the care, housing, diet of the Russian Tortoise and more.

Facts

• When threatened or when establishing territory the bearded dragon flexes muscles in the throat to flare their beard to appear larger.
• The bearded dragon can change their color slightly. They can become lighter to regulate temperature or darker to show agitation or illness.
• The bearded dragon shows a hand-waving behavior to show submission and head bobbing to show dominance.
• The tail of a male Russian tortoise is longer than the female's.
• Russian tortoises become sexually mature at 10 years old but will not be full grown until the age of 20-30 years.
• The bony portion of the shell is covered with plates (scutes) that offer additional strength and protection.

Conservation

The bearded dragon is an animal of least concern for extinction. Their populations are stable.

Russian tortoises are vulnerable and their trade is restricted.

Threats

There are no threats to the bearded dragon.

Russian tortoises' habitat is being lost to human construction and are hunted to be used in traditional folk medicines as well as the pet trade.