Bearded Dragon Enrichment: How to Keep Your Beardie Mentally Stimulated

In the wild, bearded dragons spend their days doing many things such as stalking insects, basking in the sun, exploring terrain, and seeking out shelter.  

Without opportunities to perform similar behaviors as pets, beardies can become bored, stressed, or ​​​​develop behavioral issues such as anorexia, pacing, or constantly hiding. 

When you provide enrichment for your bearded dragon you are giving them: 

• Physical exercise 
• Mental stimulation 
• A place for them to call home 
• Stress reduction, which supports overall ​​​​health  

When you provide your bearded dragon enrichment opportunities, you are giving them a sense of purpose and something to look forward to each day. The constant curiosity keeps them alert and therefore healthier.  

Here are several types of enrichment to include in your bearded dragon’s care plan. 

You don’t need an elaborate setup or expensive gear to keep your beardie mentally stimulated. Use the following steps when it comes to adding the right amount of beardie enrichment: 

1. Inspect current setup. What bearded dragon decor does the enclosure have? Are there places to climb, hide, bask, or dig? If not, it’s time to add some.  
2. Add one or two new pieces at a time. For example, add a branch or a reptile hide box and monitor how your beardie uses it.  

3. Rotate or rearrange. Every few weeks, change the layout of the decor or swap in new pieces to make the environment feel fresh.

4. Incorporate feeding enrichment. Use live insects like dubia roaches, scatter food, or provide feeding puzzles to encourage natural hunting and foraging behaviors. Make sure to ​gut-load your live insects before placing them in the tank. Gut-loading insects ensures that they are packed with proper nutrition to help keep your beardie healthy.  

5. Include supervised exploration outside the tank. Take your beardie out of their tank and place them in a safe and controlled space to let them explore. Never leave your beardie unattended.  

How will you know your beardie is enjoying their enrichment? A few behavior clues will let you know they are happy: 

• Increased activity: Notice if your beardie is climbing, exploring, and basking in various spots. 
• More curiosity: Your dragon will investigate new items, which will include looking around, and sniffing (tonguing) new surfaces. 
• Healthy feeding behavior: They will have a quicker interest in food, more engagement with prey, or scatter enrichment feeders.
• Reduced signs of stress: They’ll do less glass surfing (pacing along tank front), have ​​​​fewer sudden dark beard displays (when beardies perceive something as a threat and their throat (beard) turns black), and have a more relaxed posture.  

If your dragon seems anxious and shows signs of frantic movements, trying to escape, or refusing food, they may be reacting poorly to a new enrichment piece. 

Remove it immediately and try something else. It’s always best to add enrichment toys gradually and wait to see how your beardie responds.  

While enrichment for your beardie is great, safety must come first. When exploring ways to keep your beardie mentally stimulated: 

• Ensure all decor or enrichment items are non-toxic, smooth-edged, and securely placed so they don’t injure your beardie. 
• If using loose substrate or substrate mixtures for digging, choose a reptile substrate with low risk of impaction if your beardie accidentally eats it, and one that maintains cleanliness.  

• Monitor new enrichment items: Some beardies might get stressed by new items, so always watch for signs of stress or overreaction. 
• Maintain beardie habitat standards: reptile UVB lighting, a temperature gradient (with a warm basking spot lamp), adequate humidity, and sufficient space in their tank are fundamental. Without those key foundational pieces, enrichment won’t help much. 

Small changes like adding climbing structures, rearranging the enclosure, using live insects, and providing supervised outside time all contribute to a happier, healthier dragon.  

When paired with proper habitat setup and care, thoughtful enrichment helps ensure your beardie’s life is mentally stimulating and physically safe. 

Do bearded dragons need enrichment? 

Yes, bearded dragons need enrichment to stay healthy and engaged. As pets, they don’t get the same variety of experiences they would in the wild, so enrichment helps encourage natural behaviors like climbing, digging, and foraging. 

Why do bearded dragons need enrichment? 

Bearded dragons need enrichment because it helps reduce stress, supports healthy activity levels, and gives them a chance to express instinctive behaviors. Without enough stimulation they can become bored or anxious, which may lead to changes in appetite or behavior.

How do you keep a bearded dragon from being bored? 

To keep a bearded dragon from getting bored, give them new things to explore, like safe branches, hiding spots, or varied textures in their enclosure. You can also let them chase feeder insects, rearrange tank decor occasionally, or offer supervised time outside their tank.