important! can bearded dragons see colours?

Discussion in 'Bearded Dragons' started by Scales2500, Dec 1, 2006.

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  1. Scales2500

    Scales2500 New Member

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    ok, this may be out of the question. but im doing a science project, and i want to figure out what colours bearded dragons are attracted to. if you know anything, please tell me!
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. kephy

    kephy Moderator

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    Yes, they can definately see colors. As for which they are most attracted to, I have some ideas, but I think that's for you to deduce with your project. :D
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. Neill

    Neill New Member

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    Hey that is great that they can see colors, that gives me ideas.
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. Scales2500

    Scales2500 New Member

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    thanks so much! now, if you have any ideas about how i can do it, i would like to read your suggestions!
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. WTFbbqSnake

    WTFbbqSnake Member

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    How do you know that they can see colors. Do you have any information on this?
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. kephy

    kephy Moderator

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    Nothing but personal experience with the animals, but I'm sure if you did a search you'd come up with plenty of discussions on the subject. My two dragons respond to certain colored objects, food, lights, etc. I've known lots of people who own and work with bearded dragons, participated in many discussions, and it's generally agreed on that they indeed see and respond to colors.
     
  12. Scales2500

    Scales2500 New Member

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    im not doubting your knowledge on it, but what kind of food or lights or whatever do you use? how could i do it?
     
  13. catalyst

    catalyst New Member

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    You can put out different coloured foods and see if the dragon has a tendancy towards certain colours - squash, prickly pear, blue berries, raspberries are all coloured foods that you can compare, as well as their normal greens (collard greens, dandelion greens, etc). You can likewise put out objects that are the same shape but different colours and see which ones the dragon chooses to explore first. Basically any type of experiment that would compare a dragon's reaction to colours - you could also try using different coloured lightbulbs and seeing if that has any effect (i.e. a line of desk lamps with different bulbs and see if the dragon is drawn towards or avoids any of the coloured lights).
    Hope this helps,
    -- Catalyst
     
  14. Wookie

    Wookie Well-Known Member

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    Interesting, but very hard to do this correctly and may take allot of time/ patience if you use food as catalyst sugest you can't eliminate smell/ shape unless you try to colour the same food (wouldn't like to play with food colouring and my dragon personally). You'd have to try to train your beardie to identify an object of a certain colour e.g. a coloured card. you could try placing some random colour cards in it's enviroment for a period and reward it with it's favorite food every time it stood on a certain colour. You can then see if it learns that a colour = food. You'd also have to be careful of the exact colours you use e.g. light and dark.
     
  15. ChristyBug

    ChristyBug Member

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    I find that bella responds to me differently depending on what colours I am wearing. Maybe you could use the colours of the clothes you wear to help with the experiment. I know if I wear certain colours bella will puff up and not let me anywhere near her but with others she will be fine and will actually try to eat my shirt if I have it on. (I'm not ruining the fun by telling what colour that is though) ;)
     
  16. kephy

    kephy Moderator

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    As for foods, you can also use pellets (Rep-Cal comes in red, yellow, and green pellets). You could also use bell peppers, which come in red, green, yellow, and orange. I think the pellets all taste and smell the same regardless of color. Bell peppers maybe taste a little diferent depending on color, but I think for the most part they are still similar enough for the purpose of the test.
     
  17. Daggerlover

    Daggerlover Well-Known Member

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    Flint HATES yellow. He's never freaked out before until I wore a yellow shirt. He's never reacted to any other colors, except for when I bring his blue shaker out, he knows it's nummy time!
    Skitter hasn't really reacted to many colors, but he seems to be slightly opposed to red.
     
  18. dtyther

    dtyther Member

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    Ernie my Bd hates Orange. I know this because I have 2 leopard geckos. One is albino( so almost no color) and my other is bright tangerine. For a little while i had the tanks set up about 3 feet from each other. I did not think it would be a problem because the geckos sleep all day and he would not see them. Ernie had no reaction at all when my albino came out, he actually seemed a little interested, but when my tangerine came out he freaked out, turnd all DARK and hid. This happened more than once, so needless to say I moved the tanks around. Now no one can see each other but Ernie did have a huge reaction to orange.
     
  19. staceface

    staceface Member

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    my beardies love orange
     
  20. Scales2500

    Scales2500 New Member

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    well its funny how your saying the colours of your shirt and that stuff, one time when i was holding inferno, i was wearing blue. but when i picked him up, he started to climb up my arm and sit on my shoulder.
     
  21. SpiderQueen

    SpiderQueen Member

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    I think any colors that can similate a larger bearded dragon are intimidating to them. I try to hang out with Dragon wearing neutrals or earthy tones. The only orange thing that Dragon likes is HIS cat 'Mr. Fat Orange Cat'. They hang out all day every day. Very cute
    Lisa
     
  22. Jim

    Jim Embryo

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    Hi Scales,

    I hope this is a wee bit helpfull...

    There are a few journals/papers written on the spectral sensitivity ( ie; colour vision) of diurnal lizards on the web,
    if your able to access university libraries, then you'll gain access many more.

    One example is the following;

    "Visual pigments and oil droplets in diurnal lizards : a comparative study of Caribbean anoles"
    Link : http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/205/7/927


    As for a setup to test seporate colours/wavelengths, then you could try 1 of these 2 easy tests, both using LEDs (you can spec these to exact wavelengths);

    The 1st and quickest is to simply hold a flashing LED torch to one side of your lizard and see if he/she turns their head. Repeat for all colours.

    The 2nd would involve wiring up an LED to flash above a feeding bowl and see if you can condition them to go to the bowl when a certain colour is flashed.

    Oh, a 3rd way ....

    Run up to your lizard with your face painted different colours.... :~)


    Jim
     
  23. WTFbbqSnake

    WTFbbqSnake Member

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    Does anyone have any actual scientific evidence that this is true with BDs? Not Anoles.
     
  24. kephy

    kephy Moderator

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    I personally don't know of any links to a scientific study on the color ranges they see, no. Maybe someone else has a link but I don't.

    It's pretty obvious to anyone whos owned BDs and familiar with their behaviors that they do respond to certain colors. Brightly colored blankets, towels, furniture, clothing, colored lights, dragons respond to those things, and the individuals seem to have favorites. As BD owners who see these behaviors every day, we don't really need a scientific study to convince us.

    Do you need it for something, Snake? Or are you just playing devil's advocate? I'm not sure why you're pushing for proof on this subject. It's not like Scales needs a scientific study to do their school project or anything. That's kind of what the project is for, to try and prove it themselves.
     
  25. CheriS

    CheriS Is well known here

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    We can not get any universities to do studies on important things like adenovirus in beardies or Paramyxo in snake and you want to ask for a scientific evidence a non native species that has only been in captiviely the last few decades can see colors? Man you are dreaming!! That's is kind of funny and a good indication how much you know about herp fields related to science or ANY scientific studies involving reptiles, let alone bearded dragons!!.

    Until they exist (and don't count on that in your lifetime) all we can offer is information that exist on diurnal animals as opposed to nocturnal, cone cells, photoreceptors or rod vision and the third or parietal, eye sight in conjunction with regular vision, light receptor cells responsible for color vision and other known factors in them that are know of all species of reptiles and in lizards specifically

    Those you can find the answer to you request for "scientific evidence" on any search engine and since you are posting on this site, you should be old enough to know how to use those adn not ask us to spend the time looking them up and providing them to you. I have given you enough key words so you can educate yourself about them. But the rest of us that already know the basics of vision and have bearded dragons will continue to place our confidence in their ability to tell color when we watch them pick out the red pellets from the green and tan ones, or only eat out of a purple bowl and not a green, blue or even close color red one.

    BTW: In your search for scientific evidence that they do not see in colors to share with us, since your the one that doubts, be sure to read about lizards unique special ability with the colors of blue and green , studies done by the University of Ca at Davis National Eye Institute research funding in reptiles, John Hopkins, Strong Memorial in Rochester and Rockefeller University ;)
     
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