A bearded dragon is a medium-sized lizard native to Australia, which has become an enormously popular pet in the Americas and Europe due to their gentle nature and manageable size.

Bearded dragons are one of the easier lizards to look after as a pet. Their docility ensures one rarely need worry about them biting or attacking visitors, though they may occasionally hiss at newcomers to their space. They can subsist primarily on readily available vegetable matter, supplemented with small amounts of insects.

While some pet lizards (such as iguanas) require enormous enclosures and constant attention, bearded dragons are comfortable in much smaller areas. A tank for a bearded dragon should have a colder and hotter side. The hot region should be around 95F (35C) for adults and 110F (43C) for younger bearded dragons. Bearded dragons should never be subjected to temperatures lower than 65F (18C), and the cold side should be kept substantially higher, around 85F (29C).

All members of the genus Pogona are bearded dragons, but the species most often found as pets is pogona vitticeps. There are eight species of bearded dragon in total, these include:

• Pogona Vitticeps: The inland bearded dragon, and most common pet animal. This reptile is found in the interior of Australia, in every territory save Western Australia. For the genus this species is on the larger side, averaging between seven and eight inches (18-20cm).
• Pogona Mitchelli: Also known as Mitchell's bearded dragon, this species is found in the interior of the Northern Territory and the north end of Western Australia, including a large range in the Great Sandy Desert. P. mitchelli is the smallest of the bearded dragons, averaging only five and a half inches (14cm). The most prominent feature of P. mitchelli are its large conical head spikes, which are not seen on any other species.
• Pogona Minor: Also known as the Dwarf bearded dragon, P. minor is found throughout the Great Sandy Desert. There is some speculation that P. Michelli is simply a sub-species of the Dwarf dragon. The Dwarf lizard can has very short legs and a short tail, making it easily distinguished from its counterparts.
• Pogona Barbata: This bearded dragon is found along the entire east coast of Australia, and is by far the largest of these fascinating lizards. Specimens commonly exceed eight inches (20cm) in length, and unlike other Pogona will often feed on other, smaller lizards.
• Pogona Microlepidota: The small-scaled bearded dragon is found only in a tiny region of northern Western Australia. Its scales and spikes are noticeably smaller than those found on other Pogona, and its primary habitat is woodland.
• Pogona Henrylawsoni: Also known as Lawson's bearded dragon (a name well alluded to in its specie title), the full extent of P. henrylawsoni is not known, but it has been identified as inhabiting most of Queensland and parts of the Northern Territory. The beard which gives these lizards their name is most pronounced in P. henrylawsoni, and they are the second most common pet dragons.
• Pogona Minima: The Western bearded dragon is found on the south-west coast and interior of Western Australia. It lives mostly in woodland environments, though its range includes coastal dunes and desert as well.
• Pogona Nullabor: The Nullabor bearded dragon is another rather rare species, found only in a small strip of southern Western and South Australia. It is easily distinguished by large white stripes along its back and pronounced spines on its side. P. nullabor is almost never found as a pet, due to its resistance to breeding in captivity and relative rarity in the wild.