The Bearded Dragon (Pogona spp), a native of Australia, is now found worldwide as a popular pet. Anecdotal reports indicate that it is starting to surpass the Iguana as the preferred pet reptile in the United States. In Australia, it is found widely distributed in the wild, although strict wildlife regulations mean that it is relatively uncommonly kept as a pet. It is a member of the family Agamidae – the dragon lizards - a group of lizards found throughout the western Pacific, Australia, Indo-Malaysia, Asia and Africa. Characterized by a lack of autotomy (tail loss), the presence of tubercles and spines on juxtaposed scaled skin and a broad, flat fleshy tongue, this family is represented in Australia by the Bearded Dragon, water dragons, the Frilled Lizard and many other species. Most agamids are terrestrial, although a few are semiarboreal. They are oviparous, usually laying their eggs in shallow burrows
