Keeping pets may be a wonderful decision that can bring emotion to your life, but it can also be a nightmare if the owner doesn’t hold his pet with great consciousness. Adding in the series of bearded dragons’ lifestyles, we will know that do Bearded dragons have a third eye?
Yes! Bearded Dragons have a third eye, named as Parietal eye, which is uses to detect lights, UV radiation, regulate their body temperature, and detect external threats.
The appearance of this eye and how it works will be disclosed in this article.
Does Bearded Dragon have the Third Eye?
Everybody who owns a bearded dragon wants to know the fact that do bearded dragons have a third eye?
Well, the answer is clearly Yes! Bearded dragons have a third eye. This eye is called as the parietal eye. According to Wikipedia,” Parietal eye or pineal eye is a part of epithalamiums present in some species of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles.
The parietal or third eye works as a light detector, thermoregulator and helps in hormone production in bearded dragons.
Position of Parietal and third eye in bearded dragons
The third eye in the bearded dragon is located on top of the head between both of its real eyes. Parietal or third eyes look like a pigmented grey dot. It also has a retina and lens like standard eyes but it lacks an iris which stands it different from normal eyes.
A scale covers the eye instead of the eyelid. Also, tthird eye is connected to the bearded dragon’s skull through a tiny hole
How Third Eye or Parietal eye works in Bearded Dragons?
The third eye can’t see images, although it has a retina, lens, and cornea they lack an iris which is important to visualize images. The third eye is connected to the pineal gland, which helps to receive information related to light from the external environment. The parietal eye sends a signal to the pineal gland through the brain’s optic center and detects a light signal
Is there an eyelid on the third eye for coverage?
As we all know the third eye of bearded dragons is different from their standard eyes because of the lack of iris and eyelid. Also apart from the eyelid, the parietal eye is covered with a scale that acts the same as an eyelid. It protects the eye from the external environment.
The function of the Third eye among Bearded Dragons
Although the Third eye of bearded dragons is visible to people, it has some great functions which play an important role in beardie’s life.
Let’s uncover those special features, which parietal eye posses
1-Proceed Navigation
Bearded dragon’s third eye helps in navigation. As beardies are territory-bound animals and they have to come back to their home. Their special featured third eye helps them to navigate their home when it is uncovered
It is seen that when you cover the third eye, bearded dragons can’t navigate their location and forget their way.
Although they look with their standard eyes for their parietal eye works as a compass to find their location
2-Detection of danger
The third eye of bearded dragons acts as an army for dragons. Although it has an inability to capture images this eye can detect danger coming over the bearded dragon. It can sense any shadow over it, and alarm the sensory nerves to run away from that place. When the bearded dragon is busy eating or sleeping, this eye acts as a guard to protect the dragon from any danger and looks in its surroundings. But there is a loophole that, the third eye of bearded dragon detects every shadow as a danger or predator either it is their owner’s shadow or leaves.
3-Act as a thermoregulator
The third eye connects with the pineal gland and forms a pineal complex that is photosensitive. During daylight, this gland detects light and secrets the melatonin hormone which helps in the regulation of the wake-up and sleep cycle.
Also, this pineal complex is able to detect time which affects the production of hormones.
As the third eye detects light in the daytime and regulates the sleep cycle, it helps is saving of light by using the required amount of light and avoiding excessive metabolic activities during night time and making their life longer
Can bearded dragons see at night with their third eye?
No! As we have discussed earlier that bearded dragons third eye acts only in the daytime because it is photosensitive and detects light and any danger coming towards them, so, therefore, during the night this eye becomes useless
How to save bearded dragons’ third eye from damage?
Not all owners are aware of this specialty of their pet dragons. Therefore being an owner you must have strict on the protection of the third eye of bearded dragons.
Following are some tips that can help you to protect your bearded dragon’s third or parietal eye from external damage
1- Protection of the head
Always protect the top of the head to protect the third eye of the bearded dragons don’t even try to tap over the Head while serving food to them or playing with them. Because even a slight taping can cause damage to the third eye
2-Donot approach from the head
This tip must be bookmarked. Because we know that the third eye is photosensitive and detects light and reacts on even light shadow, so if you approach a bearded dragon though, over the head, it is confirmed that the dragon will get scared from your shadow and will run hysterically in the cage.
Therefore don’t approach them from the head side
3-No light at night
Being photosensitive, the third eye acts religiously during the daytime and takes benefits from sunlight. Like humans, they used to sleep at night. But if you are providing light to them in the nighttime, it will automatically turn on their metabolic activity due to light and their thermoregulatory nature, and will definitely disturb their sleep.
Therefore, it is better not to use light at nighttime
4-Bright Tank is necessary:
As bearded dragons are photosensitive and work under sunlight but if you can’t provide them sunlight then you must keep their cage fully bright si that bearded dragon can regulate their metabolic activity
5-Lighting cycle
As sunrise and sets, bearded dragons start their metabolic activity through their third eye according to sun timing. But if in case you can’t provide the sun, so you can adjust the timer for lightning and can assure the lightning cycle like the sun’s cycle. It will create an effect like the sun and will grow the bearded dragons according to their nature
Wrap Up
The bearded dragon’s third eye is specially designed to keep the dragons awake from any danger. A little care is more than enough to keep the bearded dragons away from any type of danger