Baby / Juvenile ACTING CRAZY!

Hi everyone! I'm new to these forums, and new to beardie owning! I have a baby/juvenile, about 9 inches long.

I have recently upgraded her from a 20 gallon tank to a 40 gallon thank. She has two hides, a log, some sticks, and a hammock that she basks in.

Lately she has been crazily "glass surfing". Just goes crazy scratching at the glass, it drives me utterly insane. She'll do this for about 20 mins, then go bask, and then go back to scratching. I have checked her temp in her basking area (hammock) and it is a good 100-110. Both my UV and basking bulb are brand new as well. I take her out of her cage and let her run around my bathroom, sealing it off, so she can hopefully burn off some energy. Doesn't seem to help.

More than driving me crazy, I want her to be ok. We went to the vet this past weekend for her first check up and she is worm and parasite free (yay!). I have also taped 3 sides of her Ter in case she is seeing her reflection. Btw, I am not sure of the sex - the vet even said it was a bit too early to tell, but the breeder who I got her from was pretty sure it was a girl.

What can I do for my dragon child? Is this behavior normal for baby / juveniles? It is constant and I am at my wits end!

Thank you all so much for your help. So thankful for these informative forums and those that genuinely wish to help!!

Sometimes they just go through crazy fits. It happens often around 8-12 months for hormone related fits but it really varies from dragon to dragon. It sounds like you have a little fireball on your hands =). My dragon is an adult and still does that a lot. He hates being stuck in his tank and wants to wander around constantly. I've wound up clearing the floors of any small bits that can be ingested and ensured any areas I can't reach to fetch him are blocked off and he has free reign while I'm home. I set up some portable basking lamps for him to return to when he needs to warm up. Even then he sometimes glass surfs on the wall of the house! He's much happier with the extra room though. I'm not sure if this is what's going on in your case but just saying it's not unheard of. Provide room to roam as you can. I've also found that time in the window seems to settle him for a while. They tend to be quite content watching the outside world from a window sill.

Your temperatures in the basking area are fine. What are the surface temps on the cool end of the tank? You'll want to be sure to have a good gradient down to about 75-80 or so during the day. Which UVB light are you using? How far is it above the basking surface? If something is off in the tank it could have her wanting out too so it's good to double check. In this case though it's probably curiosity.

Hey Cooper, thanks for your reply. Yes, I've been googling like crazy and it does seem normal and hormonal, lol. She is quite the little fire ball! I am using a repti sun tube UVB. Side question: recently upgraded from 20 to 40 gallon tank, and still using the smaller (shorter) tube UVB. Her appetite has been all over the place since I got her, would buying a longer UV lamp with this?

Cool end of the tank is in the low 80s. She has a hide in both the hot end and the warm end. I use a point radar gun thermometer thingy.

I am also calling her "her", even though the vet said it was still too early to tell the sex, but the breeder was "pretty sure" she is female. She could entirely be male!

I want to let her roam so badly but she's so, so tiny still, I would lose her. I thought my bathroom was totally sealed off, but she somehow found this minuscule crevice in between my sink and wall, and almost totally disappeared into it. Snatched her by her tail at the last second! Whew. I now stuff that area with towels, lol. I do try and handle her several times a day, and especially when the lights go out and she's more manageable.

Again with the temps. I have been having issues adjusting the basking light temps, but the hottest her basking area gets is 110. Her basking area is exactly 9 inches below the basking lamp.

I am not sure what brand the UV light is, but I know that the tube bulb in there is repti-sun and for beardies, and brand new. I mentioned earlier that I was wondering about getting the longer one now that I've upgraded her tank to 40 gal.

Thanks for all your help! Whew, she is quite the hand full!

In a 40g you don't need a longer bulb but may want a more intense one. A T5 like this is worth investing in http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ Just set that on top at about 10-12'' above the basking area and it will work nicely.

You don't really want the heat to go above 110 in the basking surface so that's OK. If you have trouble controlling it you could put it on an adjustable lamp stand or if you switch to a halogen bulb you could set it on a lamp dimmer or programmable thermostat down the road.

I understand about the little ones hiding easily. They tend to hide in the same spots over time so you get the hang of where they might be. It's easier to find the bigger dragons though so if you're not comfortable with that yet, that's totally fine.

Yeah, I really think she is being hormonal / adolescent angst phase! Lol! It's been a little hard, not going to lie. First beadie ever being a baby is a lot to handle! Will look into that UV lamp, thanks for suggestion. Anyway, thank you again - hope she settles down sometime soon! If you know of any tricks for dealing with "unruly teenagers", let me know ;-) Haha. Now I know how my poor parents felt!