Glass Surfing - Very detailed in hopes you have ideas!

HI! New here. Any help, willing to listen, lots of research and planning the next round of research and fixes. Open to any suggestions and truly trying to give these lil guys the best life. Wanted to be as detailed as I can be. I do know I am missing things here.

Two beardies. One male, Kingslayer. One Female, Dracarys. We believe they are one year old. Purchased at a reptile expo, believe they are Australian. They are in two separate habitats. They are a little over a foot from their head to the end of their tale. They seem very healthy. Regular diet is in the morning collared greens, carrots (tho they aren't fans), kale and some various other veggies like sweet potato and green beans on occasion. They have 3-4 large dubi's a day. We are trying to get them to eat more veggies now tho it is hard for me to not feed it to them if they aren't touching their veggies after one or two days. I am sure I need to get over this?

-40 gallon Exo-Terra front opening terrarium.

-Tile flooring, hammocks, hide (see pics)

-Reptilsun UV light (tho in my shame, I need to buy a new bulb this weekend because I lost the note on what bulb and of course MOST important so please let me know) Have pic. Any help on the exact bulb to get?

-Temperatures read 100-105 in basking and 75 on the other side of the tank with two heat bulbs on each side more towards the middle. One 100W and another 50W

-We live in Denver, Colorado, USA.

-We never bring them out together, seeing each other they get aggressive.

Question - What bulb do I need to make sure I buy again for UV?

Question - We (my partner and I) know that they glass surf for what we think two reasons. We figured out that the plants in the living room are creating gnats. We are replanting everything to stop this as we can tell a lot of times they are glass surfing when they see a gnat. The other thing we know is they can see their reflection. We have tried various lighting techniques. I am bummed that my guess is I am going to have to cover three sides of the glass inside with some type of background. Of course, want them to not be stressed and it isn't worth the expense of me wanting to watch and see them when we don't have them out. So I am wondering if there is anything that would bring down this reflection but translucent enough to still see them. I am sure this doesn't really exist and I'd rather have them happy non-stressed than my viewing enjoyment.

Question - I recently read my UV because it is outside the wire mesh is only giving about 30% of UV. Any suggestions on how to put it inside for these terrariums. Or what to research for DIYing it effectively?

Also any other suggestions and please be kind as we are truly trying and we aren't the most rich, especially in this time so have to manage a budget but I want these two little amazing dragons to be happy and healthy. Also its cleaning day, both for our place and theirs so please excuse the mess.

(Hope I have notifications turned on for this, will try to do my best to keep an eye on any replies).























Kingslayer loves watching out the door.


Dracarys getting mad at the reflection. Soon to change! Thanks for the help!

The first thing I see is the UVB has a 5.0 bulb that is not strong enough for it to sit on top of the screen please replace w/ a 10.0 -- do your fixtures have reflectors on them? I think I see 24 watt ? If they are T 5's they can sit on top of your screen but you need the T 5 bulb and your basking decor needs to be 8-10 inches from it --- but fixtures must have a reflector on them other wise it does no good as of now your dragons are not getting any UVB or very very little - you need to not let them see one another they need to be taken out separately as one may attack the other at some point and its less stressful for them -- for the reflection thing cover the sides they can see their reflection on the OUTSIDE OF TANK-- w/ newspaper --wrapping paper-- ads or paper bags -- that will get rid of the reflection -- you can order worms or some super worms from websites Petsmart or Petco but as of now I believe they are out I am not sure about Colo I know where I am they have none and have been out for sometime I was told yesterday -- you can get them from a local mom and pops if you have them in Denver -- look for some butter worms horn worms and silk worms -- the silk are a good staple feeder and can be used as lures as well as the super worms and butter worms -- only feed like 1-3 on top of your vegies and add them to that salad bowl in front of them so they see you do this it will draw their attention to the bowl -- let them eat from the salad bowl for an hr or so then add your staple feeder like the silk worms or dubias ---- one reason they may not be eating so much is lack of UVB ---- you can order these things on line too -- horn worms are a hydrating worm and they grow very fast --- here are some websites for insects / worms
http://www.dubiaroaches.com
http://www.reptilianarts.com --- they have bulk silks in make sure you order food as they will eat alot and clean the containers out every day along w/ old food
http://www.coastilsilkworms.com -- only the west coast has them now
http://www.mulberryfarms.com
http://www.reptilesplus.com
Please get your UVB bulb changed out and if you need a reflector I have a website you can order one from
Karrie

Kingslayer":lvbujfcr said:

Two beardies. One male, Kingslayer. One Female, Dracarys. We believe they are one year old. Purchased at a reptile expo, believe they are Australian. They are in two separate habitats. They are a little over a foot from their head to the end of their tale.

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They're all Australian, and they're not. While BDs are native to Australia, it's been illegal to export them from there for over 50 years, so all the BDs in the pet trade today have been bred elsewhere.

-We never bring them out together, seeing each other they get aggressive.

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OK, that's good (that you keep them separated). And since you have one of each sex, there's also... Y'know... Doing that thing they do... :wink: (And LOTS of eggs/baby dragons! :shock: )

Question - What bulb do I need to make sure I buy again for UV?

Click to expand...

Reptisun T5 10.0 for the length fixture you have.

Question - We (my partner and I) know that they glass surf for what we think two reasons. We figured out that the plants in the living room are creating gnats. We are replanting everything to stop this as we can tell a lot of times they are glass surfing when they see a gnat. The other thing we know is they can see their reflection. We have tried various lighting techniques. I am bummed that my guess is I am going to have to cover three sides of the glass inside with some type of background. Of course, want them to not be stressed and it isn't worth the expense of me wanting to watch and see them when we don't have them out. So I am wondering if there is anything that would bring down this reflection but translucent enough to still see them. I am sure this doesn't really exist and I'd rather have them happy non-stressed than my viewing enjoyment.

Click to expand...

OK, first, I doubt it's the gnats, but it's good to get rid of them anyway--they're annoying. I had gnats on the inside of my enclosure from the plants in there. ZᴀRDᴏZ never even noticed them. We transplanted all the plants into new soil, and now the gnats are gone. ?

There are lots of reasons for glass-surfing. One thing I've noticed is that Z does it consistently whenever he has to poop. Afterward, he calms down and goes back to basking. He also has an active period for about a half-hour (around noon) when he runs around trying to get out to explore. (I never let him out until/unless he's pooped first for obvious reasons. :roll: ) If I took him out for an explorational runaround, he'd explore, then surf the boundary of that area. Afterward, again, he calms down and goes back to basking. I don't stress over it. The activity on the rough tile, bricks, & rocks in his enclosure maintain his claws/nails, so I've never had to clip them.

Regarding reflection, there is such a thing as anti-reflection films/coatings. I've not needed one, so I'm not familiar other than knowing they exist and are not necessarily the same as anti-glare films/coatings.

Beyond that, you seem to be cranking a lot of heat (wattage/power) between those 2 enclosures.
Just a suggestion to take or leave: You might consider combining an ant-reflective trick with some insulation to kill 2 birds, so to speak. Half-inch rigid foam insulation (white, pink, blue) works well, as do multiple layers of corrugated board with the flutes alternated 90°. As an alternative to the anti-reflective film, I would try a busy-design, light-colored background (desert motif or wrapping paper, etc.) facing inward, on the outside of the glass, on 3 sides of your enclosures. Outside of that, I'd put the cardboard or rigid foam, and decorate the outside of that (or not) any way you like.

Some of the tops of the enclosures can also be insulated, as long as safe space for lighting & ventilation are allowed for.

Question - I recently read my UV because it is outside the wire mesh is only giving about 30% of UV. Any suggestions on how to put it inside for these terrariums. Or what to research for DIYing it effectively?

Click to expand...

If it's a screened top, I'd wire the fixture to the inside of the screen, or build/fabricate a hanger system out of sheet metal or heavy/stiff wire.

I think you'll find a lot of ideas & information in the DIY forum. Not just building enclosures, but doing whatever you need for your dragons yourself. :wink:

Yeah I would recommend looking on amazon for window clings. They make a lot meant for bathroom windows etc. My guy has similar reflection problems although I managed to buy the one cling and makes a decent reflection so my search also continues. I think next I will try the ones with the frosted look with a small space between.