I want to make sure my Beardie is Happy

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I have a custom made tank that is 57inX19inX17in of usable space (length,width,height) so by my calculations it is a 79 gallon tank. My bearded dragon is between 8 months-1 year old, I am not sure of his age, he already gets a black beard and head bobs so I am assuming he is starting to sexually mature. Anyway, he has recently started surfing in his tank incessantly. He slams his head against the tank side constantly and moves up and down the tank while doing this. He wants to come out and explore but he does this all the time, even if he was just out of his tank ten minutes before. Sometimes he will be mellow and just bask for a while but after a while he starts surfing again. Today his lights had only been on for 45 minutes before he started doing it again, it's starting to make me wonder whether or not he likes it in there? Like maybe his tank is stressing him out? His basking bulb is 150w since the tank itself is roughly 2 feet tall and the lamp sits on top of it. His temp in his basking spot is 105 and in the 90's all around it. Any suggestions would be great, I have a steady income so I can make changes if need be but it may take some time. I want his quality of life to be good so I will do all that I can. I believe he needs more enrichment in is tank but i'm not sure what to get, he hasn't liked any hides I have gotten/made for him so far. Here are some pictures, including one where he is trying to climb up the side of the tank.
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ruben0311

Juvie Member
he may very well be just anxious to run around more outside. if the room he's kept in is "beardie proof" you could try and just leave the door to his enclosure open and let him choose where to go... i know this may not be an option so perhaps having a second large branch inside his enclosure? spanning the rest of the cage so he can crawl around on that? It can get quite stressful trying to figure out whats best for our little guys so just tweek little things bit by bit, maybe getting him a dig box and seeing if that's what he's looking to do... you have the best kind of heart for caring for him so just know you are doing a good job.
 

Purpledino

Member
Original Poster
Thank you, I will look into getting him something else to climb on, when he's out its his favorite thing to do. I was also thinking about putting his heat lamp closer to the middle of his tank so the heat can spread out more but I do not know if that will help him or not.
 

ruben0311

Juvie Member
that could be an option, you just need to check to see what the lowest temperature in the tank is, remember to keep some type of temperature gradient within the tank. Actually that begs the question does he spend any time on the left side of the cage? perhaps its not warm enough on that end? you can grab a full spectrum bulb for the left side just to increase the ambient air temps and provide some nice bright light for him also
 

Purpledino

Member
Original Poster
He is never over there unless he is doing the pacing back and forth when he wants out. I will look into getting him a new light for that side, I thought about getting another smaller wattage heat bulb to go over there was well but if the full spectrum light will provide some heat that may work too.
 

ruben0311

Juvie Member
yeah any incandescant light bulb will do the job right, just depends if it'll be mounted within the tank or above. If you do grab some more logs then it would also be giving him a second basking spot with lower heat. Flood lights would be great in this setting.
 

Purpledino

Member
Original Poster
I will most likely be mounting it above the tank, I have a spare hood light fixture that will fit coil bulbs, so if I got a full spectrum coil bulb would that be OK?
 

ruben0311

Juvie Member
for light yes, heat no. plug it in and see if you see a change. remember to make changes gradually so you can pinpoint what the issue was, it can help you determine how your buddy likes his world
 

Purpledino

Member
Original Poster
Ok, Thank you so much for all your help! its funny how you say little buddy cause his name his Buddy haha.
 

BG23

Hatchling Member
Sounds like your basking temps are good but the other end of the tank needs to be around 78 to 80 he's prolly too warm and getting annoyed.
 

clairej1216

New member
My beardie is very similar to yours, except he's about 3-4 years old. I've realized my bearded dragon really likes to explore, LOVES to climb. I dragon proofed my whole downstairs area. Also I have a child proof gate preventing him from getting into the kitchen (he once managed to climb into a hole under the cabinet and got behind the dishwasher), learned my lesson. Kitchen is off limits. Anyways, my dragon is very curious. He spends his morning basking, eating, and I noticed shortly after (1-2 hours later) he's glass surfing and knocking over all his branches. (His basking and cooling temps are perfect). So I let him roam around downstairs and I even have a few boxes stacked around that he likes to climb up. He walks around for quite a while too, and even likes having the patio door open to go outside or just watch the window. Since I dragon proofed it, I don't worry too much about what he's getting into. He's really happy roaming around, and it gives him extra exercise with some enrichment just exploring everything. After a while he gets tired and I'll return him to his tank, he goes back to basking! Until he's recharged and wants out again! Lol. Just an idea, hope it works!
 

Ninniy

Member
He might be attacking his reflection in the glass. I would cover up as much glass as possible, other than the front wall, of course.
 
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