Frequent glass surfing & waving at reflection

[melissamott124]

Hi guys!

I just got my guy Lazlo yesterday - he's a little peanut at only 2 months old. I noticed right off the bat that he can clearly see his own reflection in the glass of his tank and it really intimidates him. He's been waving to his reflection and glass surfing quite a bit. I have a background image on the back glass pane, but I noticed that even when I cover the other sides with paper he can still see his reflection. I was considering buying black construction paper to try to black out the two side panes, or maybe even painting the outside of the two side panes black, but I'm not too sure if it'll solve the problem.

I know he's stressed in the first place - new home, new people, new terrarium. I feel bad that he's intimidated by his own reflection on top of everything else. Other than that, he's adjusting great! He lets us hold him, he's eating, passing stool normally, and exploring his tank. If anyone has any advice about how to minimize his reflection, let me know!

Set up info:
- Tank: 20 gallons
- Basking temp 105F, cool side 80F
- Reptisun 10.0 T5 UVB
- Eating crickets 2x daily, escarole/dandelion greens salad

[KarrieRee]

You might try newspaper for the sides--- I hope you plan on upgrading his tank soon -- he will quickly out grow it --- also the T 5 I take it you have sitting on top of the tank beings its a 20 gallon--- ?
Karrie

[melissamott124]

Yes the 20 gallon is just for now since he's so small. Will upgrade when he starts growing more. And yes the UV is on top of the mesh lid. I'll try newspaper, thanks!

[kingofnobbys]

My little boy Caesar does that too, was doing it heaps for the first two weeks , and armwaving at his sister Cleo too.

If he persists you can get rid of the ghost beardie he's being stalked by (and can see everywhere he looks) by lining the inside of the tank with some sheets of A4 paper , only needs to go high enough to cover his line of sight.

[kingofnobbys]

Hi guys!

I just got my guy Lazlo yesterday - he's a little peanut at only 2 months old. I noticed right off the bat that he can clearly see his own reflection in the glass of his tank and it really intimidates him. He's been waving to his reflection and glass surfing quite a bit. I have a background image on the back glass pane, but I noticed that even when I cover the other sides with paper he can still see his reflection. I was considering buying black construction paper to try to black out the two side panes, or maybe even painting the outside of the two side panes black, but I'm not too sure if it'll solve the problem.

I know he's stressed in the first place - new home, new people, new terrarium. I feel bad that he's intimidated by his own reflection on top of everything else. Other than that, he's adjusting great! He lets us hold him, he's eating, passing stool normally, and exploring his tank. If anyone has any advice about how to minimize his reflection, let me know!

Set up info:
- Tank: 20 gallons
- Basking temp 105F, cool side 80F
- Reptisun 10.0 T5 UVB
- Eating crickets 2x daily,
<<< I'd nudge that up to three insect feeds per day
my 3 month olds are on a feeding schedule like this
>>> am = crickets
>>> early afternoon = crickets or bsfl + salad
>>> evening = silkworm and or crickets or bsfl

I have two :
my boy loves his crickets , silkworm and salad , not so keen on bsfl
my girl loves her bsfl and crickets , not so keen on the salad and silkworms.
escarole/dandelion greens salad