Bearded Dragon "puberty" ?

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dragunlady

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I have a 40 gallon tank for my male BD. On his basking side I use either a 75W UVB red bulb from reptisun, or the 100W UVB bulb from reptisun. In addition, on the basking side, we have a 100W UVA coil bulb from reptisun. On the other side of his tank we have an 100W arcadia strip. The substrate is tile. We have a log he basks on, a hammock, and a tunnel in his viv (which he rarely goes inside).

I adopted him from my older sister who no longer wanted to care for him, so I'm not exactly sure how old he is. My guess is he's more or less one years old.

Lately he has been acting very bratty. He CONSTANTLY glass surfs when he's inside his cage and pushes around his tunnel and food and water dish. EVERYTIME he's in his viv he glass surfs, has a black beard, and wants to get out. He's been doing this for about almost a week now.

Also, the reason why we switch between the red bulb and the other regular UVB bulb is because whenever we use the regular bulb, he is able to see is reflection. Whenever he sees his reflection inside the viv he immediately turns black, tries to fight his reflection, and glass surfs.

I'm at a loss for what to do. We have covered the glass on his basking side with paper in order so that he cannot see his reflection on that side, but sometimes the UVA light from the arcadia strip causes him to see his reflection on the cool side. We even use the red bulb in order to prevent him from seeing his reflection, but he has STILL BEEN GLASS SURFING EVERYDAY EVERY TIME WE PUT HIM IN HIS CAGE TO BASK. I'm worried about his health because he doesn't want to spend any time in his cage, and isnt getting sufficient heat and light. On the other hand, I don't want him to somehow get hurt by leaving him in his cage and letting him go crazy glass surfing and running and jumping around like a maniac.

In addition, he has been getting a black beard everyday. When we give in and take him out of his cage, he runs around the house black bearded and head bobbing at absolutely nothing. He always runs to the mirror to try to see and fight his reflection, hissing and all.

SO, I have a couple questions and concerns.

1. How can we get him to stay in his viv without glass surfing and fighting himself?
2. Am I the only owner who has a problem with the reflections the lights give off inside the viv?
3. I see others who do not even cover the glass sides of the viv, whereas I covered everything except the front side and he STILL fights himself. How do others avoid this and have good BDs that stay in their cage under bright light with no problems?
4. Is all this black bearding and stress bad for his health?
5. Is he going through BD puberty which can explain his behavior?
6. I'm going on a two day trip and he will need to be in his cage the entire
7. He hasn't been eating much for the past month or so (he had coccidia, but we treated him with medicine from the vet..he's all clear now). Should his lack of appetite be a concern?


PLEASE HELP!
 

OnyxFlame

New member
1st. Bearded dragons turn a darker color when they get warm. If you don't have a thermometer in its tank, I would recommend getting two (one for each side of the tank), bearded dragons need to be in 80 degrees (that's the lowest).

2nd. Bearded dragons "glass surf" when they want out of their tanks. Mine does it every time it wants out. If you're taking it out of the tank, be sure to keep it warm.

3rd. Bearded dragons can be picky eaters. It depends on how old the dragon is and how much you're giving it, because you could be giving it to much.

4th. I don't think its fighting its reflection, I think it just wants out.

If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to message me.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
OnyxFlame":1uxkpfzn said:
1st. Bearded dragons turn a darker color when they get warm. If you don't have a thermometer in its tank, I would recommend getting two (one for each side of the tank), bearded dragons need to be in 80 degrees (that's the lowest).

<<< ACTUALLY - it's the other way around, a bearded dragon who has made it's body flat and darkened up all over is too cold and is trying to warm up.
and
also when trying to hide : https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2017/03/bearded-dragons-switch-colour-to-match-surroundings/


Basking spot : NOT HOTTER THAN 100 F (40 degC) *
Warm zone : about 36 degC *
Cool zone : about 28 degC *
Overnight : nice to keep them about 24 degC *(aids overnight digestion).
* air temperatures.



2nd. Bearded dragons "glass surf" when they want out of their tanks. Mine does it every time it wants out. If you're taking it out of the tank, be sure to keep it warm.

3rd. Bearded dragons can be picky eaters. It depends on how old the dragon is and how much you're giving it, because you could be giving it to much.

4th. I don't think its fighting its reflection, I think it just wants out.
<<< if the dragon is a male , he is definitely being upset by the other male dragon he thinks he can see and can't chase away.
<<< adult male bearded dragons are highly territorial and will chase off any other male bearded dragons that they see , even fight them and try to kill them.
<<< I strong suggest lining the inside of the glass walls of the tank with paper sheets up to above his eye level , this will take away the "ghost" dragons and should help him settle down somewhat.



If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to message me.
 
ive heard red bulbs arent good for their eyes.
they all have different personalities, seems aggressive.
should line the cage so he cant see his reflection if it bothers him that much.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
dragunlady":7qq5oahh said:
I have a 40 gallon tank for my male BD. On his basking side I use either a 75W UVB red bulb from reptisun, or the 100W UVB bulb from reptisun. In addition, on the basking side, we have a 100W UVA coil bulb from reptisun. On the other side of his tank we have an 100W arcadia strip. The substrate is tile. We have a log he basks on, a hammock, and a tunnel in his viv (which he rarely goes inside).

I adopted him from my older sister who no longer wanted to care for him, so I'm not exactly sure how old he is. My guess is he's more or less one years old.

Lately he has been acting very bratty. He CONSTANTLY glass surfs when he's inside his cage and pushes around his tunnel and food and water dish. EVERYTIME he's in his viv he glass surfs, has a black beard, and wants to get out. He's been doing this for about almost a week now.

Also, the reason why we switch between the red bulb and the other regular UVB bulb is because whenever we use the regular bulb, he is able to see is reflection. Whenever he sees his reflection inside the viv he immediately turns black, tries to fight his reflection, and glass surfs.

<<<< throw away the red bulb. These are entirely inappropriate for a bearded dragon as they change the colour of food items and make it hard for the dragon recognize / see their food.
The basking globe needs to be a bright colourless incandescent or halogen flood style globe .

Show us the UVB "bulb" and how it's set up , the chances are you have a bad globe and it's likely installed poorly due to bad advise you've been given (by the petshop salesperson.



I'm at a loss for what to do. We have covered the glass on his basking side with paper in order so that he cannot see his reflection on that side, but sometimes the UVA light from the arcadia strip causes him to see his reflection on the cool side. We even use the red bulb in order to prevent him from seeing his reflection, but he has STILL BEEN GLASS SURFING EVERYDAY EVERY TIME WE PUT HIM IN HIS CAGE TO BASK. I'm worried about his health because he doesn't want to spend any time in his cage, and isnt getting sufficient heat and light. On the other hand, I don't want him to somehow get hurt by leaving him in his cage and letting him go crazy glass surfing and running and jumping around like a maniac.
See my other post regarding male bearded dragons, I take it's spring where you live (most here are in the USA) , so you are going to have torrid time with your uberhorny male bearded dragon for a month or so until his hormones settle and he become a laid back very chill boy again. It's part of the territory of keeping a male bearded dragon and I assure you , you shall survive.
Just let him out to burn off some of that extra angst and he'll eventually crash and be ready to settle down after a while.

In addition, he has been getting a black beard everyday. When we give in and take him out of his cage, he runs around the house black bearded and head bobbing at absolutely nothing. He always runs to the mirror to try to see and fight his reflection, hissing and all.
See above - and my other post , this is just him being territorial . DON'T show him the mirror !!!

Little story : we had a large adult male eastern water skink visiting regularly inside to court his "girlfriend" ( an adult female eastern water skink who had taken up residence under / behind our lounge ). One day I placed a little vanity mirror on the floor standing against the wall , he immediately spotted the mirror as soon as he came out to get some mealworms from me and there was a vigorous headnodding duel for a few minutes with him getting closer in little charges , then suddenly he got really pissed off with the skink he could see who refused to leave and he charged at warp 10 at the mirror and hit it so hard he actually cracked the mirror.
He never came back inside again after that incident (scared himself off) , but did hang about outside to protect his harem of girls (he was the local alpha male water skink for several years and sported some nasty looking but healed battle scars in his head and shoulders - we called him Scrapper and he was so fearless he even sent dogs packing (not a bad effort for a 60g 15" long skink !!!).

I learnt an important lesson regarding territorial male skinks and dragons and mirror and their response to their own reflections.


SO, I have a couple questions and concerns.

1. How can we get him to stay in his viv without glass surfing and fighting himself?
2. Am I the only owner who has a problem with the reflections the lights give off inside the viv?
3. I see others who do not even cover the glass sides of the viv, whereas I covered everything except the front side and he STILL fights himself. How do others avoid this and have good BDs that stay in their cage under bright light with no problems?
4. Is all this black bearding and stress bad for his health?
5. Is he going through BD puberty which can explain his behavior?
6. I'm going on a two day trip and he will need to be in his cage the entire
7. He hasn't been eating much for the past month or so (he had coccidia, but we treated him with medicine from the vet..he's all clear now). Should his lack of appetite be a concern?


PLEASE HELP!
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
BeardedMabel":g0eid1bh said:
ive heard red bulbs arent good for their eyes.
they all have different personalities, seems aggressive.

<<< he's not aggressive as such , just hormonal and territorial ATM.
It will pass.
I've never encountered an aggressive bearded dragon , even wild centrals , westerns, easterns and rankins are all more inclined to run away if their bluff doesn't work. They also all soon settle down when picked up if they are handled right (good body support).


should line the cage so he cant see his reflection if it bothers him that much.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The lighting in the tank has everything to do w/ the behavior-- get rid of the red bulb and get a bright white basking bulb colored bulbs can cause long term eye damage and it disturbs their sleep --- the black beard means he is in distress----- or pain in this case I would say distress-- get rid of the coil UVB here is what is recommended
Which UVB light should I use?
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia). UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months. The T5’s are a strong bulb and only need to be replaced once a year – the T 8 every 6 months--- where as the T 8 are not as strong—they need to be placed inside the tank the T 5 10.0 bulb approx 10-11 inches from basking spot – the T 8 approx 8-10 inches from basking spot—the cover needs to be off the bulb for full effect of the UVB rays-- once you replace these bulbs you will notice a difference in his behavior his eating and his digestion -- this lighting is crucial in their well being!! If you taking him on a trip I would get a leash so you can take him out and you dont lose him -- the 40 gallon tank I would look at upgrading to a larger one like a 75 or 120 gallon -- thats going to alleviate alot of the glass surfing in the future -- i know you just got a lot of information but I would start w/ the lighting in the tank --- watch his behavior after that and see what he does ---
Karrie
 
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