Constant BB, Hiding, Being defensive, I'm really worried.

So my little dude Rocket, Who isn't so little anymore. Has lately been showing off a constant pitch black beard almost 24/7.

He's been hiding, puffing his beard out and breathing very heavily and acting deathly afraid of everything. He's always been such a sweetheart that will come up to the front of the tank just to say hi and loves interacting with people usually.

But now he has been really defensive and scared, he even acting for at least a week and a half, He's around one and a half years old, 230 grams, 20" and eats decently. Could this be just hormones? But I also have noticed that his right wrist will sometimes Bend forward a bit when he's standing up straight, and that Seriously worries me. He's never shown any signs of MBD and gets frequent dustings and has a reptisun T5 bulb.

He's been like this for about a week. His beard is actually a bit Lighter in the photos, usually it's a pure black.
View media item 60433View media item 61071View media item 60773View media item 61054He's also about to get a tank upgrade from a 40 gallon to a 120 gallon probably around tomorrow.

But with his constant black beard, hiding, and beard puffing has got me really really worried. And I need to know if I should schedule a vet appointment for him to see if there's anything wrong. Mulder is getting an appointment soon as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Oh my! You know I'm a newbie so have no advice but am very interested in what some of the experienced posters have to say. That IS a seriously black beard!
I'm hoping all the 'red' on his snout is just something he ate? Berries maybe?
I haven't had Petey but about 6 weeks so I've never seen a black beard. He puffs and flexes occassionaly but rarely much color change other than slight grey specks.
Hope you get some insight soon.
-Dee

His beard isn't nearly as black as some of my adult male dragons can get, when they're trying to impress, or show dominance/territorial behaviors their beards can take on a impressive shade.

But that is the non stressed version of black bearding, which is typically a pretty black beard or a greyish beard followed by many many head bobs. That is typically normal when they're feeling hormonal or trying to express dominance.

But Rocket's black beard is different, a BB followed by really nervous behavior usually means something different, But he's worrying me still. I Would like to get others advice before I check it off as hormonal behavior, rather than something worse which I hope it isn't. :|

And yes, He had just eaten a few blackberries before I took those photos, so he temporarily looks like the joker lol.

I am guessing he is seeing his reflection in the tank cuz I can see it and he is probably doing the hormone thing---- the UVB is it in a fixture and does it have a reflector on it ? If not I would suggest both --- you have a new tank coming so he is going to go thru relocation stress -- does the new tank have a solid back so he cant see his reflection?
Karrie

Hi there,

My first thoughts are hormones. But it also sounds like behavior we see after a dragon gets really spooked outside. Like when seeing a bird over head. We had someone a few months back who took their dragon outside and it completely flipped when it caught sight of a bird. And the dragon was scared and nervous for weeks. OP thought that the dragon was going to stay like this forever but eventually the dragon calmed down.

So, did Rocket see something potentially that scared him? If not I'd still attribute it to hormones.

You might try blocking the sides of his tank so he doesn't see his reflection as much. Some dragons just don't understand reflections. Mei goes after the worms she sees in the reflection, as opposed to the worms that are literally half an inch away from her... LOL.

-Brandon

KarrieRee":l8g7wru8 said:

I am guessing he is seeing his reflection in the tank cuz I can see it and he is probably doing the hormone thing---- the UVB is it in a fixture and does it have a reflector on it ? If not I would suggest both --- you have a new tank coming so he is going to go thru relocation stress -- does the new tank have a solid back so he cant see his reflection?
Karrie

Click to expand...

Hello,

Yeah he can see his reflection so I put up some paper inside his tank so he couldn't. But he had already started to calm down before I did that, And he just started shedding so I am guessing that it was probably just Pre-shed grumpiness because he hasn't displayed this behavior any more for the past two days. Aside from a lot of head bobbing.

The UVB is in a Fixture but I don't exactly think it has a reflector because I'm not seeing any Foil looking thing in it. What do reflectors do exactly? And if I don't have it will he be ok without it? Or should I try putting something up like aluminum Foil?

Yes, his new tank is a 4x2x2, and does not have a background but maybe I could try ordering one on Amazon or finding one at repticon, or heck even try making one myself. Would you have any recommendations for a background that would fit a tank this large?

claudiusx":2auuvxtc said:

Hi there,

My first thoughts are hormones. But it also sounds like behavior we see after a dragon gets really spooked outside. Like when seeing a bird over head. We had someone a few months back who took their dragon outside and it completely flipped when it caught sight of a bird. And the dragon was scared and nervous for weeks. OP thought that the dragon was going to stay like this forever but eventually the dragon calmed down.

So, did Rocket see something potentially that scared him? If not I'd still attribute it to hormones.

You might try blocking the sides of his tank so he doesn't see his reflection as much. Some dragons just don't understand reflections. Mei goes after the worms she sees in the reflection, as opposed to the worms that are literally half an inch away from her... LOL.

-Brandon

Click to expand...

Not to my knowledge, like maybe a few months ago he was outside and saw a bird and freaked out but he was fine for the time after that. He's also started to calm down more as well. I'm not sure what caused him to act out like that but I'm glad he hasn't acted like it anymore. Like I said in my previous post he did start shedding so maybe he was just grumpy before that?

I also tried that, sorta worked. And wow, Honestly Mei sounds like Phoenix. She does the exact same thing lol.

Yes it looks similar to tin foil--- reflectors direct the UVB rays downward toward him and not all over the tank as that is what is happening now -- I would order a reflector from here or get a new fixture - up to you
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/miscellaneous-accessories/arcadia-flourescent-lamp-reflectors-new-hot/
Karrie

I'll look into it, thanks.