Help! Angry/Stressed Beardie

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Brigieeee

Member
I adopted Norbert almost two weeks ago - and I absolutely love him. He's my first beardie. But he keeps getting completely stressed out in his cage. At first it was just glass surfing but now he is turning black all over (back and beard), puff around in his terrarium and give me the stink eye. (Sometimes he glass surfs without stress marks and sometimes he does have them)

I'm really confused as to what happened, the first 4 days he was here we got along fine, but now he is more anxious. I've stopped attempting to handle him too much. I will feed him by hand and pet him but I try to only take him out of his terrarium for a short amount of time and I put him back at any sign of stress. Today he did explore my bedroom for a little bit and he seemed to have fun.

But now, he's been half puffed/ready to pounce for about 45 minutes in his cage. His beard is semi black. Ive been leaving him alone just doing work at my desk. Sometimes hell turn his attention to me, but mostly he's looking out at the glass. What am I doing wrong!! Is this just relocation stress? Or is he never going to bond with me as his owner?

General Questions:
How old is your dragon? 3 and a half years
How long have you had your dragon? 2 weeks
How long is your dragon? 21-22 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 36 inches long, 18 inches deep, 18 inches tall.
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Reptile carpet
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Fluorescent tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ReptiSun T5 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb? 2 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? Closest 6-8 inches?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Yes ZooMed 75W. But I am figuring it out because sometimes it gets too hot but I check frequently.
What are the basking temps? 97-104. If it gets too hot I will turn it off for a little.
What is the cool side temp? 78-81
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Digital Thermometer with wire and probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? directly above the basking spot directly under the light
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. He gets veggies everyday. A mix of collard greens or dandelion greens. Butternut squash, snap peas, carrots, and a few pieces from a pellet mix. About 3 times a week I will feed him superworms but I am looking into somewhere that I could get him Dubia Roaches instead.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I feed in the morning, giving all of his veggies and pellets. I place it all in his tank but then I try to hand feed him to bond. I then will feed him his insects sometime around early afternoon time. He will eat his pellets and greens that are in his dish as late as night time.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? No
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Repta-Calcium - about 4 or 5 days a week.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? He has gone to the bathroom about everyday this week but it has been pretty wet. It was starting to get better two days ago, but it was pretty moist again today :(
Do you bath your dragon? How often? I have done it three times so far.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? He has a water bowl in his tank and I do try to mist a couple times a day - but I don't think he likes it.
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? The earliest visit I can get scheduled was for March 8th.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok and do you have a piece of decor directly under it w/ a distance of 12-15 inches
 

Brigieeee

Member
Original Poster
Yes I have a log branch that he can lie on, it starts being 15 in away and moves up to at its closest 7 in away
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so it may be hormones here in play-- can he see his reflection? Is there another dragon or any other pets?
 

Brigieeee

Member
Original Poster
There are no other beardies or pets around. I've done my best to cover his reflection, he has a background on one side of his tank and the other two sides are covered in post it notes so he can't see out. But I still think he might be able to? But he was also able to for the first 3.5 years before I got him and it was never a problem.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so post a pic of the tank and his lighting --- I would like to see if there is something we are missing - when hes dark is it first thing in the morning or all day? The misting I would lay off--- he is hydrated if his poops are moist and that is what you want -- you can order dubias from here www.dubiaroaches.com or here www.reptilianarts.com --- these places are probably backed up w/ orders because of the cold we just had but you can look there both places are good
 

Brigieeee

Member
Original Poster
110517-1194242663.jpg

He will be dark in the morning but thats usually when he is basking and im assuming it is to draw in my color. But he tends to become dark and angry around 4pm-ish. He will usually be happy and fine during parts of the day and turn angry for no reason. The above is my tank set up, he's sleeping now so I don't want to disturb him too much
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I think maybe getting him a larger tank like a 75 gallon or a 120 gallon might help
 
Brigieeee":1mywlhcz said:
I adopted Norbert almost two weeks ago - and I absolutely love him. He's my first beardie. But he keeps getting completely stressed out in his cage. At first it was just glass surfing but now he is turning black all over (back and beard), puff around in his terrarium and give me the stink eye. (Sometimes he glass surfs without stress marks and sometimes he does have them)

I'm really confused as to what happened, the first 4 days he was here we got along fine, but now he is more anxious. I've stopped attempting to handle him too much. I will feed him by hand and pet him but I try to only take him out of his terrarium for a short amount of time and I put him back at any sign of stress. Today he did explore my bedroom for a little bit and he seemed to have fun.

But now, he's been half puffed/ready to pounce for about 45 minutes in his cage. His beard is semi black. Ive been leaving him alone just doing work at my desk. Sometimes hell turn his attention to me, but mostly he's looking out at the glass. What am I doing wrong!! Is this just relocation stress? Or is he never going to bond with me as his owner?

General Questions:
How old is your dragon? 3 and a half years
How long have you had your dragon? 2 weeks
How long is your dragon? 21-22 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 36 inches long, 18 inches deep, 18 inches tall.
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Reptile carpet
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Fluorescent tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ReptiSun T5 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb? 2 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? Closest 6-8 inches?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Yes ZooMed 75W. But I am figuring it out because sometimes it gets too hot but I check frequently.
What are the basking temps? 97-104. If it gets too hot I will turn it off for a little.
What is the cool side temp? 78-81
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Digital Thermometer with wire and probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? directly above the basking spot directly under the light
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. He gets veggies everyday. A mix of collard greens or dandelion greens. Butternut squash, snap peas, carrots, and a few pieces from a pellet mix. About 3 times a week I will feed him superworms but I am looking into somewhere that I could get him Dubia Roaches instead.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I feed in the morning, giving all of his veggies and pellets. I place it all in his tank but then I try to hand feed him to bond. I then will feed him his insects sometime around early afternoon time. He will eat his pellets and greens that are in his dish as late as night time.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? No
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Repta-Calcium - about 4 or 5 days a week.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? He has gone to the bathroom about everyday this week but it has been pretty wet. It was starting to get better two days ago, but it was pretty moist again today :(
Do you bath your dragon? How often? I have done it three times so far.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? He has a water bowl in his tank and I do try to mist a couple times a day - but I don't think he likes it.
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? The earliest visit I can get scheduled was for March 8th.
Was just reading your post and it sounds to like he's just stressed due to new home. I would handle him often he may just want out. One of my beardies never drank out of a water bowl and I had to do other things as she didn't like getting mist either. I do extra baths and I offer her baby food with extra water in it. I use a kitten milk baby bottle and trained her to lap the drips off her nose. Now I've had my beardies 11 and 6 yrs but if she ever got dehydrated I gave her baby Pedialyte clear plain to help with dehydration because she just won't drink from the bowl. Unless people actually see their beardie drinking from the bowl they should never assume they do. It's not even natural for them. Superworms alone I don't think is good enough staple for them you should give me other things like Dubia and Crickets but at least add Dubia they are cleaner than crickets and less chance of parasites. The more you hold him the better off he will be. Any other questions just ask good luck.
Heather
 
Heatherrae1111":26u842ou said:
Brigieeee":26u842ou said:
I adopted Norbert almost two weeks ago - and I absolutely love him. He's my first beardie. But he keeps getting completely stressed out in his cage. At first it was just glass surfing but now he is turning black all over (back and beard), puff around in his terrarium and give me the stink eye. (Sometimes he glass surfs without stress marks and sometimes he does have them)

I'm really confused as to what happened, the first 4 days he was here we got along fine, but now he is more anxious. I've stopped attempting to handle him too much. I will feed him by hand and pet him but I try to only take him out of his terrarium for a short amount of time and I put him back at any sign of stress. Today he did explore my bedroom for a little bit and he seemed to have fun.

But now, he's been half puffed/ready to pounce for about 45 minutes in his cage. His beard is semi black. Ive been leaving him alone just doing work at my desk. Sometimes hell turn his attention to me, but mostly he's looking out at the glass. What am I doing wrong!! Is this just relocation stress? Or is he never going to bond with me as his owner?

General Questions:
How old is your dragon? 3 and a half years
How long have you had your dragon? 2 weeks
How long is your dragon? 21-22 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 36 inches long, 18 inches deep, 18 inches tall.
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Reptile carpet
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Fluorescent tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ReptiSun T5 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb? 2 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? Closest 6-8 inches?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Yes ZooMed 75W. But I am figuring it out because sometimes it gets too hot but I check frequently.
What are the basking temps? 97-104. If it gets too hot I will turn it off for a little.
What is the cool side temp? 78-81
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Digital Thermometer with wire and probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? directly above the basking spot directly under the light
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. He gets veggies everyday. A mix of collard greens or dandelion greens. Butternut squash, snap peas, carrots, and a few pieces from a pellet mix. About 3 times a week I will feed him superworms but I am looking into somewhere that I could get him Dubia Roaches instead.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I feed in the morning, giving all of his veggies and pellets. I place it all in his tank but then I try to hand feed him to bond. I then will feed him his insects sometime around early afternoon time. He will eat his pellets and greens that are in his dish as late as night time.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? No
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Repta-Calcium - about 4 or 5 days a week.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? He has gone to the bathroom about everyday this week but it has been pretty wet. It was starting to get better two days ago, but it was pretty moist again today :(
Do you bath your dragon? How often? I have done it three times so far.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? He has a water bowl in his tank and I do try to mist a couple times a day - but I don't think he likes it.
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? The earliest visit I can get scheduled was for March 8th.
Was just reading your post and it sounds to like he's just stressed due to new home. I would handle him often he may just want out. One of my beardies never drank out of a water bowl and I had to do other things as she didn't like getting mist either. I do extra baths and I offer her baby food with extra water in it. I use a kitten milk baby bottle and trained her to lap the drips off her nose. Now I've had my beardies 11 and 6 yrs but if she ever got dehydrated I gave her baby Pedialyte clear plain to help with dehydration because she just won't drink from the bowl. Unless people actually see their beardie drinking from the bowl they should never assume they do. It's not even natural for them. Superworms alone I don't think is good enough staple for them you should give me other things like Dubia and Crickets but at least add Dubia they are cleaner than crickets and less chance of parasites. The more you hold him the better off he will be. Any other questions just ask good luck.
Heather
One more quick thing in the beginning I used something to wrap around the glass so they didn't keep seeing themselves and thinking another beardie. I used what you would put in fish tank but just add a towel for now if you can see if that helps
 
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