Baby dragon.... Hitting puberty?

[khartley]

This might get a little PG13, be forewarned. I'm just very curious if anyone else has experienced this type of behavior, and what it might mean.

My first rescue was picked up as a baby in January. So he is around 7-8 months old now. I take him everywhere with me, he loves it. He sleeps in my room every night, so he hangs out on the bed with me as I'm winding down for the night, and before I fall asleep, he goes in his dresser drawer that I made into a bed (yes he very spoiled). Anyways, I have a closet that has those old style sliding doors with mirrors on them. He has never cared about his reflection until yesterday. It's like he finally noticed that other dragon. He went flying off the bed, attacked the imposter dragon and then - this is where it gets a little awkward - he started humping a dirty pair of pants in front of the mirror while staring at himself all angry like. Almost comical, but I was so shocked. I picked him up and put him on the bed facing away from the mirror, and he immediately snuggled up and went to sleep, like he forgot all about it. But when i picked him back up to put him on my chest like i always do, he started humping again! And now it seems that's all he's thinking about. He rides in the car all the time, and today i could tell he was getting worked up by the faint reflection of himself that he could see in the window. Then tonight when i brought him to the room, he went straight for the mirror to do the same thing he did last night! What is going on? Is it a phase, like puberty? Has anyone else experienced this behavior and have some input?

 

[AHBD]

Poor guy, some of them are super hyper when it comes to that behavior . Try your best to not let him see his reflection....you can cover the mirrors and the sides of his tank with paper. One poster used to keep a stuffed toy lizard in her beardie's tank for her boy's romantic interests. :lol: But seriously, the less he sees of the " other" dragon via reflection the less he will engage in that behavior.

 

[khartley]

He does have a stuffie in his cage but apparently prefers clothing. The sides of his tank are covered, but on the outside so there is still a bit of reflection. Maybe I should move it to the inside of the tank. I'm not sure how I'll cover the bedroom mirror since it's a full panel, the size of the door, but I will work on that.

So is this just a phase he is going thru? Or perhaps a seasonal type thing? I hope this behavior isn't permanent... I love taking him with me in the car, but if he is going to spend the whole time searching for his new love interest in the car windows I may have to leave him home It would be somewhat embarrassing to get food from a drive up window while my dragon is being inappropriate on my arm.

 

[kingofnobbys]

LOL , just ROFL .... been there done that.

We used to let Rex and Puff on the floor together until the "naughty" stuff started (at about 8 - 10 months old ( our two are siblings - so Rex was way too young to mate anyway, not as if our randy hormonal teenage boy Puff could care less about that) , not been on the floor together since, but they do visit each other's enclosures when out and know the other dragon is there and "communicate" with each other but can't physically get to the other dragon (the invisible force shield - Perspex - stops this).

We had about 3 months of the humping thing from Puff last spring and summer - he really had it in a bad way everytime he was on the floor and saw Rex in her ground floor level tank it would be on again , Puff blackbearding and headbanging like crazy, and Rex nodding back and arm waving, then she's crawl over and Puff would try to nibble at her back end (unable to of cause) and he'd get really horny and he'd wind up humping the metal strip that holds the edge of the carpet and the lino.
Eventually Rex would decide enough and she'd disappear into her half log hide or she'd simply climb on top but with her back to Puff and ignore him.

We essentially just let him work it out off his system each time , he'd then loose interest after nearly waring a hole in the carpet , and mozy over to take in the rays from the sun at the front window (his most favorate place to be other than on me or mummy for a nice snuggle).

We've not allowed our two to mate , no incubation gear and we really didn't buy them to breed them but to be our "cat-dog" pets.

Re : dragon going for car rides - love the idea - but it is a potential accident risk , in that the dragon is distraction to the driver - I know people who take their beardies, and bluetongues and other larger skinks (like shinglebacks) for car rides and they report the lizard's love it, and they ride on the dash board where they get sun through the windscreen. Strictly illegal here in NSW to do this off cause.
The biggest concern is what will happen if you involved in a traffic accident , and the beardie is unrestrained ? or worse , thrown from the vehicle ? or you are unable to secure it (injured or trapped say) and it goes exploring or takes fright and runs away ?

 

[khartley]

Glad to hear in your case it was short lived. I think I'm going to just have to let him get it out of his system. He promptly ripped the covering off the mirror.j

As far as car rides, he's never been a distraction until his recent infatuation with his reflection. Until he calms down again, I will probably have to leave him home. Normally he does just hang out on the dash and just loves it. His beard is black the entire time he is in his cage, car rides and cuddle time are about the only times his beard is normal. I guess I don't see it as being any different than people who take their dogs everywhere. There are risks associated with everything we do on a daily basis, I don't think it should deter us from enjoying life.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Glad to hear in your case it was short lived. I think I'm going to just have to let him get it out of his system. He promptly ripped the covering off the mirror.j

As far as car rides, he's never been a distraction until his recent infatuation with his reflection. Until he calms down again, I will probably have to leave him home. Normally he does just hang out on the dash and just loves it. His beard is black the entire time he is in his cage, car rides and cuddle time are about the only times his beard is normal. I guess I don't see it as being any different than people who take their dogs everywhere. There are risks associated with everything we do on a daily basis, I don't think it should deter us from enjoying life.

A well ventilated clear walled storage tub might be the answer if you want to take him for drives. Securely held in place on the seat by a harness .

I imagine he'd be quite an icebreaker or conversation starter (even if somewhat R-rated) when out and about for his car rides and he started getting horny about the other beardie he sees reflected in the window. LOL