Bad for him to be mad at his reflection?

[Fishercat]

Hi.

I've had Teach for just over 3 weeks. Teach is the first beardie I've had, and was kind of a surprise gift, so there's a lot I don't know. There are no other dragons in the house.

He's a 3-year-old male who's getting ticked off at his own reflection. His vivarium is set up near a sunny window, and at certain times of day, the light hits it such that he can see a very clear reflection of himself on the walls. He's head-bobbing, occasionally gaping, and even scratching and butting his nose against the wall of the tank. It's spring here, and his femoral pores are pretty noticeable, so maybe the poor guy just thinks it's mating season? He isn't showing any stress marks, but given how noticeable his femoral pores are, I'm wondering if he might be less frustrated if I put something on the inner tank walls to mitigate the effect.

Have any of you seen this behavior with your own adult males? Do you think I should do something about the reflection, or not bother?

Thanks.

 

[dylanravenj]

My older male gets pretty bad spring fever too. When he starts getting crazy at his reflection I tape white paper where he can see his reflection, it calms him down a lot. Also I give him lots of time outside his viv to get all that energy out! :lol:

 

[Fishercat]

Thanks!

I think I will block off his view. Yeah, he had a good time exploring the family room and licking the cat's nose yesterday. I'll give him more of that, too.

 

[Lenewen]

I have a water dragon who busted his face up pretty good this past mating season (for them, in January) doing the same thing. I recommend covering the tank. Absolutely do not let that go on, I am currently trying to get Poseidon's snout to heal and it's been an absolute catastrophe. Thank goodness we had emergency money and I can perform basic medical procedures at home under the guidance of our vet.