Beardie has become antisocial and aggressive

[kaedence]

A little bit of background on the dragons:

We purchased two bearded dragons around Aug/Sept 2013. We were told they hatched on April 6th 2013. We talked to the person at the pet store who convinced us that since they had been together their entire life they would be fine together despite what we had read about them being solitary creatures. We had purchased a 40 gallon tank for the two of them to share and they lived in there until around December when the one decided to start chewing on the other ones tail.

At this point we knew we needed to separate them so for the short term we bought a piece of plexiglass and split the tank in two. They were not happy about being separated and the one who had been chewing on the other one would find ways to climb over the plexiglass so they were on the same side but up till this point they were very social, friendly creatures. We would take them out and play with them daily and were confident enough in their gentleness that our friends children were even allowed to be around them without any fear of them being aggressive.

Around January they were moved into two separate tanks that we bought to stop the one from climbing over the glass and chewing on the other one. Around the same time we had a house guest move in for around a month with his Chinese water dragons. Around this time they started to get more and more anti-social. They would run away when we tried to pick them up and eventually got to the point where they were trying to bite us. We thought this aggression might have had something to do with the Chinese water dragons but when they left their attitude did not improve. We did notice that the water dragons owner would antagonize them from the outside of the cage when they puffed up their beards and don't know how many times he had done this.

Over time one of the beardies has gotten slightly better. We can now pick her up and have our hands in her cage without her puffing up but the other one has bitten us to the point where she has drawn blood and will not let us pick her up at all. We want to work with them to get them back to the friendly animals they used to be but without really knowing the ultimate cause of their aggression we don't know what to do. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[kaedence]

I'm wondering what to do with one of my beardies. She started out very friendly but over the past few months has become impossible to handle. She hides in her cave all day every day and when someone walks past her tank she puffs up. When we try and put food in her tank she tries to bite us and has drawn blood once when we weren't fast enough. She won't bask but I don't think she is going through brumation because she is still eating. She will eat superworms and crickets but the only vegetable she will eat is romaine lettuce. We have tried her on grapes and peppers and carrots and she just ignores it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How old is she?
Can you review your tank setup with us? Maybe something isn't quite right & she isn't feeling very well.
Her eyes look bright & not sunken in based on the picture.
Do you have any dogs in the house that could be stressing her out?

Tracie

 

[kaedence]

Bamboo is a year old this month. She lives in an exoterra medium low terrarium with two Zilla Halogen mini dome light fixtures. One has a 25w day white basking bulb in it and the other has a 25w night red bulb. We leave both on during the day for the most heat and just leave the red lamp on at night for warmth (she has a dark cave to sleep in). She also has an under tank heat mat on one side. The daytime basking temperature is around 98 and the nighttime around 80.

For UVB we have the All Living Things Desert UVB slimline.

Unfortunately she is on reptisand because we havent found a better alternative yet although I have been trying to learn more about tiles to see if that might work. She does have a huge dish we feed her out of to make sure she doesnt eat the sand.

 

[kaedence]

Sorry I forgot the other part. We don't have any cats or dogs. Just another beardie (same age) and an eyelash crested gecko but it's in a different room.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How long have you been using the Slimline Zilla light?
That is unfortunately not a good UVB light as it barely emits any UVB at all.
I highly recommend changing that out for a Reptisun 10 tube or an Arcadia D3 12% tube either one.
Perhaps she isn't feeling as well as she should be which can cause a behavioral change.
The red lamp can affect sleeping patterns as it is a wavelength/color spectrum that they can see. If you need any nighttime heating, try using a ceramic heat emitter for warmth. Even though she hash a cave, the red light may still bother her.

How often do you give calcium?
You are using a 25 watt basking light? What type of thermometer are you using to measure the temperatures?
The under tank heat mat doesn't need to be on during the day if she has adequate overhead heating which is preferred.

You can however use the under tank heat mat for nighttime heating if you need.

Tracie

 

[kaedence]

Unfortunately I cant change much of the equipment right now. I was laid off from my job at the end of January. Is it possible to switch out the bulb in the UVB fixture or would it have to be the whole assembly? She is getting calcium on live food 4-5 days out of the week. I cant remember the brand but it does have the vitamin D3 in it aswell. If the UVB is the problem I can always try taking her outside for some natural sunlight.

 

[diamc]

[I merged both of your threads as the one post has more detailed info and more pictures]

That's a shame that she has gotten that way. Something is making her not happy & not wanting to bask has to be affecting her digestion. Does she like baths? How often are you giving her one? Does she get out to run around in the house?

You're using the 40 gallon and have it split down the middle? Seems like that doesn't give either of them much room if that's the case.

Taking her outside for some natural sunlight would be a good idea. The sooner you can switch to a better UVB light, the better.

Rather than using the red light at all, would be best to switch to one bright white basking light during the day. A 25 watt bulb doesn't give off much heat though. What type of thermometer are you using and where exactly are you checking the temps?

If the tank temp doesn't drop to 65 degrees or so, you don't need any heat at night.

Here's a site that shows the best greens and other foods to feed, perhaps there would be a food in green print that she would like and that would be more nutritious for her. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[kaedence]

No she's not in the 40 gallon anymore. Like I said she's in an exoterra medium low tank on her own.

 

[kaedence]

I try and take her out daily but can only do so if I have her wrapped up in something. She seems to go to sleep when wrapped up (cant really tell if she enjoys it or is pissed off and ignoring me). I try and bathe her a few times a week but when I do the stress marks on her belly get really dark. Should I keep bathing her anyways? I try and make it as non-traumatic as possible by just putting a little water into a plastic reptile carrier like this one. If I use the bathtub or sink she spends the whole time trying to climb out instead of relaxing.

On another note I found some really inexpensive tiles that I might buy to replace the Repti-sand. Home depot has an open case of these for $2.50/tile. I could cover both tanks for $10.

And lastly I'm debating on making basking platforms for the two tanks following some of the tutorials on here. I think it would be good to give them more floorspace by giving them a bigger basking area and getting rid of the rock caves that Bamboo loves to spend all day in. My main concern is are these safe. I see tons of people have made them but the idea of putting Polystyrene and acrylic paint and polycrylic sealant and exposing it to high temperatures makes me wonder if it would give off any dangerous fumes. The materials I have to use is Polystyrene Rigid Insulation (More dense than styrofoam), Acrylic craft paint, Sanded grout and then I would just have to buy a sealant.

Sorry for all the questions I just want to make sure everything is the best for them.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm not sure about the polystyrene. My gut would say no because of possible exposure to dangerous chemicals, but that's not based on anything but gut reaction which tends to be conservative.

Tile is a very good deal. They can probably even cut it to a specified dimension for you. Lowes cut my tiles down for me and it worked really well.

I'd keep the baths coming and try to get her used to it. Critter tote may work for a while but will become too small. I had good luck with a turkey roasting pan.

 

[Taterbug]

Styrofoam and extruded polystyrene are basically the same material, to my understanding. They'd have the same or similar risks. I use the pink foam board for lots of things, I love it. Once it's sealed well it shouldn't be a problem. It does give of fumes when melted or burned, but agin it should be well sealed before use.

The tiles need to be rough and textured smooth ones are no good.

She may be stressed out by the changes and commotion recently, reptiles can be slow to adapt and husbandry that is not spot on will contribute to stress and potentially foul mood. Personally, I would correct what husbandry issues you can right now, and do what you can to lower her stress.

If the heat mat is my controlled by a thermostat I would turn it off, as it can be dangerous. The lights can influence the way they see the world and their overall temperament. As others have said, discontinue the red light and replace the UVB when possible. You should be able to use the same fixture if it a a fluorescent tube. Ensure your temperatures are correct and that you are providing a gradient. I would also consider providing a privacy screen so that she can bask but remain hidden and feel more secure. I would also stop giving baths for the time being. If you want to continue, try something more spacious and shallow so she doesn't feel enclosed. But it sounds like at least right now she hates them, I wouldn't force her to bathe. Provide some juicy greens from the list shared above as keep the feeders well hydrated. I would then stop bothering her unless necessary for a few weeks, just for feeding, spot cleaning and replacing the water. I'm not sure at all if any of this will help, but it is what I would do if it were my dragon.

Good luck getting her calmed back down.