Hey guys! First post here but I've been an owner of a bearded dragon for about a year and a half, maybe 2 years now, so heres a bit of preface. I got peep at a rescue and she was fairly small, probably just around the age beardies are normally sold off as pets - The people at the rescue had no clue on her age because the place she was rescued from had 0 info on her either. I'd wager she is maybe 2 years old, maybe a bit under. Here is the most current picture I have of her.
Now, the problem is that after over a year and a half of owning her, she has started CONSTANTLY glass surfing. I don't mean every once in a while - its pretty much right from when she gets up to about an hour or two before she lays down and I think she only stops at that point because she has exhausted herself. I will literally pick her up from the spot shes surfing, and she will try to wriggle herself out of my hand to get back over to where she was like she really wants something over there - but the only thing to the left is a window - and it doesn't matter if I leave it covered up with my blackout curtain or leave it wide open with the sun shining in, she just surfs on.
The only thing I have actually changed was the arrangement of my room - which I feel like would be such a crazy thing for her to react too - especially when its been almost a whole month since I've done it. It also didn't happen right away after I re-arranged, it happened a week or so after. She shows absolutely no signs of stress, like at all. I don't see her black beard, puff out, hiss, etc. Her beard is actually bright orange and tends to stay that colour.
I've tried so so so many things. I gave her a dig box thinking maybe she wanted a place to dig, or maybe she was gonna lay eggs. She dug around in it for a day - made a huge mess in her cage, and then continued to glass surf. I tried putting up cardboard inside / or outside her cage to stop reflections, she just started surfing the cardboard. I take her out of the cage and she just sits on me and chills out like everything is alright and dandy and she isn't trying to break down the glass walls of her enclosure.
My tank setup is pretty normal, here is the most recent pic of it. (A tad dirty because of the dig box incident, on top of her, always running into the glass causing smudges, but yeah). Heres a pic. You can even see her "surfing" in action.
It's a 75-gallon tank, tile as the substrate, I have the correct UVB Bulb along with her temps and humidity being correct, ambient is around 80F, Basking around 100F, humidity sitting at 26% currently. My only guess about the tank would be the size not being big enough. I even bought a heating pad (stuck to the back, not under her tank no worries) to see if possibly it was just a tad bit too cold but that didn't do anything.
Other than that, some important things to note are that I feed her greens every day with calcium and vitamin supplements (not that every day too but you get it lol), along with 10-minute feeding sessions every 2 days. I take her out of the cage and let her waddle around when I can, cats get in the way of that sometimes but I always make sure she has her time. She eats normally, acts normal, and other than the glass surfing has shown absolutely no signs of being sick or stressed out.
At this point, I'm just worried. She isn't showing anything to me that glares out as a problem, and I've gone through so many threads and forums trying remedies that just don't seem to work for her. My girlfriend works night shifts and can't even sleep during the day because of surfing and in general its just a huge stress for me. I want my girl to be happy and content and its really getting to me now .
Does anyone have a clue what I should do? Should I just accept defeat and bring her to the vet? It hasn't been too long since she's had her checkup and everything was absolutely fine according to him and he was really impressed with how well she was taken care of compared to the other reptiles he tends to get. Should I just buy a new tank and cut the losses on that money pit now instead of waiting? UGH this sucks for me and her.
Thanks for taking the time to read and I really hope someone can help me pin point what I'm doing wrong because I know shes acting out for a reason.
Now, the problem is that after over a year and a half of owning her, she has started CONSTANTLY glass surfing. I don't mean every once in a while - its pretty much right from when she gets up to about an hour or two before she lays down and I think she only stops at that point because she has exhausted herself. I will literally pick her up from the spot shes surfing, and she will try to wriggle herself out of my hand to get back over to where she was like she really wants something over there - but the only thing to the left is a window - and it doesn't matter if I leave it covered up with my blackout curtain or leave it wide open with the sun shining in, she just surfs on.
The only thing I have actually changed was the arrangement of my room - which I feel like would be such a crazy thing for her to react too - especially when its been almost a whole month since I've done it. It also didn't happen right away after I re-arranged, it happened a week or so after. She shows absolutely no signs of stress, like at all. I don't see her black beard, puff out, hiss, etc. Her beard is actually bright orange and tends to stay that colour.
I've tried so so so many things. I gave her a dig box thinking maybe she wanted a place to dig, or maybe she was gonna lay eggs. She dug around in it for a day - made a huge mess in her cage, and then continued to glass surf. I tried putting up cardboard inside / or outside her cage to stop reflections, she just started surfing the cardboard. I take her out of the cage and she just sits on me and chills out like everything is alright and dandy and she isn't trying to break down the glass walls of her enclosure.
My tank setup is pretty normal, here is the most recent pic of it. (A tad dirty because of the dig box incident, on top of her, always running into the glass causing smudges, but yeah). Heres a pic. You can even see her "surfing" in action.
It's a 75-gallon tank, tile as the substrate, I have the correct UVB Bulb along with her temps and humidity being correct, ambient is around 80F, Basking around 100F, humidity sitting at 26% currently. My only guess about the tank would be the size not being big enough. I even bought a heating pad (stuck to the back, not under her tank no worries) to see if possibly it was just a tad bit too cold but that didn't do anything.
Other than that, some important things to note are that I feed her greens every day with calcium and vitamin supplements (not that every day too but you get it lol), along with 10-minute feeding sessions every 2 days. I take her out of the cage and let her waddle around when I can, cats get in the way of that sometimes but I always make sure she has her time. She eats normally, acts normal, and other than the glass surfing has shown absolutely no signs of being sick or stressed out.
At this point, I'm just worried. She isn't showing anything to me that glares out as a problem, and I've gone through so many threads and forums trying remedies that just don't seem to work for her. My girlfriend works night shifts and can't even sleep during the day because of surfing and in general its just a huge stress for me. I want my girl to be happy and content and its really getting to me now .
Does anyone have a clue what I should do? Should I just accept defeat and bring her to the vet? It hasn't been too long since she's had her checkup and everything was absolutely fine according to him and he was really impressed with how well she was taken care of compared to the other reptiles he tends to get. Should I just buy a new tank and cut the losses on that money pit now instead of waiting? UGH this sucks for me and her.
Thanks for taking the time to read and I really hope someone can help me pin point what I'm doing wrong because I know shes acting out for a reason.