behavior question

[jmayer13]

so my dragon Charles finished a long long shed that took about a month to get all the way thru. the last week since he finished shedding he's been literally tearing his cage apart he's been so active. also he won't sleep in his cage lately. he makes tons of noise in there until I get him out and then he sleeps in bed with me and mom. he goes right to sleep too when I get him out he just has to be near my girlfriend and i.neither of us minds this but I'm afraid I'm going to crush him though when I roll around but otherwise it's cool. as for the hyperactivity he literally runs around and around and when he comes to a wall or a blockage he blackbeards like he's upset the walls don't move for him or something. He's also only eating superworms. he will not eat anything else. not even collared greens or blueberries which are his favorites. It's quite strange. it seems like he has no appetite at all until he sees a superworm and then he goes ballistic for it. I don't think he's sick due to his activity levels but I'm a little concerned in that he's almost 4 years old now and these are the first times either of us has noticed these behaviors to this extent.
have anyone of you other beardie folks experienced these behaviors at all? should I be worried? is he blowing off some pent up energy from chilling while shedding? is it mating behavior?
ANY comments would be much appreciated

 

[MsCarter]

As far as the energy this certainly could be related to male hormones. Have you noticed any head bobbing?

It is common for them to become addicted to super worms. At 4 years old he can get away with eating mostly supers as his staple insect but if he is refusing his veggies that could be an issue. You may need to cut supers out in order to get him back on track. I just went through the same thing with my girl, it took her about 3 days to get back on track. Be prepared for a hunger strike, You just gotta stay strong and refuse to give in and he will eventually cave once he's hungry enough.

 

[jmayer13]

he hasn't really been head bobbing much if at all. as for the dietary issues I will try forcing his hand more or less and only offer him fruits and veggies. no more worms until he gets his vitamins. I've tried before to be the bad guy and I always cave but I'll stay the course this time. thanks for the advice.

 

[MsCarter]

I have not had the pleasure of owning a male yet, but based on the friends I have with males generally they tend to be a little more active. The hyper random energy and black bearding sounds like typical male hormones. It certainly will not hurt at all to just let him roam and play as much as he wants to burn a little energy off.

You can still offer things like Dubias, crickets, silks, and BSFL all are healthier alternatives to supers and less addictive. I know how hard it is to be the bad guy it's no fun. They are such spoiled little guys/gals that really know how to work us humans ? But he will eventually come around and eat the things he is suppose to again.