behaviour, pacing the glass and scratching

[JenniferS]

My bearded dragon is about 5 months old, I've had him since he was about a month old or less. The tank is i think a 40 gallon? And i have reptisun 10.0 uvb light and a zoo med heat lamp. And a zoo med eco carpet. He has a food and water dish and a rock that he can climb under, aswell as a log he basks on and he loves to climb on the wall as it is like a rock wall made from styrofoam. Just recently he's been pacing and scratching at the glass, taping it with his nose. I wouldn't exactly call it "glass surfing " but it's something like it. He has lots of food. Fresh water and i put crickets in his tank, he eats untill he's full and then continues to pace. So I tried giving him more food to see if he was still hungry but he didnt touch the crickets or worms. The temperature stays around 90-100F in the hot end and 70-85 in the cool end. Ive had alot of trouble taming him. When you try to pick him up he puffs up and flicks his tail. Today i tried to take him out and put him in a bigger space for him to run around. I put him in a play pen i have, but he tries to climb the walls and he jumps up trying to escape. Im completely unsure of what to do, he got to run around for abit in the play pen, and when i got him back in his tank (with some fighting) he basked for abit and then continued to pace and scratch. ): his tank is in my room so its hard for me to be in the room and not be frustrated with the constant noise. I just want him to be happy and healthy.

 

[CooperDragon]

It sounds like he is trying to get out of the tank from restlessness and wants to explore. Your heat gradient is good, are you using surface temperatures or ambient air temps? How far is the UVB light above the basking area?

If he is otherwise healthy, then it could be hormonal or he is just going through a restless phase which happens. Sometimes shedding gets them restless like that. If that's the case the best thing to do is to set him out and let him explore in a well supervised area. He may see the play pen as too enclosed just like his tank so he may need space the size of a room to be satisfied.

As far as taming goes, try offering him a treat by hand. A nice silk worm or horn worm or something like that to show you aren't threatening. He may not feel defensive as much as he is frustrated if you're constraining him and holding him back from exploring. That's kind of how my dragon is sometimes. They all have different personalities.

 

[Dubah]

Mine does this, but only when she sheds. So I simply let her out. She is just restless, give her some space and let her run around a bit, obviously supervised, and let her burn some of that energy it has.

She kills me when she does the pace, climbs everything and jumps down and just doesn't stop, it's pretty entertaining to watch, but i simply just let her out and let her have a nice big open space to roam around, or if you really want just take her outside.