Escaping

[Jrb72114]

My bearded dragon is like 5 months old and when i 1st got him he tried to escape tue cage (glass surfing) then he got used to it and stoped i recently bought him a hammock and stuff for his cage and he enjoyed it the 1st 2 days i got it but its the third day and i cleaned his cage buy now hes trying to escape (glass surfing, trying to get out through the screen). Im going to buy him a bigger tank soon were at a 10 gallon im going to upgrade to a 30 gallon but should i just let him get used to his cage like he did when i first got him?

 

[seandeangelis]

10 gallons is very small for 5 months old, so that's probably why. Actually, 30 gallons is probably too small too. Unless you want to upgrade again in a few months you should go ahead and get a minimum 40+ gallon (the bigger the better) tank. You can also take him out and let him explore, whenever my Beardie glass surfs it means he wants to run around on the floor for a few minutes. Also yes, he will probably need time to adjust to a bigger tank, although I'm sure he'll appreciate the space!

 

[Gormagon]

Yup, he's most likely very unhappy in a 10gl tank! They like room to roam and, there sure ain't any room for him to do anything. I am guessing he is between 9" and, 10" long, that means he can barely turn around without stepping on his tail to do it, lol!!!
40gl is the bare minimum for an adult dragon so, investing in one now would be wise....OR...if you're handy you could build a nice one for him with all the space he needs "which a lot of folks on here do. A 2'x2'x4' is optimum, the wood insulates better than glass and makes it easier to heat.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Well, how would you feel if you had to spend your entire life in a tiny room that you can't even turn around in ? I'm not surprised he wants out of his tiny prison.... who ever sold you a 10Gal as rearing tank didn't know squat, he would have been better off in a 40Gal rearing tank for his first year.

10Gal is tiny even for a 5 month old juvenile beardie. You do realise your beardie will be growing for about another 18 months and will likely end up about 20-24 inches long and up to 700g.

Time to upgrade him to a much larger tank, perhaps if you don't want to have to upgrade him again in 12 months time you should consider building or buying a full size tank for his forever home.

Standard tank size here (Australia) for a SINGLE ADULT CENTRAL BEARDED DRAGON is
4ft LONG x 2ft WIDE x 2ft TALL = 453 LITRES VOLUME = 120 GALLONS, there are also a lot of tanks with the same footprint but not as tall (especially where there multiple beardies needing housing, and there is very limited floor space ,so their tanks are stacked one ontop the other) and these are often 1ft 6" tall with a tank the volume = 340 LITRES = 90 gallons EACH.

See https://beardies.dreamwidth.org/2145.html for DIYS instructions.
Many pet shops (at least here in Australia) can supply MDF flat packed tanks that only need assembly, these can be a good option for those with limited handyman skills and no access to much in the way of tools.

If you chose to use a glass walled aquarium style 4ftx2ftx2ft tank with a screen lid , keep in mind that mounting the UV lighting ontop of these screens will result in about 25% of UVA and UVB being blocked.

Also keep in mind that warmed air created by the basking globe and other heat sources inside the tank will rise and will and will immediately be lost to the environment (room’s ceiling) and so you will need a much higher wattage basking globe and higher wattage heat sources to achieve the desired basking spot temperature and warm zone temperature , blocking off most of the mesh top by placing a precut piece of timber overtop of most of the mesh top will
- help deter other house hold pets from getting into the tank
- help insulate the tank and keep most the heat created by the basking globe and heat sources inside the tank è less wattage will be required to achieve any given basking temperature and warm zone temperature
- help encourage a stable thermal air circulation inside the tank and stable thermal gradient
- will provide a solid stucture from which to hang the basking globe and heat globe (CHE) and UV source and their fittings.

Do not use glass, plexiglass or wood to cover your glass tank (COMPLETELY) color=#FF0000]if there is no provision in the walls of the tank or in the solid lid for ventilation[/color].