Glass Surfing 9-month-old female

LMeaux

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Mirri
ETA: I may have figured it out. I blocked her reflection and she hasn't done it since. Will update if that changes.
ETA2: It hasn't stopped her. It did for a while, but she is still doing it.
Hello:
My 9-month old female beardie is glass surfing...a lot. She is in the top enclosure of a 3 stack. She has a T8 Reptisun 10.0 (18 inches) about 7 inches from her basking spot. Radiant heat emitter and halogen bulb for basking. Basking spot temp. is 95-100. Cool side is around 78. I have a digital thermometer/hygrometer inside and I have used a temp gun to check temperatures too. Humidity is around 35-38%.

She eats like a champ! Mustard, turnip or collard greens midday along with other veggies like yellow squash, butternut squash. She gets about 20-25 large BSFL in the morning and about 10-15 Large (1") dubia in the afternoon. She doesn't always catch all the dubia at one time, so she may be hunting them later when they re-emerge or I find them for her and let her at them.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why she is glass surfing so much. She only does it on the cool side of the tank. I have checked everything that I have been able to in order to make sure her enclosure isn't the issue. From my research, everything seems fine. But she glass surfs SOOOO much. The only thing I have left is that she just wants out and wants my attention. If I take her out and keep her with me for a while, she will calm down when I put her back but it doesn't last. What am I missing?

Just now, she glass surfed for about 10 minutes then ran back to her basking spot and basked for like a minute, and now is back at it.
 
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xp29

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Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Could be hormones, could be boredom, she could just want attention. A couple of mine will beg to get out when they see us. I had one once that hated to potty in her habitat and would do it to try to get out and go potty.
 

LMeaux

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Mirri
Could be hormones, could be boredom, she could just want attention. A couple of mine will beg to get out when they see us. I had one once that hated to potty in her habitat and would do it to try to get out and go potty.
This can't be good for her. If it is just attention-seeking, how to I remedy the situation?
 

xp29

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Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
If possible maybe give her more time out of her habitat, that or add items in for enrichment. Give her a dig box, something to climb, maybe one of the puzzle balls you can put insects in. Most beardies hate change, but some like it. I have had a couple that seemed to like exploring their habitats when i would rearrange them.
 

LMeaux

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Mirri
I gave her a dig box. She has things to climb on. I take her out. As soon as she goes back in within 10 minutes she at it again. I am concerned for her well-being. I have never had a beardie do this before.
 

xp29

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Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Could there be something in her line of sight that is agitating her? Another pet, ceiling fan, outside window ect.
 

LMeaux

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Mirri
Could there be something in her line of sight that is agitating her? Another pet, ceiling fan, outside window ect.
No. She is in my classroom but none of my students sit near her. It seems like she purposely comes to the place in the tank where she can see me when she does it.

Is there such a thing as a beardie perch? Like what they do for parrots?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
ETA: I may have figured it out. I blocked her reflection and she hasn't done it since. Will update if that changes.
ETA2: It hasn't stopped her. It did for a while, but she is still doing it.
Hello:
My 9-month old female beardie is glass surfing...a lot. She is in the top enclosure of a 3 stack. She has a T8 Reptisun 10.0 (18 inches) about 7 inches from her basking spot. Radiant heat emitter and halogen bulb for basking. Basking spot temp. is 95-100. Cool side is around 78. I have a digital thermometer/hygrometer inside and I have used a temp gun to check temperatures too. Humidity is around 35-38%.

She eats like a champ! Mustard, turnip or collard greens midday along with other veggies like yellow squash, butternut squash. She gets about 20-25 large BSFL in the morning and about 10-15 Large (1") dubia in the afternoon. She doesn't always catch all the dubia at one time, so she may be hunting them later when they re-emerge or I find them for her and let her at them.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why she is glass surfing so much. She only does it on the cool side of the tank. I have checked everything that I have been able to in order to make sure her enclosure isn't the issue. From my research, everything seems fine. But she glass surfs SOOOO much. The only thing I have left is that she just wants out and wants my attention. If I take her out and keep her with me for a while, she will calm down when I put her back but it doesn't last. What am I missing?

Just now, she glass surfed for about 10 minutes then ran back to her basking spot and basked for like a minute, and now is back at it.
Is the T 8 unobstructed? How big is the tank?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
It is a 48x18x18 and the T8 is unobstructed. It is a 3 stack wooden enclosure so the UVB is mounted on the inside, no plastic or glass covering it
So it's a 70 gallon tank-- I would upgrade the T 8 to a 24" that would be a T 5 and consider upgrading to a 120 gallon- that is a optimal size-- as far as her glass surfing constantly I am not sure why all the glass surfing if everything is on par w/ the T 8 and surface basking temps along w/ temps in the tank-- how old is the T 8 bulb?
 

Rocky2022

Sub-Adult Member
Beardie name(s)
Rocky, Ruby
I tried some of the bird ladders (check the type of wood)- Rocky pays them no mind but you never know. There are enough hides of all sides and shapes that have that heights that beardies can climb. Perhaps hides aren't the right name. Beardies like hammocks as well. When Rocky was a baby, I used the cloth one (wash it regularly) but I have transitioned to the one that is made of that material that looks like hay. If you get the large one, you can drape it around the enclosure and it allows for activity.
It's tricky because they are nosey creatures but you want to make sure they feel safe/have a place to hide. Also be mindful of noises. Is there a lot of screaming? I only ask because of the kids.
Perhaps the beardie wants part of the fun.
 

LMeaux

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Mirri
I tried some of the bird ladders (check the type of wood)- Rocky pays them no mind but you never know. There are enough hides of all sides and shapes that have that heights that beardies can climb. Perhaps hides aren't the right name. Beardies like hammocks as well. When Rocky was a baby, I used the cloth one (wash it regularly) but I have transitioned to the one that is made of that material that looks like hay. If you get the large one, you can drape it around the enclosure and it allows for activity.
It's tricky because they are nosey creatures but you want to make sure they feel safe/have a place to hide. Also be mindful of noises. Is there a lot of screaming? I only ask becaNuse of the kids.
Perhaps the beardie wants part of the fun.
Ha Ha. no screaming. I teach high school. Maybe she needs more things to do. She doesn't seem to like the dig box. I never see her use it. I am at my wit's end with her. Even when I take her out she acts like a weirdo. Maybe its just a teenage dragon thing.
 

xp29

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Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Being in class is probably the issue, students shuffling in and out every hour or so, lots of people around at once. Personally i don't think reptiles living in class is a good idea, they should be more show and tell. To many chances for accidents and to much commotion. (I'm not saying you do this but) we see a lot of neglected animals here that are rescues from schools.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
My first dragon came from the high school -- it was a summer dragon sitting job for my high school daughter -- we ended up keeping her / him not even sure what gender it was - they said female but the 3 years we had the dragon it never layed eggs or anything so I am gonna say it was a male- didnt know a thing about the dragon and had never even see one---- only that it came in a 20 gallon tank was on sand and it had a red light for night time- I did some research and got rid of the red light - upgraded the tank to a 50 gallon w/ front doors and got a sand mat from Petco -- I found this forum AFTER the dragon passed -- I was devastated could not figure out why the dragon died --- I wanted another dragon but waited for a few months before getting another one - I am chalking the incorrect UVB placement and distance and incorrect basking temps -- I was using a stick on for temps -- I have learned a lot going forward and decided I was going to help as many people as I could w/ what I learned -- still learning by the way --
 

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