Glass surfing

[Burnzey71]

Recently just bought a juvenile bearded dragon. He occasionally glass surfs but he frequently does it a lot when I turn the “night” lamp on when it’s time for bed. Does anyone know why he does this as I want him to be as happy and as healthy as possible?

 

[hdochow]

Dragons should not have lights on at night. If the enclosure drops below 65° you can use a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) for temperature. They do not produce any light. Dragons like it dark and cool to sleep.

 

[Burnzey71]

I’ve seen a lot about CHE’s, gonna have to invest in one. I do know once she does go to sleep she crawls up into a little rock cave in her enclosure.

 

[KarrieRee]

Recently just bought a juvenile bearded dragon. He occasionally glass surfs but he frequently does it a lot when I turn the “night” lamp on when it’s time for bed. Does anyone know why he does this as I want him to be as happy and as healthy as possible?

Make sure your basking temps are surface temps taken w/a digital probe thermometer -- UVB is a long tube fixture NO coils and more than likely the colored bulb was the culprit for the surfing at night ---those things I mentioned are the MOST important things in that tank - if you need more help w/ anything especially the UVB please ask - it is extremely important that you have a good UVB -- many brands out there are not that good

 

[Burnzey71]

Make sure your basking temps are surface temps taken w/a digital probe thermometer -- UVB is a long tube fixture NO coils and more than likely the colored bulb was the culprit for the surfing at night ---those things I mentioned are the MOST important things in that tank - if you need more help w/ anything especially the UVB please ask - it is extremely important that you have a good UVB -- many brands out there are not that good

What are some good brands to look into

 

[KarrieRee]

What are some good brands to look into

Arcadia Pro T 5 w/ the 12% bulb
Arcadia ProT5 UVB Kit 24" -- currently this fixture is sold out on the sites I went to for the 24" that is why I am asking the tank size
how big is your tank?
Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO Hood this will come w/a 5.0 bulb keep it for a back up distance and placement is different from the bulb you need
22" Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO
or this fixture SunBlaster NanoTech T5 HO - Fluorescent Fixture with 6400K Lamp
you will need the 22' Reptisun bulb or the Arcadia 12% bulb
these bulbs will need to be changed out in approx 1 year I recommend a month prior to

 

[Burnzey71]

Arcadia Pro T 5 w/ the 12% bulb
Arcadia ProT5 UVB Kit 24" -- currently this fixture is sold out on the sites I went to for the 24" that is why I am asking the tank size
how big is your tank?
Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO Hood this will come w/a 5.0 bulb keep it for a back up distance and placement is different from the bulb you need
22" Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO
or this fixture SunBlaster NanoTech T5 HO - Fluorescent Fixture with 6400K Lamp
you will need the 22' Reptisun bulb or the Arcadia 12% bulb
these bulbs will need to be changed out in approx 1 year I recommend a month prior to

All we had was a 10G tank. I know we need a bigger one we are just waiting on that, gonna get her in a bigger one ASAP while she’s still just a little thing

 

[KarrieRee]

All we had was a 10G tank. I know we need a bigger one we are just waiting on that, gonna get her in a bigger one ASAP while she’s still just a little thing

Ok so what are you getting

 

[Burnzey71]

Ok so what are you getting

At least a 20, would love a 40-50. What would you recommend?

 

[KarrieRee]

At least a 20, would love a 40-50. What would you recommend?

Adult dragons need a 75-120 gallon - a 10 gallon is way too small- you will need to upgrade to a 75-120 by the time she's a year so you can get a big tank and partition it off till she's like 5-6 months - if she were in a 20 gallon now I would recommend a 24" Zoo Med so you can use the 5.0 bulb till you get a bigger tank but I don't want you buying double fixtures tanks etc it gets too expensive- you can look for a 20 gallon on FB marketplace or Craigslist - let me know what you decide

 

[Burnzey71]

Adult dragons need a 75-120 gallon - a 10 gallon is way too small- you will need to upgrade to a 75-120 by the time she's a year so you can get a big tank and partition it off till she's like 5-6 months - if she were in a 20 gallon now I would recommend a 24" Zoo Med so you can use the 5.0 bulb till you get a bigger tank but I don't want you buying double fixtures tanks etc it gets too expensive- you can look for a 20 gallon on FB marketplace or Craigslist - let me know what you decide

I will thank you for the information. As of now to my knowledge she’s pretty happy and healthy. Eats lots of crickets and his starting to eat greens. I want her to stay happy and healthy which is why I joined here and ask a lot of questions

 

[KarrieRee]

I will thank you for the information. As of now to my knowledge she’s pretty happy and healthy. Eats lots of crickets and his starting to eat greens. I want her to stay happy and healthy which is why I joined here and ask a lot of questions

Please keep asking- but you need to upgrade the uvb - coils are no good and she's not getting proper uvb this will effect her health

 

[Burnzey71]

Will do. Also a little off topic… my beardie has been closing 1 eye at a time. Is this something I should worry about?

 

[KarrieRee]

Will do. Also a little off topic… my beardie has been closing 1 eye at a time. Is this something I should worry about?

It is common for them to close one eye at a time when basking is this when she's doing this? But coils are notorious for causing eye issues along w/ some basking bulbs like off white or yellowish bulbs colored bulbs- bulbs that have the neoydium coating on them - you want CLEAR bright white basking bulbs- make sure you have a digital probe thermometer- to get surface basking temps

 

[Burnzey71]

It is common for them to close one eye at a time when basking is this when she's doing this? But coils are notorious for causing eye issues along w/ some basking bulbs like off white or yellowish bulbs colored bulbs- bulbs that have the neoydium coating on them - you want CLEAR bright white basking bulbs- make sure you have a digital probe thermometer- to get surface basking temps

Yes I’ve only seen her do it while basking. So all the pet store gave me was a heat bulb and a night bulb. I’m at the pet store now, do I need a heat bulb, basking bulb, and a UVB bulb and if so what brands are best?