HELP! Beardie won't stop clawing at glass

[funmom]

We moved our beardie to a new enclosure and kept the same toys and such but the flooring, walls, and enclosure is totally different. I'm not sure if he's just stressed but its like he's trying to get out. He's clawing, standing upward on it and constantly hitting toward it. I tired putting white paper up in case it was his reflection and that didnt help. I don't know what to try and I can't put him back in his old enclosure.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

He'll eventually get used to the new enclosure, when i first put my two adults in their 40 gallons they freaked out a bit but calmed down within a few hours. Sometimes it takes a few days or months but eventually they calm down.

 

[EllenD]

Did you check all 3 temperature zones with either a Digital Probe Thermometer or a Temperature Gun after you set up his basking bulb and his UVB tube in the new enclosure, to make sure that all 3 zones are within the correct ranges?

And even if it's the exact same size of tank/enclosure, if you went from a glass tank to a wooden enclosure that's the same size, generally you'll need to actually go down in wattage of bright white basking bulb, even if you went from a smaller glass tank to a larger wooden enclosure, the temperatures (you would think a larger enclosure would need a higher wattage of basking bulb to keep the temperatures within the correct ranges) tend to be held so much better in a wooden enclosure than in a glass tank with a mesh lid, that a lot of people are shocked at how high the temperatures are in the larger, wooden enclosure. So please, make sure to check his Basking Spot Surface Temperature (between 105-110 for a baby/juvenile and between 100-105 for an adult of a year or older), his Hot Side Ambient (air) Temperature (between 88-93 maximum), and his Cool Side Ambient (air) Temperature (between 75-80 maximum), with either a Digital Probe Thermometer or a Temperature Gun, and do not rely upon a stick-on thermometer, as they are very inaccurate and you cannot measure his Basking Spot Temperature with one at all, stick-on thermometers only check Ambient (air) temperatures.

****** I've seen this happen before when people move from a glass tank to a larger, wooden enclosure, and they set up the lighting exactly the same as they had it on the smaller glass tank, thinking that the temperatures would actually go down, but in fact because the wood enclosure is so much more insulating than the glass was, and because there's no mesh lid for the rising heat to escape through, the larger wooden tank end up being way hotter than the glass tank every was, sometimes well over the 110 degree maximum temperature that the high temp in a bearded dragon's tank should be...that could very well be why he's glass surfing and wants to get out!

 

[funmom]

Did you check all 3 temperature zones with either a Digital Probe Thermometer or a Temperature Gun after you set up his basking bulb and his UVB tube in the new enclosure, to make sure that all 3 zones are within the correct ranges?

And even if it's the exact same size of tank/enclosure, if you went from a glass tank to a wooden enclosure that's the same size, generally you'll need to actually go down in wattage of bright white basking bulb, even if you went from a smaller glass tank to a larger wooden enclosure, the temperatures (you would think a larger enclosure would need a higher wattage of basking bulb to keep the temperatures within the correct ranges) tend to be held so much better in a wooden enclosure than in a glass tank with a mesh lid, that a lot of people are shocked at how high the temperatures are in the larger, wooden enclosure. So please, make sure to check his Basking Spot Surface Temperature (between 105-110 for a baby/juvenile and between 100-105 for an adult of a year or older), his Hot Side Ambient (air) Temperature (between 88-93 maximum), and his Cool Side Ambient (air) Temperature (between 75-80 maximum), with either a Digital Probe Thermometer or a Temperature Gun, and do not rely upon a stick-on thermometer, as they are very inaccurate and you cannot measure his Basking Spot Temperature with one at all, stick-on thermometers only check Ambient (air) temperatures.

****** I've seen this happen before when people move from a glass tank to a larger, wooden enclosure, and they set up the lighting exactly the same as they had it on the smaller glass tank, thinking that the temperatures would actually go down, but in fact because the wood enclosure is so much more insulating than the glass was, and because there's no mesh lid for the rising heat to escape through, the larger wooden tank end up being way hotter than the glass tank every was, sometimes well over the 110 degree maximum temperature that the high temp in a bearded dragon's tank should be...that could very well be why he's glass surfing and wants to get out!

Ok weird but I think we may have figured out the problem and I wanted to see what you thought. My husband turned out his UVB bulb that I just bought, a reptisun 10.0 , and he has completely calmed down and has been laying on his basking rock ever since. My husband built him a taller basking spot than I originally thought so the bulb may be to strong. The distance is about 14.5". I have it where his basking spot is basically. Is the bulb to strong?

 

[CooperDragon]

14.5'' is a bit far. Optimal range for a T5 bulb is about 12-14'' while optimal range for a T8 is about 6-8''. Within those ranges the output shouldn't be too strong.

 

[EllenD]

Again, did you check the 3 Temperature zones? I know you thought that what I said was "weird", but just last month Reptilelady went from a smaller glass Exo Terra to a much larger wooden enclosure and her temperatures in the larger wooden enclosure were at 125 degrees on the basking spot!!!

So no, it's not the "distance" of the Reptisun 10.0 tube UVB at all, as Cooper already mentioned, to be effective to your dragon, a T8 UVB tube needs to be within 6" (so if you have a T8 you're way too far away) and the T5HO needs to be within 11". So it may be the heat and/or the brightness or reflection inside the wood enclosure too...If it has white, reflective walls inside that will do it too. Please use a Digital Probe or a Gun to check all 3 Temperature zones, especially if you're using the same wattage Basking Bulb as you were prior!

 

[funmom]

Again, did you check the 3 Temperature zones? I know you thought that what I said was "weird", but just last month Reptilelady went from a smaller glass Exo Terra to a much larger wooden enclosure and her temperatures in the larger wooden enclosure were at 125 degrees on the basking spot!!!

So no, it's not the "distance" of the Reptisun 10.0 tube UVB at all, as Cooper already mentioned, to be effective to your dragon, a T8 UVB tube needs to be within 6" (so if you have a T8 you're way too far away) and the T5HO needs to be within 11". So it may be the heat and/or the brightness or reflection inside the wood enclosure too...If it has white, reflective walls inside that will do it too. Please use a Digital Probe or a Gun to check all 3 Temperature zones, especially if you're using the same wattage Basking Bulb as you were prior!

I'm sorry I was saying I thought it was weird how he acted when we turned the light off, not what you said. I have not checked the 3 areas but am going to buy a temp gun this weekend. We had to go out of town so I will check them on Sunday and email back. I do think it might be more reflective issues cause when we turned it back on he started running at glass again,but I still need a temp gun.