Help! Very Aggressive Beardie!

[hollowed454]

I think I'm posting this in the right section. Ok I've had my beardie for about a year now. Got him when he was still real little. I'm about at my wits end with him now. He's gotten very aggressive. I've read online that they do go through a period where they get pretty irritable but he's just insane. He's been doing this for about 9 months now. He started off just puffing up then he went to hissing then to biting. I've continued to handle him through all of this despite his hatred for it. I'm still handling him but he's gotten so much worse. He's gotten to where now if someone comes near his tank he starts trying to bite through the glass. He literally attacks it. If you open the lid of his tank he's jumping up and down wildly trying to attack. As soon as you stick your hand in he's all over it. Just grabs on and just shakes his whole body like he's trying to rip the flesh off your hand. Anybody have any suggestions? I mean this little guy is just nuts and I don't know what to do anymore with him. I would think 9 months is going abit too long especially when he's just getting worse even though I handle him everyday.

 

[diamc]

First off, welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear that your beardie is acting so aggressive. That must be awful.

Since certain husbandry issues can affect their behavior, could you fill us in on the type of UVB you're using, is it a fluorescent strip, compact, coil or mercury vapor bulb? Also, what type of thermometer are you using to check the temps and what are the temps? How has his appetite been & what does he eat in a normal day? Is he well hydrated? Is he housed alone, if so, is he in view of any other critters, mainly reptiles? Any other info you can share might be helpful. Sorry for all the questions, just trying to rule some things out first.

 

[hollowed454]

thanks for the welcome and the reply

for a little more info on him I have him in a 20 gallon tank (which for his size seems to be plenty of room) Not sure exactly what kind of bulb it is the pet shop gave me a reptile light bulb that I screw into a drop light. His thermometer is just a regular stick on the side one that stay between 90-95 degrees. He actually has a mixture of things he eats. twice a week I feed him crickets and the rest I feed him either broccoli or here and there throw in a small piece of cucumber. That's his week to week meal. He's very well hydrated or he should be. I keep his bowl filled and 2-3 times a day will mist him down really well. He seems to really like that he will drink it down as I mist him. He is housed alone but he's not in view of any other animals. I actually keep him in the bedroom and all my other animals are mammals (rats,guinea pig,dog). One thing I was curious about was his behavior started kicking in when me and my wife moved. for the first couple of weeks he didn't eat much or wouldn't move then all of a sudden he just started acting really aggressive.

 

[diamc]

Hi again and thanks for answering the questions. It is very possible that the move had something to do with his behavior changing because his temps may be different from what he had before. If the room temp you have now is hotter or colder than it was before the move, it could be part of the reason he is not acting happy. Actually, any type of stick-on thermometer can be off by as much as 20 degrees and they only measure the glass temp, not the actual basking area and that's the temp you need to know, so the basking area might be much higher. There are actually only 2 ways to get an accurate reading and that is with either a temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a probe on the end like this:

The one like this can be found at Walmart and only costs about $12.00. What you do is lay the probe end so that it is resting on the basking area and place the thermometer part on the cool side, wait about 45 min for the temp to stop rising, the "out" reading is for the basking site and the "in" reading for the cool side. With a 20 gallon tank, it's very hard to get the temp so that the basking side is about 100 to 108 and the cool side 75 to 85, with 80 being ideal. Since he is over 1 yr old, he is probably 15 to 20" long so a 20 gallon is actually too small for him, so if you look on Craigslist, you might be able to find a 40 gallon breeder tank or larger for a very reasonable price. The combination of having the temps off & the small tank could very well be causing him to overheat which can lead to dehydration very quickly. I've heard of quite a few beardies getting aggressive when the temps are too high and when the temps were under control, the beardie acted totally different. The reptile lightbulb you have now is probably either a 60, 75 or 100 watt so if you find the temps to be too high, you can even use a standard household lightbulb in place of it which will also save some money. Make sure the basking bulb is a bright white bulb because any colored bulb can irritate their eyes which also causes them to be miserable.

Do you have any type of UVB light? It would either be a long strip light, a coil, or compact bulb. The UVB's are a necessity to prevent metabolic bone disease. You can read about it here: http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptilesgeneral/a/metabolicbd.htm
The best strip fluorescent UVB you can get is Repti-Sun 10.0 and you can get it here for a very reasonable price, this company is great to deal with: http://www.petmountain.com/product/bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-high-output-uvb-bulb.html
Any coil or compact UVB are very dangerous and some other strip fluorescents are just about useless.
For the hood for the Repti-Sun, you can go to Walmart, Home Depot or Lowe's and buy a standard fluorescent light like you would use over a kitchen sink, in the basement or shop, remove the bulb that comes in it & replace with the UVB, making sure to remove the plastic covering over the bulb because otherwise it won't be able to penetrate through the plastic.

Since you have an adult, we recommend 35 feeders a wk if using a large feeder like superworms but if using just crickets, we recommend about 50 a wk. It is totally different for baby beardies. Here's a site that shows the best greens to feed: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html Broccoli or cucumber once in a while is ok but there are quite a few more nutritional greens that they really like.

That's good that he likes being misted and that he drinks when you mist him. Does he have a water bowl in his tank or do you mist his greens? That always helps too. I actually give our beardies baths every 3 to 4 days and they love it. I have been doing that since they were about 3 wks old.

What type of substrate do you have on the bottom of his tank? Wanted to make sure that it isn't calci-sand because if ingested, it hardens like cement in their bellies. Does your beardie poo regularly and does he ever have a hard time passing it?

I know this is a lot of info and I've asked a lot of questions, just trying to cover all bases to see if we can get him to calm down for you. Hope I haven't overwhelmed you.

 

[hollowed454]

think that being tempermental about the move could possibly keep him mad for almost 9 months? it is a little cooler in the room he is in now which I've tried to up that some by allowing the temperature be a little higher than it was at our previous house. I'm defintly going to get one of those thermometers this weekend when i get paid. Is there any kind of easy way to get the temperature balanced out with one side being cooler?

Actually surprisingly he is actually pretty small for his age. He's roughly about 7" long. And that's probably giving him a little room. I think what I'm going to try first is to remove the 100W reptile light and try and see what happens when adding a regular bulb with moderate wattage to it and see if his temper calms down some.

No I don't have a UVB light. I just got everything that the pet store had told me I needed. After reading that article a UVB light is something else I'm going to get without a doubt. I remember seeing some of those bulbs at my local pet store a few times but never thought to pick one up. wow this is a lot of information. very well put together I might add! So much stuff that I had no clue about all this time. thanks a lot for it!

Yes I do have a water bowl in his tank that he seems to really enjoy sitting in. He has 3 spots that he really likes to sit at. On his water bowl mainly,rock and thsi bamboo tree I have in there that he likes to climb.

For the lining in there I just have this carpet like thing the pet store recommended simply because of the factor that he could swallow sand and such. He poos regularly and from the amount he racks up in there in no time I'm going to say he has no problem in that area. I clean his cage about once a week simply because I caught him once eating his poop and just found that disgusting and thought that it might be harmful to him.

So about 50 crickets a week? Or is that if he was at the size he should be at? Right now at his size I've been feeding him about 36 crickets a week. Thanks again for all the information! it's being extremely useful!

 

[diamc]

Hi, I'm glad to hear that you found the info helpful. I didn't want to throw it all at you at once, but wanted to make you aware of certain things without coming on too strong. I think he is uncomfortable and that is why he is acting aggressively, rather than holding a grudge from being moved. :mrgreen: Once you get the accurate thermometer, I can help you more with the temps & in getting the cool side at the right temp but it can be a little tricky in only a 20 gallon tank. Since you're using a 100 watt bulb now though, I would try using a standard 60 watt bulb instead. That's what I used in a 20 gallon when I had one set up and that will help to lower the temp on the cool side so he is able to thermoregulate properly. I also wanted to mention that if you're using any type of nighttime bulbs, even colored ones, that can disturb their sleep which makes them cranky.

Wow, he is a small guy at only 7" and that could very well be from not using a UVB light. Unfortunately, the petstores have given all of us wrong info over the yrs and we are all here to help others with the necessities that petstores don't fill us in on or don't realize. If you decide to get a UVB light from a petstore rather than ordering one online, make sure you don't get a coil or compact bulb because some beardies have died from those. If you want, you can read about all the problems they can cause here: [ Invalid URL Removed / p= t=65424 f=1 ]
Another bulb to stay away from is the Repti-Glo 10.0 fluorescent as there have been some problems with that one too.

I'm glad to hear that he has favorite laying areas and a variety too. 8) Since your beardie is so small yet, you could even offer as many as 75 crickets a wk to see if you can help him catch up somewhat. Some babies that are that size can actually eat 30 to 100 crickets a day, yes a day. :shock: I'll bet once you get the temps just right and get a good UVB, you'll notice a big change in his personality & appetite. Let me know if you have any more questions or concerns. Also please let me know if you see any difference with dropping the wattage down, you might want to think about doing that tomorrow.

 

[hollowed454]

I dropped the wattage down last night and the temperature has dropped dramatically. It's gone from being the usual 90-95 down to 80 degrees. Of course like you said the stick on the side thermometers may be off. His attitude didn't change any though as of yet. I'm going to see how he's doing when I get off work and let him adjust to it some. When we first moved here I actually did have a 60 watt bulb in there but I found that it was making him very lethargic and not eating much. There was actually a point there that I didn't think he was going to make it. I found though that as I increased the wattage the more active he got. Unfortunatly though I can't get the right kind of thermometer till this weekend. I could but me and my wife and the animals aren't going to be eating the rest of the week. Only have to go till Friday so I think it should be ok. I'm going to focus on doing what I can for him and increase the amount of crickets I feed him and try to get him up to speed.

As far as the UVB light I have seen the Repti-Sun at a near by pet store. If that's the one that's recommended then by all means I will be getting it. If for whatever reason I'm mistaken then I will defintly be ordering it online from the link you provided.

I should have come to this forum long ago about this problem with him. I talked to a few people I know about the problem I'm having with him some time ago and read online and got similiar answers of just "teenage angst" but I thought that this was just too long for it to be going on like this.

 

[diamc]

That's good that you dropped the wattage. If he feels cold to the touch or starts acting lethargic, won't eat at all or lays in the basking area continuously while looking darker in color all over, then it would be a good idea to try changing to a 75 watt household bulb. That's good that you will get the digital with probe this weekend. How was he acting when you got home?

Has he had any problems walking or does his mouth look separated or jaw crooked? The reason I'm asking is because I was wondering if he is showing any signs of MBD from not having a UVB. Lethargy can also be a symptom from not having one. Have you been using calcium and vitamins to dust his food? If so, how often? Yes, the Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent is the best one and we highly recommend that. I hope you can find one at the petstore but the price will just about be doubled there unfortunately. If you can't find the Repti-Sun 10.0, you could get either the Repti-Sun 5.0 or Repti-Glo 8.0 as either of those will help some. Then you could order the Repti-Sun 10.0 online. It takes about a wk to get it. If you haven't been using calcium, I suggest you get the Rep-Cal brand with D3 but that is phosphorus-free. Here's a picture of what you're looking for: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754048&utm_medium=googleproduct&mr:referralID=NA&mr:trackingCode=56F6022B-7768-DD11-98CA-001422107090&utm_source=cse
It's very inexpensive and the UVB light & calcium work together to help him process the calcium & D3 in his body to help the bones grow strong.

Some of the behavior he was showing when he was about 6 to 9 mo old certainly could have been from "beardie puberty" but you're exactly right, it would not have lasted this long so you were right in coming here to get the opinions of other beardie owners. 8)

 

[hollowed454]

Well I dropped the wattage a lot and he did start getting really lethargic and cold to the touch so I hooked up a second low wattage bulb in there and he's evened out. It's warm in his tank but not hot or anything. SO I think it's pretty much where it needs to be. I'll know for sure tomorrow when i go and buy the thermometer you were recommending. I actually have noticed abit of a change in his behavior. While he's still being abit aggressive he's not as bad. He's puffing up real big and opening his mouth like he's threatning when I put my hand in there and such but he's not running up and biting me anymore and actually closes his eyes and mouth when I rub the top of his head. So that is abit of excitement that he's showing some sign of improving.

To answer your question no he doesn't have a crooked jaw or any problems walking or anything like that. Just from looking at his physical being he seems to be in really good health. yes I do use rep cal that was something the pet store did recommend. I usually dust broccoli in it about 2-3 times a week. Should I do it more often? I was just reading the description on it to actually dist his crickets in it as well so I think I will start doing that also. I'll be checking for the Repti-Sun tomorrow as well. If I can't find the 10.0 there at a reasonable price then I will be ordering it online. the 10.0 is the only one I really want to accept at this point. Right now I just want to do whatever I need to do to make sure my dragon is healthy and calm.

 

[tklemerand]

If he bites you again, BITE him back!

 

[Spam Bot]

It's nice to see you are willing to do what you have to do for your dragon! I, too, fell into the "listen to the petstore people, they must know what they are talking about" category. I had had a cornsnake before, and assumed I knew it all. It really makes you appreciate a site like this! I really don't know that much, but I really bet that once you get the uvb light and temp situation under control, your dragon will do much better. If you can't get him a uvb light right away, maybe you could put him in natural sunlight when it's warm inside a container like the gray ones they sell at walmart.

 

[hollowed454]

I got lucky. I got the repti-sun 10.0 for $25 which I figure turned out to be about right when it would have cost me shipping as well to actually get it. I went to 3 pet stores before I found a really small one that had it for that price. I was Looking at petco and they wanted $43 on sale for it and I thought that was outrageous when I seen how much it was on here. So I got the light,got a digital thermometer and fixing to start measuring the temperature

 

[diamc]

Wow, that's great that you found the Repti-Sun 10.0 for such a reasonable price. Just to make sure, you did get the strip fluorescent bulb, right? And it's not the Repti-Glo 10.0, right? It's easy to confuse those two bulbs. I paid $26.90 for the Repti-Sun 10.0 with shipping included from petmountain, so sounds like you got a good deal.

So, you found a digital with probe today too? Did you find the one with the 2 readings? Make sure to actually put the probe so that it is resting on the basking area, then wait about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before you decide what the final reading is.

How has your beardie been acting today? Is he showing a little less aggression? Did you get a chance to check out this list of greens/veggies? http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html I'll bet he would like mustard greens, collard, endive, escarole, dandelion. Those are all favorites here. You could even put a little water melon, musk melon or apple pieces in it. That might interest him.

 

[hollowed454]

defintly the repti-sun I can't even remember seeing the repti-glo there. I remember they had some other brand but it was like r-zilla or something like that.

I found the digital thermometer with both the farenheit and celsius readings on them. I'm guessing the "in" is the temperature inside the tank and the "out" is outside of the tank??

Actually today he started regressing just a bit and he did jump up at me once. Just once though so I'm not too terribly upset about him doing that. I was reading a book about dragons and the pet store and reading about how docile they are and told my wife "hmm they don't know Nomad at the moment" lol

 

[diamc]

Ok, I'm glad it was the Repti-Sun 10.0 then and it is the long fluorescent, rather than a coil or compact bulb, right? So, does your digital have 2 readings then, "in" and "out"? Let me know & I can give you the detailed directions on that. But if it only has 1 reading, then it would be done a little differently.

He could be a little uneasy or stressed with the changes you've made and are making. Even changing a food dish can cause a little reaction, so if he only jumped at you 1 time today, I wouldn't really say he was regressing. It's definitely an improvement over the way he was a few days or so ago.