Thunderstorm Panic

[PastelBeardie]

Baldric, my one year old Beardie, gets really upset during thunderstorms. The noisier they get, the worse things get. Yesterday we had a pretty good one going, and he ran around the perimeter of his cage bobbing his head and full of stress marks. He kept jumping off his cage furnishings and on to the edge of the cage where he could take a tumble to the ground. He tried jumping out several times in a few minutes, so I took out everything except his basking log and moved that to the center of the cage so he couldn't use anything to jump out. The thunder boomed again and he attempted a vertical leap, so I unplugged his lights so that he would (hopefully) spend the day sleeping while I went to work. He'd already had 4 hours of UVB. This plan worked a few months ago when the same thing happened. He was still in his cage when I returned.

Does anyone else's beardie do this? Are there any herbs that are OK for beardies that might calm him down? If he were a dog I'd take him to the vet to get him something, but reptiles' systems are different and I wouldn't want to risk it. Thoughts, please? The thunder's making a pretty good amount of noise, but he's sleeping right through it. Apparently only daytime thunder is scary. :?

 

[breeyawnah]

Baldric, my one year old Beardie, gets really upset during thunderstorms. The noisier they get, the worse things get. Yesterday we had a pretty good one going, and he ran around the perimeter of his cage bobbing his head and full of stress marks. He kept jumping off his cage furnishings and on to the edge of the cage where he could take a tumble to the ground. He tried jumping out several times in a few minutes, so I took out everything except his basking log and moved that to the center of the cage so he couldn't use anything to jump out. The thunder boomed again and he attempted a vertical leap, so I unplugged his lights so that he would (hopefully) spend the day sleeping while I went to work. He'd already had 4 hours of UVB. This plan worked a few months ago when the same thing happened. He was still in his cage when I returned.

Does anyone else's beardie do this? Are there any herbs that are OK for beardies that might calm him down? If he were a dog I'd take him to the vet to get him something, but reptiles' systems are different and I wouldn't want to risk it. Thoughts, please? The thunder's making a pretty good amount of noise, but he's sleeping right through it. Apparently only daytime thunder is scary. :?

One thing you should know is that the UVB bulbs can't EVEN compare to the sun. 4 hours of the bulb isn't enough. The rays aren't as strong. If I were you I would get a warm towel and wrap your Beardie in it with his head out and pet him. My Beardie finds it relaxing and falls asleep right away.

 

[carlisv]

My fellas can predict the weather. For some reason when fronts move in and out they act completely different - sort of grumpy and feisty. They do it when it's going to rain, before heavy storms, snow, etc. I think they can feel the atmospheric pressure changes.

 

[PastelBeardie]

I'm guessing it's the noise that's bothering him, because the louder it is the more likely he is to jump, and it's been storming here lately. A few days ago a car backfired, and he jumped out again. But maybe the atmospheric pressure has something to do with it, because since the weather's been wet, he's been a lot more active and is eating and pooing more.

They need to start making little beardie earmuffs.