My Bearded Dragon Going Crazy

[Melissam517]

Hi everyone, let me just stay that this happened from one day to the next, and NOTHING CHANGED. I mean nothing in his enclosure or his background has changed. Temperatures are PERFECT, lighting is fine, I tried feeding him, I tried bathing him which calms him for a short while, I tried to cover his enclosure, I've taken him out and he still runs like crazy outside as well, which he never did. I scheduled a vet visit but its still 2 weeks from now. He has been super hyper, glass surfing like crazy, his enclosure is a 40 gallon and I dont believe he has outgrown it. What has me baffled is that I've had him for almost exactly a year, and his enclosure hasnt changed so I dont understand the sudden glass surfing and walking around non-stop. I thought it was gonna last a day, but it is now day 3 and it is still going on as soon as he wakes up. Anybody experience this? When does it stop?

 

[Sadie]

Hi everyone, let me just stay that this happened from one day to the next, and NOTHING CHANGED. I mean nothing in his enclosure or his background has changed. Temperatures are PERFECT, lighting is fine, I tried feeding him, I tried bathing him which calms him for a short while, I tried to cover his enclosure, I've taken him out and he still runs like crazy outside as well, which he never did. I scheduled a vet visit but its still 2 weeks from now. He has been super hyper, glass surfing like crazy, his enclosure is a 40 gallon and I dont believe he has outgrown it. What has me baffled is that I've had him for almost exactly a year, and his enclosure hasnt changed so I dont understand the sudden glass surfing and walking around non-stop. I thought it was gonna last a day, but it is now day 3 and it is still going on as soon as he wakes up. Anybody experience this? When does it stop?

In order to rule out the cause we need to first go over the husbandry of the tank --- often times its a lighting issue or it could just be "spring fever" --- so the UVB your using is a coil or a tube? How old is the bulb and where in the tank is it? top of screen or inside the tank? Temps in the tank are what ? basking ? middle ? and cool side? how are you taking them? NO stick ons please -- these things I just asked control the overall health and behavior of the dragon - once we get this situated then we could go on to other reasons ---

 

[Melissam517]

In order to rule out the cause we need to first go over the husbandry of the tank --- often times its a lighting issue or it could just be "spring fever" --- so the UVB your using is a coil or a tube? How old is the bulb and where in the tank is it? top of screen or inside the tank? Temps in the tank are what ? basking ? middle ? and cool side? how are you taking them? NO stick ons please -- these things I just asked control the overall health and behavior of the dragon - once we get this situated then we could go on to other reasons ---

Tube UVB, the bulb is about 5ish months, and it is above the lid but we cut off a strip of the lid so that the light can hit directly, temperatures are 97F hot side, and 81F cool side I have temp gun and thermometers inside the enclosure.

 

[Sadie]

Tube UVB, the bulb is about 5ish months, and it is above the lid but we cut off a strip of the lid so that the light can hit directly, temperatures are 97F hot side, and 81F cool side I have temp gun and thermometers inside the enclosure.

Ok so hes good then --- make sure you have a piece of decor directly under the UVB approx 12-15 inches for a T 5 - if your using a T 8 distance should be 6-8 inches --- hes in good hands I hope where ever he came from had that correct lighting that you just posted -- does he look under weight?

 

[Melissam517]

Ok so hes good then --- make sure you have a piece of decor directly under the UVB approx 12-15 inches for a T 5 - if your using a T 8 distance should be 6-8 inches --- hes in good hands I hope where ever he came from had that correct lighting that you just posted -- does he look under weight?

No he looks to be a good weight, and I got him when he was maybe a month or less old, however, I never made 100% sure if he was male since I cant really tell. So I am guessing that he could actually be a "she", or is reaching sexual maturity. I dont know at this point.

 

[Sadie]

No he looks to be a good weight, and I got him when he was maybe a month or less old, however, I never made 100% sure if he was male since I cant really tell. So I am guessing that he could actually be a "she", or is reaching sexual maturity. I dont know at this point.

Post a pic of the dragons tail in the air facing camera so I can see the vent --

 

[Melissam517]

Post a pic of the dragons tail in the air facing camera so I can see the vent --

Hope that’s clear enough

 

[Sadie]

Hope that’s clear enough

It's a little hard to tell from the angle - if you could place him on your table and get pic from the rear w/ tail up - straight on so we can see the vent

 

[Melissam517]

It's a little hard to tell from the angle - if you could place him on your table and get pic from the rear w/ tail up - straight on so we can see the vent

This was the best I can do lol he kept moving

 

[Melissam517]

It's a little hard to tell from the angle - if you could place him on your table and get pic from the rear w/ tail up - straight on so we can see the vent

 

[Sadie]

This was the best I can do lol he kept moving

Ok I can't really tell - if you can at some point get a better pic then post it--- I am gonna say it is going thru spring fever-- I would let him out for a couple hrs a day- and work.on getting his tank upgraded to a 75-120 gallon

 

[Sadie]

I don't see any bumps at this point- so I am leaning towards a female-

 

[Melissam517]

I don't see any bumps at this point- so I am leaning towards a female-

Thank you for the help!

 

[Skybug]

Hello welcome to the forum , i will say from the pics it looks more female to me aswell, and i agree with sadie, a new enclosure is due soon for multiple reasons, but for also one good one, if your beardie is indeed female then a “lay box” will be needed, and the current enclosure would be halfway taken up by a lay box, (be very gentle) have ur beardie in your lap and feel its belly, eggs can be felt (poo can be mistaken for eggs beware) a lay box needs to be atleast 3-6 inches deep (deeper the better) it needs to be big enough for her to completely turn around in it, and it needs to be dark inside of it with preferably a lid on it , it needs to be comprised of damp (not wet , not moist) sand mixed in a ratio of 70-30 with potting soil (no fertilizer, no vermiculite none of those little green balls that hold water either) i hope she/calms down soon.

 

[Melissam517]

Hello welcome to the forum , i will say from the pics it looks more female to me aswell, and i agree with sadie, a new enclosure is due soon for multiple reasons, but for also one good one, if your beardie is indeed female then a “lay box” will be needed, and the current enclosure would be halfway taken up by a lay box, (be very gentle) have ur beardie in your lap and feel its belly, eggs can be felt (poo can be mistaken for eggs beware) a lay box needs to be atleast 3-6 inches deep (deeper the better) it needs to be big enough for her to completely turn around in it, and it needs to be dark inside of it with preferably a lid on it , it needs to be comprised of damp (not wet , not moist) sand mixed in a ratio of 70-30 with potting soil (no fertilizer, no vermiculite none of those little green balls that hold water either) i hope she/calms down soon.

Hi, I got a lay box for her because after doing some research, this was the conclusion that I came up with. However, she does not like the lay box, and I have realized that most of her motions aren't "digging" motions but mostly glass surfing like crazy. I will continue trying the lay box, but I am starting to get a feeling that it may not be the case. I also felt her belly and dont feel any eggs.

 

[Skybug]

Have the temps in your state gone up? And does she get outside time? (Beardies who get outside time do glass surf more often) my beardie will climb her walls when she wants out, then she’ll sit in one spot happy for hours, i do agree with sadie on the “spring fever” thing, my beardie went crazy about a month ago, i live in FL for reference.

 

[Melissam517]

Have the temps in your state gone up? And does she get outside time? (Beardies who get outside time do glass surf more often) my beardie will climb her walls when she wants out, then she’ll sit in one spot happy for hours, i do agree with sadie on the “spring fever” thing, my beardie went crazy about a month ago, i live in FL for reference.

Temperatures have been going up slightly, I live in NY. She gets a lot of time out in my apartment just walking around but this doesnt seem to be enough. So today, I took her outside for the first time (other than vet visit, but that doesnt count), and she wasn't walking around much, she was just taking it all in I guess. But this did calm her a bit, shes been basking in her enclosure for an hour now.

 

[Melissam517]

Have the temps in your state gone up? And does she get outside time? (Beardies who get outside time do glass surf more often) my beardie will climb her walls when she wants out, then she’ll sit in one spot happy for hours, i do agree with sadie on the “spring fever” thing, my beardie went crazy about a month ago, i live in FL for reference.

And I forgot to mention that she has not eaten for about a week. I offer her everyday, several times a day and she does not want at all (Vet appointment in 2 days)

 

[Skybug]

What all do you feed her, vitamins, bugs, veg? Unfortunately when a beardie gets let out constantly it kinda ruins them ,... they’re very smart (why be in tank when i can roam free? Ya know?) i ruined my beardie this way (she stays in her tank completely fine till she sees me or hears my family, then she goes batpoop crazy) , lots of beardies glass surf and it isn’t always associated with somethings wrong, but her not eating is a little concerning. She’s definitely fat enough to go on a hunger strike for a couple months, please do offer water on top of her snoot, and when she laps it up try and sneak in some veg or a bug, it’s also smart to keep some kind of powdered food, i keep a container of crested gecko diet just incase she rejects food longer than 3 days, when you go to the vet have them do an xray on her i bet shes gravid.. atleast thats what her behavior sounds like to me , don’t stress.

 

[Melissam517]

What all do you feed her, vitamins, bugs, veg? Unfortunately when a beardie gets let out constantly it kinda ruins them ,... they’re very smart (why be in tank when i can roam free? Ya know?) i ruined my beardie this way (she stays in her tank completely fine till she sees me or hears my family, then she goes batpoop crazy) , lots of beardies glass surf and it isn’t always associated with somethings wrong, but her not eating is a little concerning. She’s definitely fat enough to go on a hunger strike for a couple months, please do offer water on top of her snoot, and when she laps it up try and sneak in some veg or a bug, it’s also smart to keep some kind of powdered food, i keep a container of crested gecko diet just incase she rejects food longer than 3 days, when you go to the vet have them do an xray on her i bet shes gravid.. atleast thats what her behavior sounds like to me , don’t stress.

I feed crickets and dubia roaches, sometimes superworms. I give her multi vitamin once a week and calcium with D3 every three days or so. I give her veggies everyday.