Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My beardie as of about a month ago began rubbing her nose, scratching, and jumping against the glass constantly trying the "escape". It's getting to the point where i have to fix her cage everyday from all of the mess she does, she wakes me up early everyday because of the racket she makes. It's not that she's hungry because she won't eat much when I feed her. Also, it seems to be getting progressively worse, it used to be only in the morning, now it almost all day long. The only thing I do to stop her is give her a bath, that usually slows her down for a little while. She's 16" and I'm about to move her into a 65gal this week, but for now she's in a 30gal, the same tank that she's had since she was 6" back in august. Could all this really be because the tank is too small, or is there an underlying problem? I haven't changed anything since she was small. Like I said in the topic, she is really starting to drive me nuts because for now, it seems as though there is nothing that I can do to stop her from acting like this. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I have a stack of boxes and stuff in the same room as Draconis, and I threw a blue sleeping bag on top. I let Draconis climb the "blue mountain" as it were and perch at the top. He seems to enjoy "exploring", and this is a safer way to do it than just let him wander around. I will also (when all the other pets are outside, that is...) put him in the middle of the floor with his leash on, and let him roam the house. This will sometimes get it out of his system for a few hours.
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Dl

That shows some nice growth and GREAT care if she has gained 10" since August. Way to go! Had to take the time to congratulate you on the great care you give your baby .... keep it up.

Oh, you might want to try to put some paper up on the sides of her tank where she does this the most. It may be that something is catching her eye and she wants to get at it.
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Lisa
www.beginnersbasics.com

Well, I gotta give credit to everyone on this forum. Less than a year ago I didn't even know what a bearded dragon was, but thanks to all of the great advice, I have been able to raise Giblet without a problem. I researched on this forum for a couple months before I purchased her.

Telamon was acting this way also a few months back. I know what you mean about driving you nuts - and he destroyed his cage on a daily basis, even throwing his food everywhere as he went crazy.

Christyj suggested to me to let him out to roam the house. I was always too paranoid before to let him do this - afraid he might get into something and hurt himself. But, she convinced me that it would be good for him so I tried it. He was pretty hesitant at first, but soon was running and sliding all over the kitchen floor.

His behavior has drastically improved. I let him out at least once a week for a few hours. I usually don't put him away until he's found a spot to curl up and sleep. It seems to wear him out!

Now he only goes crazy occassionally, and it stops once he's been let out to run.

Hope this helps! Let us know how it goes!

-Tina
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1.0 Bearded Dragon - Telamon
0.1 House Cat - St. Stephen

1 Saltwater Aquarium
1 Freshwater Aquarium

I think I will have to do that because I know that Giblet really does enjoy being allowed to free roam. It's just that I have a lot of places where she can hide or get hurt in my house, so I always supervise her. I might try something like you do and just tie her leash to a central point that way she can't get too far.

On bearded-dragons.com, someone posted a pic of their beardeds playpen.
I'm waiting to find out what it is exactly. Looks like it would be a great thing to have.
p.s. Many times I put my dragons in the bathroom to roam if i don't have time to keep watch. There's no furnitureto hide in and less likely to find trouble. It goes without saying (though I'll say it anyway)..anything, chemically or otherwise harmful, needs to be off the floor. I even make sure the toilet lid is down. Fat chance anyone could jump that high, but you never know.
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www.classylizard.com

i usually just block off the kitchen if i can't supervise constantly. a couple of places i do have to block off that he likes to try, though, are behind the fridge, stove and any type of furniture in the living room (like the entertainment center and the saltwater tank cabinet). i get nervous with the wires!

he seems to like sitting over the heating vent under his tank stand!

just make sure you do keep some kind of survelliance on him or you'll end up playing hide and seek -- and you'll lose b/c he'll curl up somewhere and sleep!

good luck!
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1.0 Bearded Dragon - Telamon
0.1 House Cat - St. Stephen

1 Saltwater Aquarium
1 Freshwater Aquarium

my sydney is going thru the same thing. i can relate, she is driving me crazy!!

i take her out of her cage 2-3 times a day. she runs around the kitchen floor (supervised of course). i like the idea of giving her some sort of mountain to climb.

i think it is a natural phase they go thru. or maybe i am just hoping it is a phase, therefore it will pass. sydney went thru a short brumation period. once she came out of the brumation, she began eating like a pig and gained back any weight she lost. she just recently went thru a partial shed (first after brumation). it was about that time that she started being a really bad lizard!

even tho she is driving me crazy, i love it! it is also such a relief to have her out of brumation.
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Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Lizards

1.4.0 leopard geckos - diego, mango, libby, jaws, & sobe
0.1 bearded dragon - sydney
0.1 king snake & 0.2.3 corn snakes
2 red eye tree frogs, 3 green tree frogs, 2 firebelly toads
5 anoles,8.0 bettas & numerous tropicals
1.2 dogs (dachshund-pepper, brittany spaniel-jenni, lab-kaci)
1 hubby & 2 boys

www.skayart.com