concerned with glass surfing

[chris dalley]

i just recently moved my beardie named buddy into a 40 gallon tank after he was always glass surfing in a 29 long tank. he is still glass surfing in the new one and i have noticed a small amount of blackish green spots on his chin right under his mouth. he has a 100watt heating lamp and a 13 watt 10.0uvb light both from zoo med. he is eating like normal but his number 2 has been a tiny bit on the runny side but still looking firm just not the normal log shape it has been. not sure if it would be consider diarrhea for him. he is still glass surfing but not as much as the smaller tank. he will go to his basking spot (that stays around 100-105f and the other end of his home stays around 78-80f) for a while then come down glass surf along the front then head to his logs and just chill. just wondering if this could be stress from the new tank or something more to be concerned about.

 

[Aerries]

Several things....the coil uvb bulb is trash, best to invest in a tube that is at minimum of 2/3 the length of the enclosure. Loose the reptile carpet, you cannot properly sanitize it and it will just harbor bacteria. Paper towels or slate tiles are great. Also get the dice out of the enclosure, they may try and eat that and I don’t need to tell you what could potentially happen. And finally what are you feeding?


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[Aerries]

Also use contact paper on the inside of the enclosure and the back and sides to help with the reflection so they don’t get stressed with seeing their own reflection thinking it’s another dragon.


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[chris dalley]

i feed him around 18-20 live crickets a day plus 5-6 mealworms and offer him zilla omnivore mix in a bowl every day. he normally digs around in the mix and picks out the carrots and peas that are in it. sometimes he will go for green beans as well.

 

[chris dalley]

Also use contact paper on the inside of the enclosure and the back and sides to help with the reflection so they don’t get stressed with seeing their own reflection thinking it’s another dragon.


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also he never had issues with glass surfing in his old tank, would only do it right after going number 2 and that tank never had any kind of background or paper inside it or outside

 

[Aerries]

i feed him around 18-20 live crickets a day plus 5-6 mealworms and offer him zilla omnivore mix in a bowl every day. he normally digs around in the mix and picks out the carrots and peas that are in it. sometimes he will go for green beans as well.

That freeze dried stuff has nothing in nutrition. I would recommend feeding fresh greens (spring mix is what I use) along with other veggies very little fruit (only as treats) a varied diet for dragons makes for a very healthy dragon. Try BSF Larve and ensure you’re dusting the crickets with multi vitamin and calcium with d3


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[chris dalley]

thank you all for the amazing and fast advice. going to go out and get the new uv light for him first thing in the morning. would it be best to combine the reptisun one with the compact or completely remove it from his home? also for getting him fresh greens should i make sure its organic grown or just giving it a good rinse in filtered water good enough? also for his diet i do dust his crickets with calcium dust every day except for Tuesdays when i dust them with multivitamins. should i be doing the vitamins more than once a week at his age? he is 7-8 months old right now. also curious now to how people feel about taking them outside to run around a bit in natural daylight and if thats something beardies would enjoy or find stressful.

 

[chris dalley]

Get the UVB separate --- you want a good bight white basking bulb if you dont have one already - no yellowish tint ones --- they hurt their eyes - and the Reptisun 10.0 bulb either the T 8 or T 5- the T 5 will take a flat fixture / hood - the T 8's are more common - when you get the hood and get the bulb in make sure its cover is off the bulb when you install it ------------NO compact coil UVB's - Reptisun makes those too but coils are bad ----------- I sent you the link for the nutrition in my earlier post -- just wash his green in reg sink water and no they do not have to be organic I buy reg produce at Walmart for my greens like collards turnip and mustard greens - gr beans squash -----------look at the website I sent ------------- yes dust the insects 2 times per week -------------- outside is great 15 minutes in the sun is = to 4 hrs of UVB in the tank--------------just make sure he isnt eating stuff he shouldnt -- birds are a predator so be careful as well - you might want to put him in a leash --- you can find those at www.etsy.com/beardeddragon------------
kaylyn

just got him all set up about an hour ago with the t 8 light from reptisun no cover over the light and set up right in the middle of his tanks lid (metal screen) and he already seems to like it a lot more. very happy to say no glass surfing at all today. he still has a tiny bit of black in his beard but i get the feeling its from the stress of a brand new tank and big changes happening in the last two days. he is acting like his normal self again.

 

[chris dalley]

And the UVB is inside the tank? Keep an eye on that beard--- it should be going away - you said hes in a different tank now?
Karrie

the light is sitting right on top of the screen lid on the outside. his beard is also completely white along with his belly. i moved him into a bigger tank a couple days ago. he was in a smaller one and appeared to begging a bit cramp for him.

 

[chris dalley]

You want that UVB inside the tank approx 8-10 inches from basking--- the screen will filter out alot of those rays-- he needs to be able to get under it
Karrie

i don't really have any surface area to mount it inside but would having the lid itself opened enough so that the light sits right above the opening and basking spot so nothing is between him and the light work?

 

[chris dalley]

Yes you don't want anything blocking the UVB Ray's put something in the tank his decor under it approx 8-10 inches so he can sit under it and bask
Karrie

he currently has a hammock as well as a large piece of wood directly under his basking spot and the UV lamp.

 

[chris dalley]

Ok good you should see a difference in his behavior right away
Karrie

he does look happier. right now he his relaxing on the log under the hammock with his head out observing everything around him.

 

[chris dalley]

His color will be bright if he's a happy beardie
Karrie

they do look brighter and i can also see signs that he is about to start shedding.

 

[Matthew McCarter]

also for getting him fresh greens should i make sure its organic grown or just giving it a good rinse in filtered water good enough? also for his diet i do dust his crickets with calcium dust every day except for Tuesdays when i dust them with multivitamins. should i be doing the vitamins more than once a week at his age? he is 7-8 months old right now. also curious now to how people feel about taking them outside to run around a bit in natural daylight and if thats something beardies would enjoy or find stressful.

Organic if available but if not then yes make sure to rinse very well, pesticides and fertilizers are not good for dragons, outside time is great for dragons just make sure you are with them 100% of the time, its best to have them on a leash or in some kind of enclosure so they cant get away, they can run really fast when they want to.

 

[Matthew McCarter]

i don't really have any surface area to mount it inside but would having the lid itself opened enough so that the light sits right above the opening and basking spot so nothing is between him and the light work?

You can use wire or and old coat hanger to hang it off the top. Leaving the top open can be risky, they can jump pretty well when they want to and may be able to get out with the top open a little.

 

[TorQueSS]

thank you all for the amazing and fast advice. going to go out and get the new uv light for him first thing in the morning. would it be best to combine the reptisun one with the compact or completely remove it from his home? also for getting him fresh greens should i make sure its organic grown or just giving it a good rinse in filtered water good enough? also for his diet i do dust his crickets with calcium dust every day except for Tuesdays when i dust them with multivitamins. should i be doing the vitamins more than once a week at his age? he is 7-8 months old right now. also curious now to how people feel about taking them outside to run around a bit in natural daylight and if thats something beardies would enjoy or find stressful.

I take my beardie outside almost daily, he loves it and he gets natural UVB

 

[TorQueSS]

I take my beardie outside almost daily, he loves it and he gets natural UVB

He has never run from me, in fact, when he sees a bird or hears a chopper he slinks (belly tight to the ground) towards me to get cover and to safety

 

[KatKuMo]

Mine used to glass surf a lot, until I turned on lights in the room with his tank, to cut down on reflections he was seeing. Now he only glass surfs when he's about to poop - he likes to do that outside of his tank. lol

 

[KatKuMo]

You can use wrapping paper brown paper bags or newspaper to put on the back of the tank to get rid of reflection
kaylyn

There would always be a side with reflection unless you line the entire tank. My dragon likes to see out, so I didn't opt for lining the walls, just having light on in the room worked fine.