Stupid Bearded dragon.

[AkHerps]

Well...okay, maybe he's not stupid, but he's not that smart...but I have to wonder why he acts the way he does.

He cant have any substrate...because he eats it, paper towels, reptile carpet, etc....He can't have fake plants...because he tries to eat them...he can't have boulders or big rocks in his house...because he likes to try and eat them...

He eats dubia roaches and lots of salad...so he's not deprived of food or nutrients...

I really want to know though, why he freaks out sometimes. He's in a 40 gallon breeder. Randomly, he will start jumping around, smacking into the glass, rubbing his face on it, and doing everything possible to try and get out. He has a uvb set up, and a basking spot lamp on one side that is over a cinder block, so it stays nice and toasty. But he has a cold side too, so he can't be too hot along with climbing branches, a big hide ,and some plants he can't get the leaves off to eat, although there are teeth marks from him trying!...He's a little over a year old, about 20 inches long...He's freaking out behind me right now...he just runs from one end to the other smacking into the glass...

[AkHerps]

Anyone got any ideas as to why he freaks out?

[MissDixie]

Are you sure he's "freaking out".....my Jerry rubs and claws at the glass to tell me "get me out mom!!!" He loves attention & will show out till he gets it. He also refuses to potty in his habitat, he waits till I get him out in the mornings and he uses a specific spot in my kitchen floor (gross, I know!!)

[AkHerps]

I take him out and he calms down and relaxes on me. If I put him back in 20+ minutes later, he just still wigs out for a long time.

[MissDixie]

I take him out and he calms down and relaxes on me. If I put him back in 20+ minutes later, he just still wigs out for a long time.

Sounds like he's just an attention hog.....take him out and let him chill with you as long as time permits.....mine goes everywhere with me

[BPelizabeth]

Yes sounds like you have one with a "want what he wants when he wants it attitude".... He wants to come out and be with you all!! Trust me they have quite the personalities when they want to. My friend woke mine up the other and did not sweet talk him and give him love and kisses in the morning...he threw a tee tee the rest of the day.

As far as the substrate...try a shelf liner with the rubber on the bottom and a little bit of a rough surface. They have it at walmart and it looks like bamboo kind of. It works great...maybe he won't be interested in that.

[AkHerps]

Oh yeah, he tries to eat anything new that comes into his house, but a shelf liner would lay flat wouldnt it? So he wouldnt be able to eat it! An attention hog bearded dragon...that's just...sad...but cool.

[BPelizabeth]

let us know if it works for you!!

[AkHerps]

It's really starting to get annoying now. All day he just freaks out and smacks into things, and is constantly trying to climb the glass, scratching and clawing at it. And he's really big so he makes a ton of noise. The only time he isn't doing this is when I turn off all the lights at night time. It doesn't matter how much I hold him, he still acts the same.

[maverickgtr]

Is he near any other reptiles? Due to space constraints in our new apartment we have to keep our beardie next to our snake tanks, so for a while if he wasn't asleep by the time the snakes came out to explore their new surroundings after the move, Isis would freak out and try to run up the tank and get out. We had a large piece of black suede from my bf's furniture design studio last semester so we started covering all sides of his tank that faced the snake tanks and that worked perfectly. Now she's a lot better and rarely tries to run up the glass.

Another thought I had, how old is your beardie? I don't know about bearded dragons but I know when my bf's mom's dog started to go blind she would freak out and had to be around my bf's mom constantly. If she couldn't smell, hear or "see" [she can still see shadows] my bf's mom she would flip and cry so they started having to keep a hoodie or something that she'd worn recently around so she wouldn't get stressed or depressed. Maybe your beardie is having eye problems and just feels safe when your holding him. It would explain the bumping into things.