There are various types of odd behaviors among bearded dragons which cannot be understood at the first glance by human. Head bobbing, arm waving or gaping, all these different gestures are meaningful and often are used to express anger, depression, fear or some uneasiness.
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What Is Glass Surfing in Bearded Dragons?
Surfing along the glass walls of the terrarium is also among their queer activities, and we will discuss that in this article.
Jumping around the tank or bouncing on the glass can sometimes be proven to be dangerous behavior as it may harm the dragon.
Running around the terrarium and trying to reach the top of the glass surface is a pretty weird behavior according to the owners which is seen sometimes in the bearded dragons.
This time they used to rub their bellies against the surface and their cute little legs are seen paddling on air. They can also be seen standing on the hind legs and trying to climb the walls.
Why Do Bearded Dragons Glass Surf?
There are quite a few reasons behind such behavior of them.
Terrarium is not spacious enough
When the terrarium is not spacious enough, you can see the dragon is doing such things. They may feel that the walls are too close and thus, are suffocating them. So to express their anxiety they act like they are climbing on the walls. You can get a good terrarium with sand with hide box as well.
Another bearded dragon
If you bring another bearded dragon within the same enclosure, the new one or the old one may feel threatened from the presence of the other. Learn more here if Bearded Dragons can Live Together with Safety Guide.This tension can also be seen from this climbing approach. They both or the docile one can try to surf on the glass walls of the terrarium.
Even if you are not keeping the dragons at the same terrarium, but the enclosures are close enough for the dragons to see each other, they can feel competitive or threatened.
Presence of other Reptiles
The same behavior can be seen when some other pet in the house, mostly rabbit, cat or dog, are seen near the terrarium of the bearded dragon. You can learn more if Bearded Dragons can Live With Other Reptiles?
The dragon may think of the other pet as a threat, and due to their territorial nature, they can feel anxious. This can be the reason the dragons will surf along the glass walls.
Sudden surrounding change
Sometimes when you change the interior of the terrarium, and make some new additions in form of a new hammock, toys or maybe a new water bowl. The sudden change can make the bearded dragon tensed and it may feel threatened.
Glass or mirror
If any glass or mirror is kept near the terrarium and the bearded dragon may seen its reflection then it can be afraid of the presence of another bearded dragon. They are not used to with the idea of reflection and will take it as another similar creature. It can cause stress, and make them do the glass surfing.
Hunger
If they are not fed well, and remain hungry, then it makes them agitated. The expression of the agitation may take the shape of glass surfing. When they are bored, it also can trigger the same activity in them.
You may need to take care of the food intake and the amount or the quality of it to make it feel better and satisfied.
Heat
Any part of the inner environment of the terrarium may make the dragon unwell. It can be the lighting or the heat emitter, type of substrate or temperature. If something is bothering it, it will show the anxiety by this behavior. You should check the heat and also the substrate to solve this matter.
These are possible reasons for the disturbance caused to the bearded dragon. Also there can be multiple reasons combined to cause the tension in the bearded dragon. This is not an exclusive behavior of bearded dragons. Other reptile pets also show this kind of behavior when they are offended.
Is glass surfing harmful?
Not always glass surfing is related to danger. Some minor issue can trigger it. When you see your dragon doing glass surfing once in a while, do not be petrified. Maybe this is a temporary thing and the dragon is feeling bored or angry for some small reason. If it is not repeating its behavior for consecutive 3 days, there is no need to be worried.
In case of the latter situation, you should be concerned about removing the cause of its agitation. Even if the reason is boredom, it should not stay for a longer period. Staying bored may affect its hunger and it will eat less, which will damage its health.
How to Stop Glass Surfing?
If you find the bearded dragon doing the glass surfing after you have adopted another pet, a cat, a dog or another bearded dragon then you may keep the pets separated. You can keep the terrarium of the bearded dragon in some other room where the other pet may not enter.
- If the glass surfing is due to some health reasons, then you may get it checked by the vet once.
- If it is getting stressed due to some reason, then it will lose the weight and will become weak. You may see the dragon is looking weak or being lethargic, which is a cause of tension. Get it checked to see if anything is wrong with its health.
- You can change the decoration of the terrarium to see if it has stopped glass surfing. Maybe the new item you have added to the terrarium is not appreciated by it and thus removing that item will make it calm.
- Check the lighting, humidity and heat to know if every gadget is working finely. If the heat is less and the humidifier is not working properly, the dragon may feel uneasy due to the change in temperature. Also you can think of changing the substrate, as parasites born in it may make the dragon uneasy and itchy.
- Getting a bigger tank for the dragon is another way of making it happy. If the dragon is getting mature and feeling claustrophobic inside the terrarium then changing the present one with a new spacious one is good idea.
Conclusion:
Give the dragon some attention and watch its behaviors. You must bond with it to know the reasons of its sudden odd behaviors. Also this is the only way you will make it understand your love and affection for it, which will pacify it and make it trust you more.
