Bearded dragon trying to dig through glass

[YagerManJennsen]

So my 7 year old Bearded dragon has lately been trying to dig through the glass that makes ip the walls of his habitat. I have no idea why he's doing this and it's only started in the last six months. He's also had difficulty walking, he falls over and sometimes ends up upside down like a turtle. We've never had this trouble until recently. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[leaveittoweaver]

So my 7 year old Bearded dragon has lately been trying to dig through the glass that makes ip the walls of his habitat. I have no idea why he's doing this and it's only started in the last six months. He's also had difficulty walking, he falls over and sometimes ends up upside down like a turtle. We've never had this trouble until recently. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Could you describe your set up or post a picture? What do you feed? How long have you had him?

 

[YagerManJennsen]

Could you describe your set up or post a picture? What do you feed? How long have you had him?

We'vve had him since he was only a few inches long which would be 7 years now. we feed crickets, mealworms and vegetables (kale, lettuce, etc.)

 

[leaveittoweaver]

Is your UV light not a strip light? When did you last replace the UV bulb? How often does he get vegetables and how often does he get insects? What kind of lettuce? Sorry for all of the questions but there's a lot that it could be.

What is that substrate?

 

[YagerManJennsen]

The substrate is cocoa nut fiber, its our first time using it. We don't really schedule his feedings and when he gets what to eat. So its hard to say how often he gets veggies and how often he gets insects. he eat crickets the most out of anything. He eats several times a week. I don't recall when we last replaced the UV bulb and it is not a strip light. The lettuce is whatever my mom buys at the grocery store so i'm nont really sure.

 

[leaveittoweaver]

UV Bulbs need to be replaced every six months or they are useless. They are better if it is a strip light and not a coil bulb. I would visit https://www.beardeddragon.org/ and get some input from the forums there. I would ditch that coconut fiber stuff as well, get tile or linoleum, something easy to clean that can't be swallowed and cause impaction.

Do not feed iceberg lettuce and you should cut back on the kale as well.

 

[YagerManJennsen]

UV Bulbs need to be replaced every six months or they are useless. They are better if it is a strip light and not a coil bulb. I would visit https://www.beardeddragon.org/ and get some input from the forums there. I would ditch that coconut fiber stuff as well, get tile or linoleum, something easy to clean that can't be swallowed and cause impaction.

Do not feed iceberg lettuce and you should cut back on the kale as well.

Ok, well get a new UV bulb and change up the substrate to something different. Thanks!

 

[Spidermolt]

No iceberg lettuce there's no nutrience in it so it does more harm than good. I'd personally lose the substrate and use reptile carpets so he doesn't eat it and possibly develop problems, also do you give him calcium? It could be that its not getting enough of it too which is very important! you should but Fluker's calcium powder if you don't already have some and dust his food with it every other day.

 

[YagerManJennsen]

No iceberg lettuce there's no nutrience in it so it does more harm than good. I'd personally lose the substrate and use reptile carpets so he doesn't eat it and possibly develop problems, also do you give him calcium? It could be that its not getting enough of it too which is very important! you should but Fluker's calcium powder if you don't already have some and dust his food with it every other day.

We do dust his food with calcium but sometimes we forget to. I gave him some calcium enriched gut loaded crickets yesterday that I think he liked.

 

[schmiggle]

Calcium is very important, because the calcium-phosphorous ratio in crickets is about .3:1, but the ideal food for a reptile is about 1.5-2:1 (crickets don't calcify their exoskeletons, but vertebrates calcify their bones). Don't know much about bearded dragons specifically, but calcium is very important in general.

 

[YagerManJennsen]

Calcium is very important, because the calcium-phosphorous ratio in crickets is about .3:1, but the ideal food for a reptile is about 1.5-2:1 (crickets don't calcify their exoskeletons, but vertebrates calcify their bones). Don't know much about bearded dragons specifically, but calcium is very important in general.

Thank you!

 

[grimmjowls]

If you get rid of the substrate and put something non small-particle, then you could try putting a dig box for him in his enclosure to encourage digging in a healthy way. Beardies love to dig, and sometimes they'll make tunnels and relax in the substrate for a while. Other than that, I think a lot of what has already been said are things to look into.

If you're dusting with calcium, make sure he's also getting vitamin D3. Calcium is useless if they aren't getting D3 - they can't absorb it.

 

[YagerManJennsen]

If you get rid of the substrate and put something non small-particle, then you could try putting a dig box for him in his enclosure to encourage digging in a healthy way. Beardies love to dig, and sometimes they'll make tunnels and relax in the substrate for a while. Other than that, I think a lot of what has already been said are things to look into.

If you're dusting with calcium, make sure he's also getting vitamin D3. Calcium is useless if they aren't getting D3 - they can't absorb it.

Sorry for the late reply, is there a possible subtstrate to use that would not hurt him if he accidently ate it but would also allow him to dig around and make a tunnel if he wants?

 

[grimmjowls]

Sorry for the late reply, is there a possible subtstrate to use that would not hurt him if he accidently ate it but would also allow him to dig around and make a tunnel if he wants?

I read that alfalfa pellets and millet seed are both alright to use. Sometimes beardies eat the pellets, but since the shape is exactly like bearded dragon pellets, the material is okay for them and apparently high in calcium, its not a problem. If the beardie starts to eat it like its a food source, then that could be a problem - causing an imbalance in its diet. So there's one con.
As for the millet seed, its small enough that it appears to pass through the bearded dragon's digestive track without any issues if consumed - no "normal" beardie would continue consuming them, though. They taste pretty bland.
Flax seeds or dried edible vegetables are used sometimes too. Make sure that none of these materials get wet though - they mold easily.