Bearded Dragons usually scratch at the glass in the breeding season to escape from the tank and search for a potential mating partner. But this is only one of the reasons that there are to explain.
There are several other reasons. Throughout this article, we will be discussing different information on this topic. Especially, “why does my bearded dragon scratch at the glass?”, this question will be answered.
Bearded dragon owners often report a similar case, that their bearded dragon is scratching. There are many reasons for that.
Several bearded dragon owners have experienced a similar situation and you might get quite confused in a situation like this.
Because you are completely unaware of what to do and you will look for any solution or answers. Don’t worry, this article is here for you.
What is glass surfing?
Sometimes, you might see that your bearded dragon is acting weirdly. Seeing bearded dragon clawing at glass is not something that you usually see. But it is something that makes us alarmed at once. Sometimes, bearded dragons start standing up against the glass wall of the enclosure.
After that, they start to move their hands and feet against the glass in a way that seems like they are rubbing their body against it. This is known as glass surfing. And seeing the dragons do this, people get one of the most common questions inside their heads. “Why does my bearded dragon scratch at the glass?”
Apart from the mentioned reason in the first sentence of this article, there are some other reasons for which a bearded dragon might scratch at the glass. Here is a detailed list and discussion of all of the reasons.
When they see their own reflection
Just like most of the other animals, bearded Dragons do not realize the existence of their own reflection. They cannot understand the existence of reflections in the world. That is why, when they see their reflection, they assume that as another bearded dragon in the vicinity.
in a similar situation, a bearded dragon feels like that it is being threatened by another male predator or dominative character. Due to this situation, a bearded dragon tries to scare away or push away the other bearded dragon which is actually the reflection of himself
They don’t quite seem to grab the idea of “glass”
Glass is for obvious reasons, a transparent element. And animals are not quite used to such elements in the natural habitat. That is why a bearded dragon is most likely to think that there is open space in front of itself. But in reality, there is a glass barrier.
For this, the animal gets confused and starts glass surfing. So, if you see your bearded dragon glass surfing at night, there is a really high possibility that it is just trying to explore the world the way that it is.
In the later parts of this article, we will be discussing in detail all of the reasons for which you can see a bearded dragon clawing at glass.
How to stop my bearded dragon from glass surfing
There are a few ways to stop your bearded dragon from glass surfing. First of all, bearded dragon usually does glass surfing for a couple of reasons. the first one is during the mating season in which, a bearded dragon starts to scratch at the glass to find a mating partner.
They try their best to get out of the enclosure to find a mating partner in the season. That is one of the major reasons for them. Getting a proper partner for the bearded dragon is one of the things that you should be concerned about.
Bearded dragons are more social animals than the other reptiles in their class. That is why they tend to show affection and acknowledgment of the petting they receive from the owners.
But the company of the owner can never match that of their own class. It is recommended that you keep an eye out for their proper partners.
It is always said to find bearded dragons in pairs. Sometimes, you can also keep them in the same enclosure system. If you are wondering why is your bearded dragon glass surfing at night, it might because due to the mating season. Getting a partner for the dragon might help solve this issue right away.
Why is my bearded dragon jumping at the glass?
If you are wondering if your bearded dragon glass dancing, then you are at the right place to be confused. Because there are several reasons for this. If you see that your bearded dragon is jumping at the glass it might mean that the bearded dragon is startled by its own reflection just like most of the animals, the bearded dragon is unable to recognize its own reflection.
For male bearded Dragons, it is very common to think that their area of dominance is being threatened. Due to this, they tend to scare away the other bearded dragon that they are seeing at the moment. But the reality is that it is their own reflection.
There are a couple of ways in which you can stop this. Several materials that actually prevent from causing high-quality reflection can be used in the enclosure system. I am not saying to put faded or tinted glass for making the enclosure.
But there are some glass-type materials that actually prevent from causing an excessive amount of reflection from the inside. From the outside, they seem quite normal. But from the inside, the type of reflection gets reduced by quite some margin. This might be able to help you in this case.
Why is my bearded dragon sleeping on the glass?
If you see that your bearded dragon is climbing glass of the enclosure, it doesn’t mean that it is seeing any reflection or it is trying to explore the outer world. there is a totally different meaning to this. as you might already know that bearded Dragons are animals from desert countries.
which means that Bearded Dragons are comparatively prone to seeking more heat. But that doesn’t mean that the dragon will always seek heat. Sometimes, when the body temperature gets too high, it will try to look for sources that are able to cool itself down a bit.
At times when the internal body temperature of the dragon gets too high, it tries to cool off some of the heat from outer cooling sources. And it is most likely to happen that the coolest place inside the enclosure is the glass layer. The animal then tries to stick the belly of itself as close as possible to the glass. This helps it to cool the lower bottom part of the body.
In situations like this, you should probably lower down some of the temperatures from the inside of the enclosure. If you do not have digital control of the temperature of the inside, you can take down some of the heating sources on a temporary basis. I think this should be enough for the dragon to relax a bit.
Why does my bearded dragon claw at the glass?
If you see your bearded dragon clawing at glass, it is a result of stress or being under threat. Due to the reflection that a bearded dragon gets from the glass, it might think that there is another dragon in front of it. But the reflection is not the only part.
If your enclosure system is too small for the bearded dragon, then it might also be uncomfortable in there. And that uncomfortable status might get it too much stressful. Due to the stress, there is a possibility that the bearded dragon can be seen to claw at the glass.
If the air density or the humidity gets too uncomfortable for the bearded dragon to live in, then you might see a similar behavior as well. The main thing is that, apart from seeing a reflection and in the mating season, bearded dragon claw at the glass only if they are feeling too uncomfortable or if they feel like they are being threatened. You need to keep these in your mind to give the animal a comfortable and relaxing time while being your pet animal.
Why do bearded dragon scratch at the glass?
There are three main reasons for bearded dragon scratching on glass. Either it is afraid to see its own reflection, or it is their mating season and the dragon is looking for a partner, or if they are too uncomfortable the way that they are inside the enclosure that you are keeping the dragon in.
In any of the cases, your proper attention is needed right away. Bearded dragons are social animals. They do not like to live on their own. That is why bearded dragons always have shown compassion to the owners and don’t tend to attach humans upon contact.
But if you are not being attentive enough, that might cause overall psychological degradation of the lifestyle of the bearded dragon. And the natural behavior of the animal might even change drastically.
If you see that your bearded dragon standing up against the glass, it might mean that the temperature of the internal body of the bearded dragon is getting too high. in that case, it is recommended that you bring down the overall temperature of the enclosure system.
Because bearded Dragons are from desert countries, doesn’t mean that they always like heat. Everything has its limit. So does the heat seek nature of bearded dragon. if your bearded dragon won’t stop glass surfing, then you probably need to change some of the environment inside.
If your bearded dragon does not have a partner in the mating season, that is even worse. it’s not too difficult to be an owner of a bearded dragon. There are only a couple of things that you need to keep in your mind to make sure that the animal has the best time with you.
Why does my bearded dragon try to climb the glass?
There are three basic reasons for a bearded dragon to climb the glass. the first one is if the bearded dragon is feeling too hot inside the enclosure system. bearded Dragons have a tendency to rub their belly with something that is cold to bring down their internal body temperature. and if you’re enclosure system has too high of a temperature then a similar event can be witnessed.
The second one is if the bearded dragon is failing to uncomfortable inside the enclosure. Sometimes, by enclosure system is just not enough for the bearded dragon. That is why it is recommended that you take your bearded dragon in your hand sometimes and take it for a walk.
But if the enclosure system is too small then the bearded dragon might feel suffocated and try to climb the glass to get out of the system as soon as possible.
The third one is if the bearded dragon is feeling that it is being threatened by something. Now, the threat can be caused by anything or anyone. In most cases, the bearded dragon sees its own reflection and doesn’t realize that it is not another bearded dragon. That causes the dragon to attack the reflection and it might seem to us that the bearded dragon banging head on the glass.
Why does my bearded dragon keep scratching at the glass?
If your bearded dragon is constantly scratching at the glass, it probably means that the dragon is feeling uncomfortable and it wants to get out of the enclosure system. In that case, you should probably take the bearded dragon out of the system and into your hands.
After that, try to find out the problem. It can be either reflection or excessive heat inside the enclosure system. It can also be that the total place inside the enclosure system is too small for the bearded dragon. In that case, you should probably get a bigger enclosure system built right away.
How should you find out what is the exact problem in the enclosure system?
As we have already mentioned, there are three main problems which are reflection, excessive heat, the small size of the enclosure. If the size is too small for the bearded dragon, then you might be already able to realize that.
In that case, try your best to get a bigger enclosure system for the bearded dragon as soon as possible. And by “as soon as possible”, we mean that if you can get it within 5 minutes, you should probably do that.
The second one is the reflection issue. You should probably look inside the enclosure system for that. If you feel that the enclosure glass is too much reflective, you should probably change the glass with something that is more transparent and less reflective. There are specific materials for this purposeful stuff you can easily find them at your local stores.
And last but not the least, heating issue. Bearded Dragons are from desert countries. That is why it has been always recommended that you keep a warm and humid temperature inside the enclosure system but not always we can maintain the exact/ ideal temperature and humidity conditions inside the enclosure system. Because of this, whenever the temperature gets too high inside the enclosure system, bearded Dragon won’t stop glass surfing or banging head on the glass.
The heating source that you have inside your enclosure system, try to turn that down a bit. If you have multiple heating sources at the same time, try to take away at least one or two sources from there. That should solve your heating issue.
And if the humidity is out of control, try to insert more sand and some small chunks of paper. The paper should be able to absorb some of the extra humidity even if that doesn’t work, try to put some salt or sugar in a paper bag and place it inside the enclosure system. That should be enough to absorb the excessive humidity.
FAQ
Why is my bearded dragon headbutting the glass?
If it starts to feel that it is suffocating inside the system, it will try to get out of the enclosure. In that case, you should probably take the bearded dragon out of the enclosure system and give it a relaxing time. You can take it along with you on a walk, or even give it a relaxing bath either one helps.
You need to always remember that bearded Dragons only behave weirdly when they are not feeling comfortable or secure. if your bearded dragon is doing something weird or if it is headbutting the glass, then you should probably take it out of the enclosure system and make sure that it is comfortable inside.
Is it normal for bearded Dragons to sleep against the glass?
In that case, you should probably try to take down the temperature inside the enclosure system. Because bearded dragon tries to lean their body against the glass to lower down their internal temperature.
As the only part of the enclosure system that is colder than the other parts is the glass, bearded Dragons tend to sleep against the glass to lower down the temperature.
How often should you take your bearded dragon out of its cage?
At the same time, try to figure out exactly what or why the bearded dragon is feeling uncomfortable inside the enclosure. That might help a lot in terms of giving the animal a relaxing time.
Also remember that if your bearded dragon is constantly clawing at the glass, then you should probably check for possible reflection issues or any type of temperature issues. That might solve your problem.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed why does my bearded dragon scratch at the glass. If you have any questions regarding any of the information given in this article, please let us know below in the comment section. We provide all of the information by our expert team and also by double-checking all of the facts. We are also partnered with several veterinarian organizations that have the approval from World Health Organization.
Any and all of the information that we provide you throughout this website are 100% verified to be true. If you have any suggestions or any recommendations that you would want us to cover, you can let us know about that in the comments section as well. And if you want to talk about something in detail, you can reach us directly for that, you can use the contact information given at the bottom of this page.
Remember, as pet owners, it is our responsibility to be attentive and also cautious to the lives that are our responsibilities. At no stage, we should be careless or take any step that can harm the life that we consider as our pet animal and also as a part of our family. Bearded Dragons are exotic animals and they should be treated with extra care.
There is no need to be afraid by hearing the words “extra care”. only one or two basic items are the things that you should always keep in your mind. A proper humidity enclosure system and a healthy diet are the three essential things that you should never compromise with regarding a bearded dragon.