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wired

22 14:18:41

Question
Umm hello again.  My beardie was acting strange.  He started to run into the glass at me then started runing around and rubbing himself on the ground trying to get under the paper towel.  He was freaking out.  He has been panting lately.  could this be due to him being overheated. He's responsive to me.

Answer
Hi Bradley
Beardies do exhibit some very strange behavior at times-at least to us it looks strange-lol

Rubbing against the glass or cage furniture(branches etc.) can be an attempt to remove dead skin(shed) and is normal behavior

Make sure that you either spray/mist or soak him when he goes into a shed

It is not unusual for them to hide under the paper towels -if they do stay there and do not come out to eat or to bask-then there is something wrong

Panting-or "gaping"-which is basking under their heat lamp without increased respiration rate is normal for beardies
They regulate the heat of their bodies by doing so

If he is not breathing rapidly or his breathing is not labored while he is doing this-then he is fine

I would double check the tank temps just to be on the safe side to make sure that only the area under the spot basking bulb is 95-100 degrees and the rest of the tank has a heat gradient that can drop to room temp at night when the lights are turned off

Also-unless your house is very cold at night(under 60 degrees)-they need no heat on their tanks at night

In fact they need the droop in temp when they sleep to remain healthy

I hope that this has helped with your questions

Take care

Sandy aka LadyGecko