Normal egg laying behavior?

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lincolnsmom

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About a year and a half ago, I adopted a female bearded dragon. She is now ~3 years old. Since I've adopted her, she has had multiple trips to the vet/health concerns. Her past owner did not feed her greens, she did not have adequate UV, and her enclosure was way too small. Immediately upgraded her setup and adjusted her diet. Around this time last year, I took her to the vet (her stool was constantly runny), and they x-rayed her and saw eggs. However, she never passed the eggs. In October, she was fairly sick so I brought her back to the vet. They determined that she had reabsorbed the eggs and had fatty liver disease. Since then, I have fed her hepato support 2x daily, put her on a diet with fewer insects, upgraded to an Arcadia 12% bulb, and gotten her a 4 x 4 x 2ft tank. Her temps are around 100-110 in her basking spot and 80-85 on the cooler end. She has dramatically improved, her stool is finally normal, and she is constantly moving and high energy. For the past few weeks, she has not stopped glass surfing and trying to escape her enclosure. At first, I attributed it to being in a new setup. However, her abdomen has now become fairly swollen so I am thinking she may have eggs again. I have provided her with a lay box in her enclosure, but she is disinterested in using it and instead prefers to glass surf or scratch on the floor of the tank. I am not sure at what point I should worry about potential egg binding and take her to the vet because she is still eating normally, going to the bathroom, and is not lethargic. Is there anything I should be looking for to tell me it's time to go to the vet? I hate seeing her so stressed.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
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I would try to accommodate the active behavior for now. If she doesn't like the dig box, you could try building one outside of the enclosure and start a tunnel and then put her in the box and see how that goes. If she still prefers to dig at the floor of the enclosure, try putting a pile of fleece scraps or small fleece blankets there so she can burrow into them a bit and see if that helps. If she just wants to burn off some energy, take her out and let her run around a room if it's safe to do so (no other pets around, no areas she can get trapped in etc). A vet could check egg development with an ultrasound, but there may not be a whole lot to do about it at that point. If she starts to act lethargic or black beard, and especially if you see yolk in her poop then that would indicate an emergency vet visit may be needed (often surgery is required at this point, so it's serious).
 
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