Help, surprise Egg...

[TracyMarie]

I came home to one egg today, Stella's first egg. I got a box and I'm trying to set it up I have some Eco Earth compressed coconut fiber which expands and a 5lb bag of reptisand all natural terrarium sand.

I was told 80 % sand, and 20% Eco Earth.

M bucket is ab out a 6 by 14 inches and it is about 5 inches deep.

[TracyMarie]

apparently my dig box is not up to standards. I found a great video about using a tub and adding about 100lbs of play sand to it. I am going to try that after work, if I can find some play sand in town. I live in a very small town and many things are not available here.

[AHBD]

Hi there, I raised many beardies over the years, you definitely don't need anywhere near 100 lbs. You can use what you have mixed with about 10 lbs. of sand or topsoil . Get a bigger plastic tote and put the mixture in, add warm water to mix it so i's slightly damp + can hold it's shape. Pile most of it on one side and put an upside down large shoe or bootbox over it with one end cut out as an entrance. Start a tunnel by hand and let her do the rest. You should be aware though, some beardies will reject a dig box and lay them any old place, but 90 % of the time they'l use the box.

[TracyMarie]

This is what I have set up now. I really didn't put any money into this thankfully.

My husband went to pick up play sand for me to make a lay/dig box for Stella. When my husband told her what it was, she told him she had been trying to re-home Karen for a while. She gave us a 36 x 18 x 18 terrarium and all her stuff, and also a 36 x 18 x 12 inch tank with metal screen on top. I brought Karen home and started cleaning. Karen's tank was a mess, but I think she was missing some information about Beardies. There were placemats in the terrarium with tons of sand under it and lots of dubias and super worms running around. Left over dried feces under that and lots of dead bugs. a heat mat in the terrarium under all the sand and bugs. Her terrarium is clean now and she now has a tube UVB and a basking light. When I picked her up today she only had a coil UVB, the heating pad, and a red light for night. No Basking light or tube UVB.

I took the extra tank she gave me and cleaned it up, it wasn't bad like Karen's Terrarium, but believe me it got a good cleaning and rinsing.

This is what the dig box looks like, is this okay?????? It has a basking light on top in the hood. How much water should I use to dampen the sand??

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[AHBD]

The amount of sand is good, but add some coco fiber that will hold water and make it better for her to dig in. Just add warm water + start mixing. Think of making a cookie dough consistency or sand castle. It has to be able to hold it's form to a degree. A plastic tote is better because Karen can't see through it, they like privacy when laying. If you use the glass tank, cover the sides so she feels safe. Read what I wrote in my other reply about using a large shoebox turned upside down over top of the sand on the deep end where you pile it after it's been dampened.

[TracyMarie]

Thank you I'll add a shoe box thingy and tunnel. I do have the coconut substrate stuff I can add. I didn't, because so. Many people criticized me for adding it on the first box I made. This is actually for my girl Stella. Karen is my brand new rescue as of yesterday. This is actually 100 lbs of play sand. I have this dig/lay box terrarium in my "secret" room which is private. I can still add some brown paper that I can cover the sides up with, but I have a feeling that she won't mind. I really appreciate all your help.

[TracyMarie]

She is in the dig tank today, I put her in there last night, and she dug and dug and dug...she started as soon as I put her in there. I did put well, not a shoe box, but an oatmeal container tube with the bottom cut out, and she was in there digging. I did add the coconut substrate stuff.

[TracyMarie]

I put Stella in the Lay/Dig Box/terrarium this morning all prepped for her to lay eggs. I came home to 17 eggs. She has never been with my male, and I adopted her about 1 1/2 months ago, and was told that she had never been with her males either. So, these eggs should be infertile, but still want to be sure. Here are some pictures.

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