Beardie Help requested.

[Somewhereovertherainbow]

My Beardie is supposidly with eggs right now ( gravid and no mate). She is under a year old (got her back in January 18th). She out of the blue stopped eating a week before 9/25. We took her to the local vet and requested a X-ray exam. The vet took xray and discovered what appeared to be the start of eggs. The vet explained that while the dragon is like this she may not desire food. It is now going on November 23. The beardie still has not eaten food. She has been off and on displaying distressful coloration- e.g. Darkening of beard, skin, and stomach area. What should I do? We are waiting on a call back from the vet as well. Also, I have proper heating, lighting, and tank size.

 

[CooperDragon]

Have you been seeing her digging at all? If so, you might want to make a dig box for her to lay eggs in. Usually a rubbermaid bin with a mixture of damp play sand and organic topsoil (no fertilizers etc) mixed to a consistency that can hold a tunnel will do the trick. You can get a tunnel started for her and let her dig and see if she lays the eggs.

Has her weight dropped at all since she stopped eating? How long does her beard stay dark? If you could post some photos of her, that may be helpful as well.

 

[Somewhereovertherainbow]

Have you been seeing her digging at all? If so, you might want to make a dig box for her to lay eggs in. Usually a rubbermaid bin with a mixture of damp play sand and organic topsoil (no fertilizers etc) mixed to a consistency that can hold a tunnel will do the trick. You can get a tunnel started for her and let her dig and see if she lays the eggs.

Has her weight dropped at all since she stopped eating? How long does her beard stay dark? If you could post some photos of her, that may be helpful as well.

I have a tile flooring in her enclosure. Do you have any good recommendations for a dig box? Also, is it better to put her in it day or night?

 

[Somewhereovertherainbow]

As requested here are some images.

 

[Somewhereovertherainbow]

She hasn't lost any weight persay, but she fluctuates with her hydration levels- i.e. some days of the week she wants the water dish and other days of the week she ignores it till she wants it again. She sometimes is active alert and sometimes she is highly lethargic. She has Zero desire for any food offerings. This week is the only time she has really been dark like this. It is to the point my wife is asking me if it is normal, so even she is noticing the changes in behaviors and she doesn't take care of it.

 

[CooperDragon]

She doesn't look distressed or sickly in the photos, so that's good. The dig box suggestion I provided is a good option, but I'd bring her to it outside of the enclosure because they can get pretty messy. For digging inside the enclosure I suggest something easy to clean that won't get stuck on her nails. I've had good luck using fleece blankets or just a pile of fleece strips/scraps. That allows for digging/burrowing. For egg laying that might work, but I'd probably try the dig box since those seem to have good results on a fairly wide basis.

 

[Somewhereovertherainbow]

She doesn't look distressed or sickly in the photos, so that's good. The dig box suggestion I provided is a good option, but I'd bring her to it outside of the enclosure because they can get pretty messy. For digging inside the enclosure I suggest something easy to clean that won't get stuck on her nails. I've had good luck using fleece blankets or just a pile of fleece strips/scraps. That allows for digging/burrowing. For egg laying that might work, but I'd probably try the dig box since those seem to have good results on a fairly wide basis.

Giving her a warm water reptisafe electrolyte mixture bath seemed to really have hydrated her and liven her up quite a bit.

The stress markings on her neck and stomech went away as well.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

She does look healthy & doesn't seem to be stressed either.
If she is just developing follicles now, it usually takes 4-5 weeks for development before
they are ready to lay them. So you have a little bit of time to get a laybox ready.
Be sure to give her extra calcium right now to support her bones & muscular system.

Tracie