Hey all, my girl Cersei, who is about a year old, may potentially be showing signs of being gravid. Her belly seems more distended than normal (she's a bit chunky to begin with, but her belly looks BIG lately), and she's been scratching/digging in her hide all day like she's trying to burrow. I haven't felt any eggs when I've held her, but I want to get a dig box ready for her just in case. I hear it's good enrichment for them anyways.
I've read a little bit about dig boxes, but I still am not quite sure where to start. How big should it be? What's the best substance/mixture to fill it with? Does it need to have heat and light? Any help is appreciated.
Hi Sarah, you can try a couple different types of dig boxes but just a head's up.....they don't always end up using them. Some dragons just end up laying them in their hide/cave, or in other random places. Years ago a member here had a dragon lay eggs while she had it on her lap. Still, it's good to have one and many dragons will use them. Here's a smaller one that can fit in a large tank. It's about 22-24" long by 15" W by 7-8" H. I used sand in it but you can use sand/topsoil mix or sand /eco-earth mix, dampened enough so it's not dry + dusty. I keep the lid on but cut a corner of it for the beardie to access. I also made sure a climbing log was along side so they can climb up easily. Here's a pic : https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29933/full
Or you can make a bigger one like in this youtube video.
Hi Sarah, you can try a couple different types of dig boxes but just a head's up.....they don't always end up using them. Some dragons just end up laying them in their hide/cave, or in other random places. Years ago a member here had a dragon lay eggs while she had it on her lap. Still, it's good to have one and many dragons will use them. Here's a smaller one that can fit in a large tank. It's about 22-24" long by 15" W by 7-8" H. I used sand in it but you can use sand/topsoil mix or sand /eco-earth mix, dampened enough so it's not dry + dusty. I keep the lid on but cut a corner of it for the beardie to access. I also made sure a climbing log was along side so they can climb up easily. Here's a pic : https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29933/full
Or you can make a bigger one like in this youtube video.
That one in the image is inside a tank? Just curious, what size tank do you have? Cersei is in a 75 gallon and I feel that something of that size would be a bit space-consuming. Though I suppose I could try replacing her hide box with it...