Excessive Clawing in Enclosure

[Kelseyensley]

I figured I come on here and ask before I lose it. Ramses (2 year old, female beardie) is clawing the enclosure none stop. Running around and clawing every possible side (mostly center and cool side) then she would run in her log, in her cave, then climbs her rock to bask for a while then repeats the cycle. She has been fed, I let her out for 2-3hrs by letting her sit on my desk, shoulder, or her window bed (can’t let her explore the room since she can go in places I can’t reach/see her), and temps are normal. She had a bm as well. I haven’t changed her enclosure in like a month. Could it be she’s gravid? I can’t feel any eggs, but could be too early to feel any. She wasn’t this bad last year from what I remember. I just wants some answers before I lose my sanity

 

[KarrieRee]

I figured I come on here and ask before I lose it. Ramses (2 year old, female beardie) is clawing the enclosure none stop. Running around and clawing every possible side (mostly center and cool side) then she would run in her log, in her cave, then climbs her rock to bask for a while then repeats the cycle. She has been fed, I let her out for 2-3hrs by letting her sit on my desk, shoulder, or her window bed (can’t let her explore the room since she can go in places I can’t reach/see her), and temps are normal. She had a bm as well. I haven’t changed her enclosure in like a month. Could it be she’s gravid? I can’t feel any eggs, but could be too early to feel any. She wasn’t this bad last year from what I remember. I just wants some answers before I lose my sanity

Quite possibly gravid- is she digging as well?

 

[Kelseyensley]

Quite possibly gravid- is she digging as well?

Not that I have seen. Just frantically clawing the enclosure.

 

[KarrieRee]

Not that I have seen. Just frantically clawing the enclosure.

Usually they're digging -- let's go over your tank - uvb coil or long tube fixture? Surface basking temps? How are you getting them? Any colored bulbs? Basking bulb is a solid clear bright white bulb ? No off white or Yellowish no daytime bulbs please--

 

[ChileanTaco]

Adding to the questions by KarrieRee:
Which kind of substrate are you using? Or is the floor tile?
Maybe she'd dig, but she can't (tile) and instead tries to get out by clawing. So i would not rule out she's gravid. But clawing could also be as of trying to escape light or temp that's not working well for her, so please check that and let us know.

 

[AHBD]

They don't need to specifically dig to be preparing to lay, all her behaviors point to the possibility. Best to set up a laybox ASAP.

 

[Kelseyensley]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Her clawing was caused by two things. The first being I got a new arcadia reflector + new arcadia dragon 14% + D3 bulb mounted inside her enclosure, so its on the bright side. The UVB light was covering most of her cage in light, so I shift it over so it's practically right next to her basking light. Doing this allowed the cool side to be much darker and have her less exposed to it. The second reason was feeding issues. Supposedly her appetite finally picked up due to being gravid, so once I upped her feeding regimen, the excessive clawing stopped. Now she only claws when she wants out or has used the bathroom to inform me, which is normal behavior of hers.

 

[KarrieRee]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Her clawing was caused by two things. The first being I got a new arcadia reflector + new arcadia dragon 14% + D3 bulb mounted inside her enclosure, so its on the bright side. The UVB light was covering most of her cage in light, so I shift it over so it's practically right next to her basking light. Doing this allowed the cool side to be much darker and have her less exposed to it. The second reason was feeding issues. Supposedly her appetite finally picked up due to being gravid, so once I upped her feeding regimen, the excessive clawing stopped. Now she only claws when she wants out or has used the bathroom to inform me, which is normal behavior of hers.

The 14% bulb needs a distance of 17-18 inches directly over the basking decor piece - they are very strong -

 

[Kelseyensley]

It's not directly on top of her basking area due to the rock being tall (it has to be 12in from her basking light which sits on the mesh since I can't mount it inside her enclosure) and she would way too close to the UVB, so I have it slightly pushed back so it's more so over her log and bed, which measures it to be 18in away from her when she sits on them. 18in is the starting range for the arcadia 14% per their website since it's so strong.

 

[KarrieRee]

It's not directly on top of her basking area due to the rock being tall (it has to be 12in from her basking light which sits on the mesh since I can't mount it inside her enclosure) and she would way too close to the UVB, so I have it slightly pushed back so it's more so over her log and bed, which measures it to be 18in away from her when she sits on them. 18in is the starting range for the arcadia 14% per their website since it's so strong.

18in is the starting range for the arcadia 14% per their website since it's so strong. Screen blocks 30% of the rays --- w/ the 12 inches it might be ok but there is no way to tell w/ out using a solar meter to get actual readings - Amazon.com
card readers are not accurate

 

[Kelseyensley]

18in is the starting range for the arcadia 14% per their website since it's so strong. Screen blocks 30% of the rays --- w/ the 12 inches it might be ok but there is no way to tell w/ out using a solar meter to get actual readings - Amazon.com
card readers are not accurate

No, the Arcadia UVB is mounted inside the enclosure. The basking light is the one on top of the mesh and is 12inches away. I wouldn’t use a solar meter for that since it’s just a basking light bulb.

 

[KarrieRee]

No, the Arcadia UVB is mounted inside the enclosure. The basking light is the one on top of the mesh and is 12inches away. I wouldn’t use a solar meter for that since it’s just a basking light bulb.

Ok I thought you had the UVB on top of screen sorry - w/ it being in the tank recommended distance is 17-18 inside the tank --