Is my bearded dragon pregnant or ill?

[AlduinShenron]

Hi, last thursday me and my partner received 2 bearded dragons.
my partners boss is moving to spain and they couldn't take the sons dragons so i said id take them.
they got them for him at christmas just gone, and they were apparently 8-9 weeks old.
I've noticed she's actually larger than the male, but she's an orangey colour and he's the sandy brown/grey so I'm not sure if they're different species and if they grow at different rates.
however, when my partners boss and his girlfriend dropped them off she was handling the female and felt a lump, and we think she's pregnant. i can feel it in her lower left side of her stomach but its about the size of a 5p coin maybe a little bigger. i can't feel anything on her other side but i don't really want to handle and be poking (gently!) at her stomach too much. she has been digging and she is still feeding, but not as actively as the male.
we have filled a medium/large plastic sandwich box full of sand not packed and not loose. and tried to disguise it with the wood chip,
as I've read that she'll dig and burry her eggs and if she can't she won't lay and will probably kill her.

I'm just wondering since these are the first reptiles I've had, if I'm doing the right thing, wether she's pregnant or wether i should take her to the vets?

thanks

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

With just one lump, i doubt she's pregnant, especially at that age! Dragons don't get pregnant generally until almost a year old. She could just be slightly impacted/constipated. Try giving her a nice warm bath, massaging her tummy from shoulder to vent(butt). As she is still active and eating normally, I wouldn't worry too much.

Please keep the two beardies seperated, and make sure you have solid substrate for each.(tile, newspaper,papertowels, repticarpet) That means no sand/woodchips/etc in their vivariums. As I said, your little girl shouldnt need a laybox at this age.

How are their temps? What are they staying in? Substrate? What type is their bulbs? (basking and UVB)

You seem to be new to beardies, so I shall also congratulate you on new beardie parenthood.

(If you still think shes preggers, here are the signs that she is getting ready to lay. She will gain a BUNCH of weight, then stop pooping a few days before laying. When you are seeing just urates (the white stuff), it means she is getting ready to lay. She might also start glass dancing or running around alot.)

Keep us informed!

 

[AlduinShenron]

Hello thanks or replying. Im sure shes older but the previous owners still say theyre the same age its just shes deffinatly biggerthan the male. Her skeletal structure is bigger than his.
Today as i looked in the vivatium to see how they were i found green poop, im not sure which ine done it though. Its green in colour and the white part is pure white, no tinge. But its a splodge of green slimy poop and the woodchip (which is what theyre on) around the poop is wet.
Weve changed nothing at all from the last owners, if anything more/regular food. The teperature set up is the same as theye always been, water dish changed every day. Food bowl with fresh greens. Hanged everyday dusted in calcium like the crickets. We were told tht 3 boxes a week of crickets sould do them. So nothings changed unless its down to stress. Im heading round to the vets in a second after ive wrote this to see if they can give any advice. Thanks for the reply i'll keep you up to date

 

[AlduinShenron]

Foodbowl changed* every day. Typo lol

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

If she's on wood chips, theres definetly a chance she's impacted. She needs a solid substrate (tile, nonadhesive shelf liner, repticarpet, paper towels etc) so she wont eat it and become impacted. If her poop is green and really smelly, she could also have some parasites.

I hope the vet visit goes well! Good luck!

 

[AlduinShenron]

I'm making an appointment with the vets on monday, she's not a reptile vet but she said she'd have a look at them for me.
the green poop is not so much a splodge now it has more shape but it still has more of a water content than the normal brown poop.
hopefully everything will be sorted out monday.

 

[AlduinShenron]

oh and we ordered some 'cage carpet' from amazon a few days ago, and its arriving tomorrow so i will be taking the wood chip out and replacing it with that. i ordered 2 so that when its being washed the other can go in.
is there any special way i would have to each it or can i just put it in the washing machine with the normal detergent?
thank you

 

[AlduinShenron]

also, lol, the poop smells but its not really smelly. id say just smells like it would normally. if that helps

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

Yep. Just wash it like normal. Hopefully she was just backed up a bit, and the vet visit goes well.

 

[AlduinShenron]

the carpets in and the vet appointment is this wednesday!

just a quick question, i lay a towel on my bed (theyre in our bedroom) covered a hot water bottle and poped them on the covered hot water bottle the room was closed but this was for when i was taking out the wood chip in the viv and as i placed the log on the towel next to him i made the mistake of moving a little too quickly over head and the male went skitzy, so i lowered to his height slowly but he started to run slipped and he fell off the bed, he's fine as far as i can see because he stood up straight away paused and decided to do a great escape move! lol he will be alright won't he? i just feel really bad for him. its not a very tall bed, about 1 and 3/4 foot.

and another quick question sorry. he keeps darkening his beard, but not puffing it out. and he's not being aggressive either, just a little more alert since i put them on my bed. he learnt his lesson though he knows where the edges are lol.

and one great thing was scott was lying on the bed and i belt down on the floor on the opposite side with my arm on the bed and the female came over and climbed up my arm onto my shoulder and plonked herself down, it sounds daft but i felt like a god =D haha its funny how such small things can mean such a lot. would you say thats a sign of trust and affection maybe from her?

i know I've only had them a week or so but theyve brought me so much happiness already

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

Im sure he will be fine. My lizards are always jumping off my couch and tables, and theyre always fine.

Black bearding is a sign of displeasure or dominance- he was prolly just scared or startled or showing everyone that hes the boss.

And yep, id say thats a great sign of affection!

 

[AlduinShenron]

scott caught him doing it up against the glass to the empty room, not puffing it up so I'm guessing he was telling the room that was his new carpet awh haha bless. and thanks i was worried cause it looked like he landed awkward but he was off after a second and i ducked to look under the bed and all i saw was his bum wobbling away haha!

ahh im so pleased she was comfortable enough to do that. he's quite aware of her and all she does, if ever i'll interact with her he's always watching. but they're both so pleasant. i think he's just a lil flighty because he's still a juvenile. typical behaviour no matter what species wether it be a lizard or a human lol thank you so much for helping me i can't express how much its set my mind at rest

 

[AlduinShenron]

by the way this is alduin (bottom) and shenron (top) !

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

They're so pretty! And I see someones nose is shedding :lol:

 

[twinmommy]

I may have missed it, but do you still have them housed together?