MBeardie is actually female and gravid!? Need enclosure help

[awkwardpossum]

Hi guys, it's been a while. I wasn't sure if this topic should go in housing or health or what, but uh. I'd like to pick your brains a bit because something kind of unexpected happened yesterday!

Sssssoooo despite the fact that I've had Dog for nearly 3 years now, yesterday during a vet visit I found out that HE may in fact be a SHE! His current vet (who I consider much more experienced and trustworthy with reptiles than the vet I took him to a few years back that originally insisted that he was male) thinks that she's a girl, and he believes he felt some eggs inside of her abdomen.

SO... this is kind of shocking news for me, but a lot of the abnormal behavior I've noticed in him lately lines up with the possibility of him/her being gravid. Decreased appetite, aggressive glass surfing and restlessness... so now I'm scrambling to try to understand how to properly care for a dragon in a situation that I know next to nothing about. I've read a few topics on these forums but I'm struggling to make sense of all the information and conflicting opinions X_X

Note: There is absolutely 0% chance that the eggs are fertile. Dog hasn't even so much as laid eyes on another beardie since I adopted him.

I'm rambling a bit so I'll cut to the chase and try to break this down into of the different questions I have:

1) Does anyone have a specific brand of potting soil they recommend using for a digging area? My vet told me to use a mixture of organic potting soil and coconut fiber but I'm having trouble tracking down a brand of soil that is organic and doesn't also have like. Plant food or fertilizer mixed in... One I found earlier sounded perfect until I saw it had lime, and I couldn't find anything about how potentially dangerous that might be to a beardie. Specific brand names would be really helpful, or alternate suggestions for materials... I live in a city and have no car so accessing farm/garden supply stores is difficult for me.

2) As a temporary setup, I have a plastic container full of Ace brand topsoil in her tank, but I'm worried it's just going to do more harm than good because it seems to have lots of tiny rocks and sticks mixed in. Should I just not bother until I manage to get my hands on a better substrate? I don't want her to get egg bound but I don't want to risk her eating a rock or something by accident either.

3) Should I keep a smaller dig box in the tank with her or have a bigger separate one set up? I keep finding mixed information on this.

I'll probably think of more to add to this later. Thanks in advance for any advice you guys have, this whole situation has really thrown me for a loop! :shock:

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, I've had lots of egg layers and have used 2 types of lay box with equal success. You can use a either just playsand, or a combo of topsoil + playsand or eco-earh [ coco fiber] and sand. Put about 10" in a medium plastic tote [ roughly 24" H by 24 L by 18 W or near that size ] Put enough warm water in to make it damp but not wet....it should hold it's shape to a degree. Then pack it higher on one end and start a tunnel by hand. If the tunnel collapses you can get a shoebox, cut one end off of it and put in the sand upside down like a cave.

You can also use a smaller container with a lid [ cut a hole on one end as an entrance ] like I have here in this picture. It's about 22" L, 8"H + 14" W. This type can fit in your tank.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/30026/full

If you want to post a pic here with Dog's tail straight in the air then I can probably tell you for sure what he is .

 

[awkwardpossum]

First, thanks for the input!

Second, question... I like the idea of the smaller sized one because I work for most of the day, and I don't want to go without providing a dig area in the tank when she could decide that the time when I'm out is when she wants to do her thing. But even the small size that you listed would take up a huge portion of her tank, since I have her in a 36x18x18. Is that going to be OK? Can I make the bin smaller than what you suggested?

Either way I don't love the temp setup I have with just the top soil in there, and I'm hoping to replace it as soon as I can secure a ride to a bigger hardware store. The fact that the soil has so many little sticks and rocks and things in it makes me really nervous, but idk I'm probably just being paranoid.

I'll post some pics of her and the current setup when I get home.

 

[AHBD]

You could fit the same one I had in your tank possibly [ or one that's a bit smaller ] , I was guesstimating the size but it's in the ballpark. Just take out some of the tank decor if need be and the laybox doubles as a basking platform, but keep it toward the cooler side.

 

[awkwardpossum]

OK yeah that makes sense! I did already take the big custom rock thing I made out to put the current bin in there, I'll just post some pics in a little bit for feedback.

 

[awkwardpossum]

This is what I have right now. Just topsoil in there, and I still need to pack it higher at one end like you suggested. I think I may have another bigger bin if necessary but let me know what you think?