We've just rehomed a little girl, who we've called Moana, two days ago. She is almost 1 (her hatch date is 4th July 2016). We have her on calci-sand (not my choice apparently is what she prefers) and she has done nothing but scratch all day long, except from when she is out of her viv of course. When we got her, she did have quite a large tummy and i'm not sure if she is just a bit overweight or if she is carrying eggs. Is there any way to tell? I'm trying to make a vets appointment for this week to get her checked over etc. but wondering if there is anything I can do in the meantime? TIA
BUT she's been on calci-sand (VERY BIG RED FLAG !!)
1) get rid of the calci-sand immediately , it's lethal when ingested.
2) get her to a good reptile vet immediately to get xrays done to determine
... if she's got eggs forming in there (bad ! she is way too young to have been bred at 12 months old)
... if she's actually impacted , got calci-sand clumping and solidifying to form concrete in there (potentially lethal).
Does here tummy feel soft ?
Until you get the clearance from the vet ,
>> no more solids
>> give only sloppy baby foods and purees and apple sauce.
If she is impacted , solids will just accumulate in her gut and rot (and this can become life threatening very fast !).
Hi there ? Moana looks very nice, healthy + alert, and her behavior is totally normal for some beardies that come in to a new home. She may or may not be carrying eggs, but you can provide her with a laybox like this just to give her a secure area t dig. She looks healthy + should have no problem at all if she needs to lay. https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/30026/full
I've had beardies for over 20 years, my females never ever had a problem with laying, so you can spend a ton of money for an Xray for something that is not a problem but it would not be necessary at all. Again, she looks very healthy + my need some adjustment time but if she's carrying eggs, she should be fine anyway.
Feed her as usual if she'll eat, no sign of impaction there and nothing to worry about at this stage. It is best to get rid of the calcium sand though, just in case as the previous poster mentioned .
Hi there ? Moana looks very nice, healthy + alert, and her behavior is totally normal for some beardies that come in to a new home. She may or may not be carrying eggs, but you can provide her with a laybox like this just to give her a secure area t dig. She looks healthy + should have no problem at all if she needs to lay. https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/30026/full
I've had beardies for over 20 years, my females never ever had a problem with laying, so you can spend a ton of money for an Xray for something that is not a problem but it would not be necessary at all. Again, she looks very healthy + my need some adjustment time but if she's carrying eggs, she should be fine anyway.
Feed her as usual if she'll eat, no sign of impaction there and nothing to worry about at this stage. It is best to get rid of the calcium sand though, just in case as the previous poster mentioned .
Thanks for the advice. I did feel her tummy and she does feel like she has eggs but didn't want to apply any pressure just in case. I've made a vets appointment for Thursday just for a check up of her general health and I only rehomed her on Friday!
Thanks AHBD, definitely going to sort a lay box out just in case and thanks for the pic! What substrate did you use for the lay box?
Yeah definitely going to get rid of the sand, it was more of a short term temporary substrate ?
I used sand or sand/topsoil. Both can be found at Walmart, Home Depot or Lowe's. The sand should be children's playsand and the top soil should be plain, both are very cheap. Mix with warm water [ just so it starts out warm rather than cold ] until it can hold it's shape if squeezed but not wet so it's dripping.
Oh good, that solves that problem/question then. Did she cover them up when she was done ? A good soak is always nice for them afterwards to get the sand off them + have a drink but if it's near her " bedtime " then it can be done tomorrow....it would'nt good for her to be wet + chilly after egg laying, she'd need to be dry + have a few hours under the lights .
Do you have pics of the eggs, do they look fertile or infertile ? Fertile would be big + plump, slugs would usually look like half filled flabby little water balloons. If she was mated they'd be fertile or possibly some of each. Be sure to feed her well + dust her food with calcium powder.
Oh good, that solves that problem/question then. Did she cover them up when she was done ? A good soak is always nice for them afterwards to get the sand off them + have a drink but if it's near her " bedtime " then it can be done tomorrow....it would'nt good for her to be wet + chilly after egg laying, she'd need to be dry + have a few hours under the lights .
Do you have pics of the eggs, do they look fertile or infertile ? Fertile would be big + plump, slugs would usually look like half filled flabby little water balloons. If she was mated they'd be fertile or possibly some of each. Be sure to feed her well + dust her food with calcium powder.
Yeah she did, she's been bathed and had a drink, after about 2+ hrs under her light. Seems pretty chipper to be honest!
I can't upload any photos, but I think at least half we're infertile. I've had to freeze them all due to being totally unprepared for eggs, clueless as not owned a female before (and being skint from buying Moana!) but my priority is Moana anyway. She's ate this morning and all her food has been dusted, thanks again for the advice!
Excellent, feed her well, even twice a day for a while to keep her weight on just in case she develops another clutch of eggs. If this was her first of the season, there may be more to follow. They usually lay from 3-5 clutches [ sometimes more ] in a season, about 3 weeks apart.