Hiya;
So I introduced myself and my beardie, Nova, here when I fist brought her home in July 2019.
So far, everything has been hunky dory. She's been eating fine, pooping fine. No problems with weight or illness. She came home at around 4 months old, so right now she's 9-10 months in age.
Until probably mid-January.
Around then, she started going off her food and has been frantic in trying to get out of her tank. When I let her out to roam, she bolts around like there's no tomorrow, until she finds somewhere to settle. Usually a corner or somewhere that's covered and out of the way. Before then, there were no major changes to her tank before then apart from the usual taking tiles out to clean them and changing the decor a little.
I have neighbors who also have a bearded dragon, and I asked them if the behavior is anything to worry about. They informed me that their beardie started behaving the same way and turned out she was gravid and eventually laid infertile eggs.
I'm not a fan of sand and I don't like how dangerous is can be so I the "lay box" I have put in Nova's viv is filled with coconut fiber, which I've been told is a safer option as far as substrates go. So far, she has shown now interest in, beyond running over it and kicking it up as she runs. She's not tried to dig or burrow as I expected. It's in the middle of the tank towards the back wall. I wasn't sure if I needed to keep it under the heat or on the cooler side.
As a precaution, because of the change in behavior, I took Nova to the vet who is happy with her weight; how alert she is and basically gave her a clean bill of health and agreed that it sounds like she's gravid and the frantic glass surfing and busily running around is her looking for somewhere to lay. However, the vet did feel Nova's tummy and belly and was unable to feel any lumps or bumps that could indicate she's carrying eggs.
I've been informed the best thing to do - although it seems cruel to be kind - is to keep her in her vivarium no matter how much she scratches and eventually she'll figure it out. But... I don't know if she will. The dig/lay box just sits there and occasionally she stands on it but never once as she dug.
I'm worried about her not eating as much. Normally she gobbles down her veggies and her buggies, but since mid-January she's been showing very little interest. Even when presented with treat buggies like fruit beetle grubs (which she absolutely loves) she'll have no interest.
What should I do? Should I change the coconut fiber substrate over for sand? Should I fill the whole of her vivarium with it and pile it up at one end specifically? Should I try a different substrate entirely? Or should I go back to the vet and have her checked again?
I'm genuinely very worried. I don't know how long this gravid period will last and I just want her to get through it as painlessly and easily as possible.
Thank you for reading (sorry its so long and wordy, I wanted to be as thorough as possible).
So I introduced myself and my beardie, Nova, here when I fist brought her home in July 2019.
So far, everything has been hunky dory. She's been eating fine, pooping fine. No problems with weight or illness. She came home at around 4 months old, so right now she's 9-10 months in age.
Until probably mid-January.
Around then, she started going off her food and has been frantic in trying to get out of her tank. When I let her out to roam, she bolts around like there's no tomorrow, until she finds somewhere to settle. Usually a corner or somewhere that's covered and out of the way. Before then, there were no major changes to her tank before then apart from the usual taking tiles out to clean them and changing the decor a little.
I have neighbors who also have a bearded dragon, and I asked them if the behavior is anything to worry about. They informed me that their beardie started behaving the same way and turned out she was gravid and eventually laid infertile eggs.
I'm not a fan of sand and I don't like how dangerous is can be so I the "lay box" I have put in Nova's viv is filled with coconut fiber, which I've been told is a safer option as far as substrates go. So far, she has shown now interest in, beyond running over it and kicking it up as she runs. She's not tried to dig or burrow as I expected. It's in the middle of the tank towards the back wall. I wasn't sure if I needed to keep it under the heat or on the cooler side.
As a precaution, because of the change in behavior, I took Nova to the vet who is happy with her weight; how alert she is and basically gave her a clean bill of health and agreed that it sounds like she's gravid and the frantic glass surfing and busily running around is her looking for somewhere to lay. However, the vet did feel Nova's tummy and belly and was unable to feel any lumps or bumps that could indicate she's carrying eggs.
I've been informed the best thing to do - although it seems cruel to be kind - is to keep her in her vivarium no matter how much she scratches and eventually she'll figure it out. But... I don't know if she will. The dig/lay box just sits there and occasionally she stands on it but never once as she dug.
I'm worried about her not eating as much. Normally she gobbles down her veggies and her buggies, but since mid-January she's been showing very little interest. Even when presented with treat buggies like fruit beetle grubs (which she absolutely loves) she'll have no interest.
What should I do? Should I change the coconut fiber substrate over for sand? Should I fill the whole of her vivarium with it and pile it up at one end specifically? Should I try a different substrate entirely? Or should I go back to the vet and have her checked again?
I'm genuinely very worried. I don't know how long this gravid period will last and I just want her to get through it as painlessly and easily as possible.
Thank you for reading (sorry its so long and wordy, I wanted to be as thorough as possible).
