Hi there! I actually have a rankins dragon and not a bearded dragon but I would be thankful for any help I can get!
My dragon (recently turned 1) started exhibiting some signs of pregnancy. She always was a bit larger than my other two rankins dragons, despite the same age, activity and food. But in the last few weeks she gained almost 20 grams (from 56 grams to 74 grams). Her belly got bigger but the tail and back look healthy, no signs of overweight. And in the last few days she started constantly walking around in the tank and digging at different places, which she never did before.
But there are some things contradicting pregnancy. I read that their appetite decreases shortly before they lay eggs, but she still loves to eat and jumps out of the tank as soon as she spotted me taking out the insects. It feels as if I am starving her haha because she eats the insects in seconds while the other dragons take way longer.
And also the temperatures in my tank are currently a little high (28 to 33 degrees C) and I have a hard time reducing them as we have a heat wave in my country and I can‘t bring the room temperatures below 30 degrees C. I know digging behavior can also mean that the temperatures are too hot but this is already going on for a few weeks and she only started digging during the last few days. And she still spends most of her time on the warmer side of the tank and could go to the cooler side if it is too hot for her.
Last but not least, I went to the vet for an x ray. Apparently there was a miscommunication and the reptile vet had an important meeting, so someone else took a look at my dragon. The radiologists also weren‘t there yet so the person looking at my dragon hat to do and interpret the x ray herself without any experience in reptiles and radiology. She said the bearde doesn‘t look overweight but has a big belly. But she couldn‘t see any eggs in the x ray. I will post the x rays once I figure out how! (EDIT: I think I added pictures of the x rays, please let me know if you can‘t see them!)
If you have any idea what it could be besides pregnancy and what I can do to help her, please let me know! I am worried that she isn‘t comfortable or that there is something else going on!
My dragon (recently turned 1) started exhibiting some signs of pregnancy. She always was a bit larger than my other two rankins dragons, despite the same age, activity and food. But in the last few weeks she gained almost 20 grams (from 56 grams to 74 grams). Her belly got bigger but the tail and back look healthy, no signs of overweight. And in the last few days she started constantly walking around in the tank and digging at different places, which she never did before.
But there are some things contradicting pregnancy. I read that their appetite decreases shortly before they lay eggs, but she still loves to eat and jumps out of the tank as soon as she spotted me taking out the insects. It feels as if I am starving her haha because she eats the insects in seconds while the other dragons take way longer.
And also the temperatures in my tank are currently a little high (28 to 33 degrees C) and I have a hard time reducing them as we have a heat wave in my country and I can‘t bring the room temperatures below 30 degrees C. I know digging behavior can also mean that the temperatures are too hot but this is already going on for a few weeks and she only started digging during the last few days. And she still spends most of her time on the warmer side of the tank and could go to the cooler side if it is too hot for her.
Last but not least, I went to the vet for an x ray. Apparently there was a miscommunication and the reptile vet had an important meeting, so someone else took a look at my dragon. The radiologists also weren‘t there yet so the person looking at my dragon hat to do and interpret the x ray herself without any experience in reptiles and radiology. She said the bearde doesn‘t look overweight but has a big belly. But she couldn‘t see any eggs in the x ray. I will post the x rays once I figure out how! (EDIT: I think I added pictures of the x rays, please let me know if you can‘t see them!)
If you have any idea what it could be besides pregnancy and what I can do to help her, please let me know! I am worried that she isn‘t comfortable or that there is something else going on!
