Sleeping under carpet?

[Littlebuddysmomma]

I’ve been reading about how many beardies enjoy being tucked in at night. Cookie usually just falls asleep at her high point on her branch (where she basks), but tonight I decided to give the tucking in thing a shot. I placed her on top of a soft fleece blanket in her tank and gently folded it over her, leaving her head out just in case it scared her. Her immediate reaction was to lay down, so I figured she loved it and I walked away.

Went back to check on her a few minutes later, and I couldn’t see her in the blanket or anywhere else in her tank. Turns out she’s asleep totally burrowed under her reptile carpet.

I have never seen her pull up the edges of the carpet, and have definitely never seen her go under it. She has a hide in her tank and she never goes into it. She’ll run in to check it out very rarely, but then immediately runs back out.

Enclosure: 48x18x18 - been in it for about two weeks, and she adjusted to it quickly
Temps: ~105 in basking area, ~80 on the cool end, around 65-68 at night
Feeding: greens (mostly collards) and protein everyday. been giving her dubias the past three days - up until then was mainly feeding crickets. She did eat very little protein tonight but she was also shedding today.

Any insight on this new behavior? Could it be signaling anything I should pay extra attention to? Or just normal occasional dragon behavior? Maybe I freaked her out with the blanket?

 

[Claudiusx]

Moved by Moderator from General to Behavior

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

How cute!

That is perfectly normal and natural behavior. Many dragons like to tuck their faces into something as the sleep. And many like to "burrow: into whatever they have available whether it be some blankets or the carpet haha.

Nothing to be worried about at all.
You should've snapped a pic!

Your setup sounds fine also.

-Brandon

 

[HemiLeo]

Hi there,

How cute!

That is perfectly normal and natural behavior. Many dragons like to tuck their faces into something as the sleep. And many like to "burrow: into whatever they have available whether it be some blankets or the carpet haha.

Nothing to be worried about at all.
You should've snapped a pic!

Your setup sounds fine also.

-Brandon

Is sleeping in a water bowl normal?
or on the side of it?

welp thats what storm dose

 

[DragonPete]

Hi there,

How cute!

That is perfectly normal and natural behavior. Many dragons like to tuck their faces into something as the sleep. And many like to "burrow: into whatever they have available whether it be some blankets or the carpet haha.

Nothing to be worried about at all.
You should've snapped a pic!

Your setup sounds fine also.

-Brandon

Is sleeping in a water bowl normal?
or on the side of it?

welp thats what storm dose

They do sleep in bizzare places and positions, it's quite normal. ? When Petey goes down for a 'nap', semi brumating, he crawls under his newspaper. I've recently started removing the paper off him and putting his blanket on. He seems to like it. Maybe too much. LOL! Now, he wants to stay under it even though he's awake. ? So what do you do? He seems happy so I leave him alone, mostly. ?
-Dee

 

[HemiLeo]

Hi there,

How cute!

That is perfectly normal and natural behavior. Many dragons like to tuck their faces into something as the sleep. And many like to "burrow: into whatever they have available whether it be some blankets or the carpet haha.

Nothing to be worried about at all.
You should've snapped a pic!

Your setup sounds fine also.

-Brandon

Is sleeping in a water bowl normal?
or on the side of it?

welp thats what storm dose

They do sleep in bizzare places and positions, it's quite normal. ? When Petey goes down for a 'nap', semi brumating, he crawls under his newspaper. I've recently started removing the paper off him and putting his blanket on. He seems to like it. Maybe too much. LOL! Now, he wants to stay under it even though he's awake. ? So what do you do? He seems happy so I leave him alone, mostly. ?
-Dee

When he sleeps IN the water bowl I take him out and dry him off and put him on is blanket

 

[Littlebuddysmomma]

Thank you all for your input! She went under her carpet again last night, so I'm assuming this will be her preferred way to sleep now. It only alarmed me because I had never seen her do anything like it.

However, last night she dug herself so far under the carpet that I don't think she was able to see her lights come on this morning, and about an hour and a half after they came on, she still hadn't come out from under the carpet. I worried that she just couldn't see the lights to signal that it was time to wake up, so I actually pulled her out... When your beardies don't want to come out of hiding, do you take them out? or just let them sleep?

Her colors are also darker than usual the past couple of days. Could she be sick? She did just shed, and I know their colors can change as they shed...

 

[DragonPete]

My only experience is with Petey and that's limited. ?
When he decides to hunker down, I just check on him several times a day. So far he's gone as long as 8 days, but there are many whose dragons have been down for weeks or months. I can handle a week, then wake him up, maybe warm shower or soak, offer a snack and hope he takes care of his biz before he goes back to sleep. So far this has worked well for us, but Petey's habits are very regular. He just woke and crawled out from under his blanket 15 mins ago. ? He's basking and stretching and looks like he may be up a bit. This time he went back to sleep Friday afternoon but has been more awake than asleep. Seems he liked being under the blanket under his basking spot. ? This is the first time has come out since Fri.
-Dee
Edit - As I understand it they get darker when they are chilly, to help absorb heat. Petey is always darker when the lights first come on until he warms up.

 

[Littlebuddysmomma]

That’s exactly where she had dug herself to last night.. under the carpet directly under her basking spot. Assuming she digs herself under again tonight, I’ll try just letting her be if she doesn’t come out tomorrow. When I pulled her out this morning and checked her nannycam, it looks like she ate all her greens and has just been hanging out in her basking spot.

I am also reading about dig boxes. I may put one together for her so she has that option at night.

 

[DragonPete]

That’s exactly where she had dug herself to last night.. under the carpet directly under her basking spot. Assuming she digs herself under again tonight, I’ll try just letting her be if she doesn’t come out tomorrow. When I pulled her out this morning and checked her nannycam, it looks like she ate all her greens and has just been hanging out in her basking spot.

I am also reading about dig boxes. I may put one together for her so she has that option at night.

Maybe put her a blanket in that area for her to get under rather than the carpet. Petey's first nap was in his hide, which he never used before and was on loose substrate at the time. He did a lot of digging in there. He hasn't been in the hide since I put a piece of reptile carpet under it. So now he goes under the newspaper I'm using until I get tile. I just pull off the paper and put his blanket on him. If she doesn't have a blanket, a soft washcloth will do, no problem. At least until you decide on a dig box.
-Dee

 

[DragonPete]

? just realized this started with a blanket. LOL sorry.
-Dee